Secondary English Language Teachers Research Articles

Professional Empowerment Strategies of Nepali English language Teacher: A grand Narrative

This present paper aimed to explore professional empowering strategies of secondary English language teachers using a grand narrative inquiry method. For this study, interview was used to gather the grand narratives of four English language teachers. The critical events from their sharing were taken as authentic information and analyzed using transformative lens. The findings show that language teachers have become professionally more conscious, optimistic, updated, and transformative to accept the dynamic settings of English language teaching through building connection with language associations, social media messenger, workshop, seminar, and collaboration and sharing for empowering their skill. The findings also showed that the teachers respect the voices of the learners as the sources of imparting teaching learning skills and knowledge for professional enrichment.

Exploring Perceived Classroom Based Assessment Knowledge and Practices

One of the major roles of a teacher is assessing student performance in classrooms. Assessment is an essential aspect of teaching and learning that has led to significant time allocation for assessment activities. In Malaysia, classroom-based assessment (CBA) has been implemented formally since 2016. CBA is a process of assessing students continuously during teaching and learning. CBA is a multifaceted approach to assessment that can be adjusted according to students and learning outcomes. CBA is aimed at supporting and improving student learning. CBA can be directly included in the teaching and learning process; and can also be adapted to various educational objectives and contexts. This paper explores the perceptions of English language teachers towards CBA. This study also explores perceptions of CBA and the relationship with teachers’ assessment practices. This study employed a questionnaire to gather data. The study involved 164 secondary English language teachers in one school district in the northern region of Malaysia. The study found that the perceptions towards CBA and assessment practices of teachers are positively related, suggesting that when teachers' attitudes towards assessment changed, so did their practices. This study provides insights into how CBA can be integrated into language classrooms to enhance assessment practices. It is hoped that these findings of this study will provide valuable insights to policymakers and stakeholders to make well-informed decisions. It is hoped that this study can help illuminate the potential of CBA in refining assessment practices in Malaysia.

The Mistakes that Teachers of English make in Managing their Classes in Almarj/ Libya

This study aimed at investigating the mistakes that teachers of English make in managing their classes from the teachers perspectives in Almarj /Libya .To achieve the study aim, the researcher used A thirty- eight item questionnaire to collect information about the mistakes of classroom management. The population of the study consisted of all secondary English language teachers in Al-marj the scholastic year 2021-2022 .The sample of the study was composed of (40) teachers. The major results of the study that the researcher found were the following: teachers do not use clear classroom rules, ignore bad behavior, and do not reinforce good behavior, or communicate with parents also they do not work in groups in order to avoid classroom management mistakes, not listen to students and try to solve their problems.

Language Learning Strategies Used by English Second Language (ESL) Learners in Rural Primary Schools in Tenom District

Teaching of English as a second language is still a teaching dilemma for English language teachers in Malaysia. According to Feng (2023), students only learn English in the classroom and due to the lack of supervision by teachers, the knowledge they gained in the classroom was easily forgotten. One of the reasons is because the teaching techinques and methods that applied by the teachers do not support the student language learning. This is supported by a study done by Mupa and Chinooneka (2015) that found teachers do not prepare various methods had contributed to ineffective teaching and learning in schools. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify language learning strategies (LLS) used among Year 6 students from rural area primary schools located in Tenom, Sabah. The respondents were purposely selected to respond to the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The data were collected and analysed descriptively. After completion of the study, the most frequently used LLS by the Year 6 students were investigated. Besides, the least frequently used LLS were also examined. Data collected revealed that the majority of respondents preferred to use memory and compensation strategy to enhance their language learning. The study also revealed that the least preferred LLS by the respondents were metacognitive strategy and affective stategy. The findings and implications of this study may benefit ESL teachers and educators in rural areas to increase the effectiveness of their own language teachings and pedagogies.

Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Literacy Index of ESL Teachers: Expectation vs. Reality of Department of Education (DepEd) Computerisation Programme in Pedagogy

The present paper investigated the information communication and technology (ICT) literacy index of English as second language (ESL) teachers utilising descriptive-quantitative method of research. This was undertaken by assessing the skills along the areas of ICT integration in pedagogy. Data shows that ESL teachers have moderate to high index along the areas of ICT literacy. Majority are categorised under advanced or merely moderate user of ICT in their pedagogical practice. These areas are along basic skills, software applications, production and data management. Be that as it may, the ESL participants need further upskilling on hardware management and information management. Taking into consideration these results imply that, there are gray areas which need to be unraveled by the department along the computerisation program to realize the purposes of execution. The researcher concludes that ESL teachers possess varying ICT literacy indexes. Given these data, there is a need to give due attention to the concerns of teachers along ICT literacy aspect to achieve optimum efficacy of the Department of Education (DepEd) computerisation programme. Teachers need to be upskilled on the digitalisation of classrooms.

The synergy of co-teaching between ESL and science educators: enhancing English learner’s literacy

English learner (EL) students face the challenge of learning a new language while simultaneously learning other subjects. Similarly, English as Second Language (ESL) teachers have the added responsibility of teaching academic language in STEM subjects to EL students, in addition to language teaching. This article explores how a participant researcher as an ESL teacher collaborated with two mainstream teachers and a science teacher, to enhance EL’s language and STEM literacy. Four teachers participated in the study, with one science graduate and one participant researcher, an ESL graduate student, working in a public middle school to co-design and co-teach science lessons. The study analyzed the effectiveness of their semester-long collaboration on the learning of domestic and EL students using mixed methods, such as observations and surveys. The results indicate that ESL teachers and students benefit from the support of pre-service teachers for both STEM content and language. This suggests that placing STEM major graduate students in ESL classrooms and ESL major graduate students in STEM classrooms for their practicum can re-connect language to content literacy development for EL students.

Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong

Abstract Teacher assessment literacy has gained significant attention in recent years due to its critical role in learning and teaching. Various theoretical and empirical conceptualizations of this construct have been emerging with more recent emphasis on building teachers’ knowledge and skills. The aim is to make highly contextualized, fair, consistent and trustworthy assessment decisions to inform learning and teaching to effectively support both student and teacher learning. This article explores changes in secondary English language teachers’ assessment literacy following the introduction of school-based assessment for learning as part of high stakes secondary school assessment reform in Hong Kong. Drawing on teacher questionnaires completed by almost 4,500 teachers who undertook a common professional development course conducted over the first six years of assessment reform (2005 – 2011), this paper explores the impact of professional development on teachers’ assessment literacy. Despite Hong Kong’s deeply ingrained competitive examination-oriented culture, an analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from pre- and post-program evaluations demonstrate signs of positive change in teacher attitudes, confidence and practices, in particular in using assessment criteria, designing and implementing appropriate assessment tasks, involving learners more actively in the assessment process, making trustworthy assessment decisions and providing effective feedback and feed-forward to students to improve student learning. The findings of the study suggest that changes in assessment culture are possible, provided teachers are well supported. The implications for assessment reform and for the development of teacher assessment literacy more generally are also discussed.

Examining ESL and bilingual teachers’ agency after NCLB: expanding the ecological perspective

ABSTRACT There is growing recognition about the importance of studying teacher agency in working with Linguistically Diverse Students (LDSs) after No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) given that the high-stakes testing and accountability system, required by NCLB and largely maintained by ESSA, have exerted negative effects on LDS educators and students. In response to this, we compiled a comprehensive set of empirical studies and conducted a thematic synthesis to examine how various factors could impact pre-service and in-service teachers’ agency in English as Second Language (ESL) and bilingual PreK-12 classrooms in the U.S. We adopted the ecological model of teacher agency as the analytical framework to guide our synthesis. Through both a top-down and bottom-up coding process, we further expanded the existing ecological model by adding two factors: knowledge and emotions. Detailed analyses led to seven common factors that could shape teachers’ agentic power in working with LDSs, all of which are either from the iterational or practical-evaluative dimension of agency. The projective dimension of teacher agency is relatively less discussed. Among those factors, cultural and structural factors draw most research attention across the selected studies, with the structural factors exerting most constraining effects on teacher agency. Additionally, we uncovered nuanced differences in teacher knowledge and emotions through in-depth analysis of the ESL and bilingual contexts. Further implications on how to improve teacher education and professional development are provided, in addition to the future directions for research.

