English Experience Research Articles

Interactive Learning Landscapes: Leveraging Technology for Dynamic Education in the Writing Classroom

This study explores the perceptions of EFL learners towards interactive learning tools in the Saudi environment; it also investigates how available technology can be leveraged to create dynamic learning environments. Using a mixed methods approach, the study conducted a survey with 70 EFL learners and focus group interviews with 10 students across two higher education institutions to examine writing skill development using the three interactive writing tools, viz., Blackboard, Pear Deck, and Flipgrid. Results indicate that Saudi EFL learners in higher education have a moderately positive perception towards the integration of technology in the EFL classrooms, as well as support the efficacy of these interactive tools in aiding learning in the writing classrooms. Moreover, perceptional change evidently positively impacted learners’ writing as the performance in the post test showed an average improvement of between 19-24% in the scores This examination of the interaction between learners and digital resources is likely to uncover insights into effective strategies for enhancing English language learning experiences and outcomes, and benefit a range of stakeholders.

"Dem sey mi mad": a scoping review of the attitudes and beliefs of English-speaking Afro-Caribbeans about psychosis.

The mental health disparities suffered by the English-speaking Afro-Caribbean diaspora living with psychosis in North America and the United Kingdom have been well described for decades, but the root causes of these disparities remain poorly understood. Part of the problem may be that the attitudes and beliefs of Caribbean communities regarding psychosis have never been systematically assessed. Such an inquiry could lay the foundation for changes to how psychiatric services for psychosis are implemented with migrant Caribbean communities. The ideal would be a re-design of services, or cultural adaptation of care, based on input from community members, patients, and their families, with the hope that disparities of care would be reduced or eliminated as clinicians co-create interventions that are more appropriate and acceptable to Caribbean people. To lay the groundwork of such an important endeavor, we investigated the shared attitudes, beliefs, experiences, practices, and traditions of English-speaking Afro-Caribbean people in relation to psychosis and psychiatric care. We conducted a scoping review by searching Medline, PsychINFO and Scopus, reviewing 764 articles, and selecting 220 for thematic content analysis. We highlighted the heterogeneity in the Caribbean diaspora living in North America and the UK. Five principal themes emerged: (1) The enduring effects of colonialism on the psychiatric care of Afro-Caribbean migrants; (2) The effects of adaptation to migration on the experience of psychosis; (3) Pervasive cultural mistrust of psychiatry and mental health institutions; (4) A collective approach to life; and (5) The role of religion and spirituality in the understanding of psychosis. Historical, sociocultural, and geopolitical themes characterize the English Afro-Caribbean experience of psychosis and inform culturally adapted clinical interventions for patients with psychosis and their families. Careful attention to these adaptations will reduce clinical bias and misdiagnosis, optimize adherence to treatment, engage patients and families in recovery, and ultimately, reduce treatment disparities while empowering Afro-Caribbean people and their communities. By bringing forward the themes in this chapter, individual clinicians will be given tools to change how they work with Caribbean people with psychosis in addition to laying the foundation for higher order changes in the mental health professions and society as a whole.

Wrestling with the ghost of deficit: exploring the experiences of trainee English further education teachers

Global education policy discourse is based on an unshakable belief that more and improved skills will promote economic prosperity, global competitiveness and social inclusion. In England, the Further Education and Skills sector (FES) has emerged as the vehicle to deliver these skills. However, the portrayal of FES as focusing primarily on vocational education for people often adjudged to be ‘not academic’ positions the sector at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, with negative ramifications for those who teach and study in it. This paper applies a case study approach to explore the lived experiences of five trainee FES teachers completing their initial teacher education (ITE). Drawing on contemporary interpretations of Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, I develop Morrin’s notion of hauntings to explain the psycho-social, historical and spatial influences on the trainees’ responses as they re-enter the field of education as teachers.

Exploring the Role of English Literature in Developing Cultural Competence among ESL Students

The study of English literature is a fascinating and effective technique for teaching English. It combines language instruction with literary analysis, contextualizing language, raising cultural awareness, honing critical thinking skills, expanding vocabulary and knowledge, boosting interpersonal skills, and enhancing writing ability. Teachers can enhance students' learning experience in English as a second language by employing these strategies: selecting appropriate texts, integrating reading practices, designing literacy exercises, assessing aesthetic aspects, and creating writing projects. The use of English literature in language studies fosters students' language development in relevant and real-world contexts, leading to a greater understanding of the language and its cultural nuances. Furthermore, culture affects values, beliefs, rituals, and behaviors and is reflected in language, dress, food, materials, and social institutions of a group (“Purnell, 2002”) qtd in (Sharifi et al., 2019). This understanding underscores the importance of integrating cultural elements into language instruction to provide students with a holistic view of language and its sociocultural context. Additionally, this approach allows us to examine how literature and language resources portray people of various origins, identities, demographics, and competences, seamlessly integrating diverse perspectives into the educational framework. This research involves investigating how a more varied educational environment affects student motivation, self-esteem, and the ability to communicate across cultures.

Utilizing Technological Resources in Education: Incorporating Digital Tools to Improve English Language Learning Experiences among High School Students

Utilizing Technological Resources in Education: Incorporating Digital Tools to Improve English Language Learning Experiences among High School Students

Refashioning the Relationship with the Social World: A Nexus Analysis of a Japanese Queer Immigrant’s English Learning in Canada

Drawing on ethnographic data, this article chronicles a Japanese queer immigrant’s English learning experiences in a metropolitan area in western Canada. Informed by sociocultural theories and identity-centred approaches to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, I highlight the significance and interconnection between social identity, ideology, and language learner agency in second language (L2) learning, teaching, and education. Over a seven-month span, I investigated two research questions targeting the ideological constraints and potential coping strategies in the key participant’s English learning. Nexus analysis is applied as the methodological framework. Following a three-step procedure, I first illustrate my positionality as a researcher and the rationale of the project. I then conduct critical discourse analysis delving into two featured social actions selected from the database generated through ethnographic observations, semi-structured interviews, and participant’s reflective journals. I conclude with a discussion of how SLA researchers and educational practitioners can better support marginalized immigrants’ L2 learning. Building on this case, I propose an allyship-centred approach in L2 teaching and researching and a model of collaborative working between researchers and educational practitioners to provoke more equitable nexuses of practice in immigrants’ L2 education.

Entertainment social media based on deep learning and interactive experience application in English e-learning teaching system

With the rapid development of the Internet, e-learning is becoming more and more popular as a convenient and flexible way of learning. This study aims to explore the application of entertainment social media based on deep learning and interactive experience in English e-learning teaching system to improve students’ learning effect and motivation. The interface design of e-learning system incorporates gamification elements, and deep learning algorithms are used to analyze students’ learning habits and progress. The system can provide personalized learning paths and recommended content for each student to ensure that learning resources match students’ needs and abilities. A variety of interactive learning activities are built into the system to encourage students to actively participate in and practice their English speaking and listening skills. With integrated social media capabilities, students can create profiles on the learning platform, join interest groups