FACILITATING THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE COLLECTIVELY THROUGH DIALOGIC DISCOURSE: TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Dialogic discourse is said to aid the social and cognitive aspects of language learning and acquisition and students’ success in second language learning is therefore largely dependent on the interactional opportunities available. Recognising the potential impact of dialogic discourse in enhancing second language acquisition amongst Malaysian students, the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) provided a large-scale training on dialogic discourse to a group of lower secondary English language teachers. This study explores the perceptions of English as a second language (ESL) teachers on the role of dialogic discourse in affording students’ opportunities for the construction of knowledge and investigates their practices in affording students with the opportunities to construct knowledge collectively through the discourse structure. To understand the role of dialogic discourse in affording students to construct knowledge collectively, five ESL teachers’ dialogic discourse strategies were examined. A qualitative approach was employed, which comprised semi-structured interviews and classroom observations for the data collection. Two of the teachers’ lessons were also examined to illustrate how dialogic discourse created opportunities for the construction of knowledge collectively which supported ESL learning through close discourse analysis of the lesson transcripts. The findings have shown that ESL teachers’ use of dialogic discourse strategies facilitates the construction of knowledge collectively among the students.This study expands our current understanding of how ESL learning occurs through classroom discourse.

Investigating the Effects of ESL Learners’ Motivation and Anxiety on Task Based Language Teaching in Pakistan

Motivation and anxiety play a significant role in the teaching and learning process, either it is second language learning or Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT). The current research aimed to investigate the motivation and anxiety faced by Pakistani English as Second Language (ESL) learners while learning English language. A quantitative research design was used to conduct this research. Moreover, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was subsequently applied to record the relationship between task motivation and second language (L2) motivation, as well as to configure the association between task anxiety and foreign language anxiety. From two public sector colleges of Sargodha, eighty ESL learners participated in the experiment. They were shown a cartoon video and then they were asked to narrate the video in English. Furthermore, they were inquired about their task anxiety and task motivation. The results showed that task motivation has three sides, that is, positive attitude towards the task, negative attitude towards the task, and task diagnostic tool. Task anxiety construct also shows three sides-setting namely anxiety, language related anxiety, and anxiety reliefs. The results also revealed that TBLT is greatly affected by motivation and anxiety. The current study would help the teachers to gain knowledge about the motivational strategies used by their students. Lastly, the research would be helpful for ESL teachers to motivate their students and understand their anxieties. This study was limited to the video narration task. Hence, it is recommended to extend future studies by including more than one task while using a large sample size.

Alignment of 21st century oral English curriculum and communication skills with labor market and higher education in Oman: The stakeholders’ perspective

Graduates from Omani schools are currently struggling at higher education institutions (HEIs) and in the labor market, mainly due to their lack of oral English communication skills, a 21st century skill that is in high demand. It is common knowledge that the rate of unemployment has increased and that the number of college students enrolling in English general foundation programs (GFP) is high. This study aimed at examining the perspectives of different stakeholders, such as secondary students, secondary English language teachers, curriculum officers, GFP academics and selected representatives from the business sector. The current study adopted a mixed-method research design to collect and analyze the data. Firstly, questionnaires were distributed to secondary students, teachers and curriculum officers and, then interviews with academics and business/ industry officials were conducted. The results revealed that the students and teachers were satisfied with the curriculum, while the curriculum officers, academics and business officials were not. These results suggest that the Ministry of Education (MoE) needs to consider some adaptations to the oral English communication skills taught in the current curriculum to meet the needs of Higher Education (HE) and the labor market.

Education during Pandemic: Perspectives of Secondary School English Teachers from Malaysia, Nepal, and Bangladesh

One of the most affected sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic was education. Abrupt and sudden changes in teaching and learning practices that teachers and students experienced were unprecedented, and the effect is still felt today. Hence, the study sought to identify the challenges secondary English language teachers in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nepal faced during the pandemic. Adopting a Comparative Case Study (CCS) research model, this was a transnational effort to explore the experiences of a cross-border ELT professional community teaching under various restrictions and limitations imposed by the governments in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Five key challenges emerged during the findings, namely: (i) teaching and learning dificulties, (ii) unreliable and invalid assessments, (iii) infrastructural hurdles in a home learning environment, (iv) student displacement, and (v) compromised teacher wellbeing. In retrospect, there was a cause for optimism as teachers acquired crucial survival skills, yet most challenges remain valid to this day. So various stakeholders must remain vigilant and devise robust measures in anticipation of future events of this kind and scale.

Male Students’ Perceptions of Being Taught by Female Teachers under the Backdrop of Saudi Cultures and Traditions in ESL Classrooms

The study aims to investigate the perceptions of male students of being taught by female English Second Language (ESL) teachers and examine the efficiency of instructors in teaching English to male students under the restrictions of Saudi customs. Teaching male students of the opposite gender to whom they have not been exposed to prepared before in Saudi Arabia might have an impact on their feelings which may deter them from learning ESL successfully. Therefore, the study aims to answer the main research question; what are the male students’ perceptions of being taught by female ESL teachers in Saudi Arabia? The researcher employed a mixed-method design: A quantitative method, which consists of an ESL test and a 20-item questionnaire, which were distributed among ninety male students in Saudi Arabia to determine their language competence and feelings towards the opposite gender, and a qualitative method, which consists of semi-structured interviews with six ESL teachers and six learners. The study highlights the fact; although teaching male students to females in Saudi Arabia has slightly an impact on their feelings, such as feeling shy and not accepting of them, it does not negatively affect the learning of a second language. However, the efficiency of teaching ESL is the most considerable from the student’s perspective. The outcome of the study can essentially contribute to the development of learning ESL in the Saudi context; it demonstrates some barriers that female ESL teachers face in male classes and highlights some strategies to help female teachers easily interact with male students.

Effectiveness of using picture description technique for grammar: An experimental study

Learning and teaching grammar seem to be a challenge for most of the English as Second Language (ESL)/English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and teachers. There is a need to use creative and innovative techniques to teach grammar and tense. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the effectiveness of using picture description technique to teach grammar and in particular the present continuous sentence pattern. This study was a descriptive survey research and mixed methods were applied in data collection. In this study, 25 students of Grade 10 and 10 ESL teachers of T/Mu/Al Hilal Central College, Mutur were randomly selected as sample population. The data collection instruments were an interview and a questionnaire. According to the opinions survey among the students and teachers, majority of the students express their lack of interest in learning grammar since interesting and creative games and techniques are not used in grammar lessons, and they accepted that the use of picture description technique can improve their ability of constructing sentence pattern and understanding the use of present continuous tense. Further, according to the findings of the questionnaire, majority of the teachers accepted that many English teachers do not use any techniques to teach grammar and tense, and the use of picture description technique can improve students’ proper understanding of present continuous tense. In general, in teaching and learning English, both teachers and students encounter various difficulties such as lack of teaching materials, students’ lack of interest, students’ insufficient basic knowledge in English, lack of facilities to apply different techniques and games, over-crowded classroom, use of deductive method to teach grammar and tense and teaching tense with less use of interesting games and techniques. This problem can be overcome and students’ proper understanding of present continuous tense can be improved when the suggested recommendations in this study are implemented.

The Relationship between Teachers’ Belief Systems, Creativity and the Use of Technology-based English Teaching

This study intends to find out teachers’ belief systems, its’ relevant factors and teachers’ creativity which may influence the use of technology for teaching of English at undergraduate level in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study highlights certain problems faced by teachers under belief system and the relevant factors in their implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching of English inside classrooms. Data was collected through a questionnaire questionnaire based on Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) from 31 ESL teachers teaching at different colleges in the capital of Pakistan [Islamabad] to know their perceptions, opinions and ideas regarding barriers confronted by them in the implementation of technology for teaching English as Second Language (ESL). Data is analyzed with the help of SPSS 22. The findings of the study revealed internal and external barriers such as beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, subjective norms, professional development, resources, and cross culturalism faced by teachers for incorporating innovation and creativity in their teaching practices through the use of technology in Pakistan. The study concludes with recommendations and suggestions for further research.

Teaching Complex Sentences in ESL Reading: Structural Analysis

Informed by the reading ability of English complex sentences, as well as the syntactic acquisition and cognition, this empirical study, based on a structural analysis approach, investigated 32 Chinese high school students in their ESL (English as Second Language) reading course. The results indicated that: (1) the differences between students’ pre- and post-test are significant; (2) structural analysis approach was found to have independent positive predictive effects on Chinese high school students’ syntactic proficiency. The findings can generate implications for TESL (Teaching English as Second Language) and provide insights to theoretical conceptualization of L2 (Second Language) reading.

“From the beginning, I think it was a stretch” – teachers’ perceptions and practices in teaching multiliteracies

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine five Secondary English Language teachers’ perceptions and practices of multiliteracies teaching in the context of a decade after multiliteracies was introduced into the English Language syllabus in Singapore.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a case study approach, the authors observed 12 multiliteracies lessons taught by the five teacher participants across three secondary schools. The classroom data included field notes and video-recordings of the lessons. The authors also conducted pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews with the teachers to understand their beliefs and the rationale behind their classroom practices. The video-recordings of the lessons and audio-recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic coding.FindingsThe authors identify an essentialising of multiliteracies to the skills of viewing and representing with multimodal texts, as well as a sense of uncertainty amongst the teachers towards the teaching of multiliteracies. In terms of practices, the authors observed an attempt to connect with the students’ life-worlds through the use of authentic materials, but often only in service of language learning. The authors also highlight the constraining influence of assessment on shaping multiliteracies learning. The findings of this study resonate with the conclusions that some of the earlier studies reported on teachers’ perceptions and practices of multiliteracies teaching. This resonation suggests perennial issues and challenges which remain unresolved.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited by the number of participants as well as the selected lessons the authors observed. The schools, while selected because they were considered as mid-range public schools in Singapore, were also not representative of all Singapore schools. As such, the authors acknowledge that the generalisability of the findings from this study is limited.Practical implicationsThe issues raised in this study resonate with the findings from previous studies both from Singapore and around the world. The persistence of these concerns over time and space that remain unresolved demands attention and concerted action from policymakers, curriculum developers and education researchers, to address the challenges in multiliteracies teaching and learning.Originality/valueThis study was conducted a decade after the launch of the English Language Syllabus 2010, which first incorporated multiliteracies into the curriculum. This study examines the teachers’ perceptions and practices in relation to the policy intent. The implications from this study are relevant to educators interested in integrating multiliteracies in the literacy curriculum internationally.

ESL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE ADOPTION OF EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING IN TIME OF CRISIS

Background and Purpose: The operation of educational institutions was suspended for a certain period due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak as social distancing came into effect as one of the World Health Organisation (WHO) strategies to help prevent further spreading of the virus. Subsequently, the education field witnessed a drastic shift in the mode of instruction, from the traditional physical classroom learning to online education and distance learning. Particularly in Malaysia, the suddenness of the implementation of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) as per suggested by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, has opened a new paradigm and brought a new experience in teaching for most teachers. With ERT being activated for the second time, it became a major concern to various parties on the effectiveness of the mode of instruction towards the teaching and learning processes for both teachers and students. Hence, this paper aims to investigate ESL teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards ERT to further develop the quality and effective distance education programs should a crisis like the current situation ever happens again.
 
 Methodology: This study employed a quantitative descriptive research approach as the research method. An online survey of 124 Malaysian English as Second Language (ESL) teachers was conducted for descriptive analysis. The respondents of this study were recruited using the purposive sampling technique. They should have at least one year experience in English language teaching prior to conducting lesson using ERT, and they should be in-service Malaysian ESL primary school teachers.
 Findings: The findings revealed that most of the teachers support ERT as the alternative mode of instruction in substituting the physical classroom learning in unprecedented time of crisis. However, certain difficulties remain, most notably issues regarding the digital divide. These implications call for more attention to developing more infrastructure and facilities, providing amenities and equipment as well as providing appropriate training to teachers.
 
 Contributions: The findings provide valuable insights from the teachers’ perspective, also known as the policy implementers, to help develop better e-learning curriculum and develop better contingency plans or strategies for emergencies and time of crisis.
 
 Keywords: Emergency remote teaching, ESL, e-learning, distance learning, COVID-19.
 
 Cite as: Junaidi, Y., Hashim, H., & Ismail, H. H. (2022). ESL teachers’ perception and attitudes towards the adoption of emergency remote teaching in time of crisis. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(2), 221-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss2pp221-244

PEDAGOGICAL TRANSLANGUAGING IN ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) CLASSROOMS: A SURVEY OF EXISTING STUDIES

Background and Purpose: There has been a strong assumption on part of ESL practitioners to use target language for teaching of ESL. However, in recent years, translanguaging has gained significant importance in teaching of ESL. This systematic review concentrates on empirical studies that draw on translanguaging framework in ESL classrooms in diverse contexts. By using the guidelines provided by PRISMA, the current work sheds light on the recent plethora of literature available across the globe. This systematic review identifies the differences with reference to the settings, participants’ background, methodology, and research problem. Moreover, it also evaluates how translanguaging has helped to improve ESL in diverse contexts. Also, it also suggests possible avenues for future research.
 
 Methodology: Data was collected from 2015 to November 2021. The studies that used translanguaging for improving ESL skills are focused and analyzed.
 
 Findings: The findings of the study showed that predominantly the research was conducted at the school level in the contexts of Africa, Japan and Indonesia using the qualitative approach. The findings also showed that translanguaging is helpful to improve ESL performance generally, but specifically it improves reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. Moreover, the findings also indicated the positive attitude of teachers and students towards translanguaging pedagogy.
 
 Contributions: The study synthesizes the knowledge to inform practitioners, researchers, teachers’ trainers, and policy makers about the recent advances in the field of teaching ESL, while using the learners’ complete linguistic repertoire.
 Keywords: Translanguaging pedagogy, English language learning, systematic review, survey, recent advances.
 
 Cite as: Atta, A., & Naqvi, S. B. (2022). Pedagogical translanguaging in English as second language (ESL) classrooms: A survey of existing studies. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(2), 120-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss2pp120-146

L1 INTERFERENCE IN L2 WRITING: A STUDY ON YEAR 3 BTESL STUDENTS

This study attempts to identify the interferences of L1 in L2 writing among final year Malay students taking Bachelor in Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) in a Higher Education Institute in Shah Alam, Malaysia. 73 bilingual Malay students who are in their final year of study participated in this study. Data collection tool included two instruments; 1) a questionnaire in which the participants were asked regarding their perception on the interference of their L1 in their L2 writing, as well as 2) written discourse in the form of descriptive essays. The participants were provided with a text in Malay language to be convert into the second language within 30 minutes. Then, the errors were classified into six (6) categories according to the prepared rubric to find out the impact of L1 interferences in L2 writing. The findings of this study have shown that the biggest impact of first language interference can be seen in the writing is grammar, word choice, spelling, punctuation and content, whereas no evidence of error in capitalization. Yet, the negative impact on the transfer of L1 to writing in L2 were likely committed because of the non-existence of a certain rule or concept in the L1 of the participants. Besides, students’ perceptions on the interference of L1 in L2 writing have shown that they are not aware of the inadequate knowledge of English language that may have led them to do these kinds of errors.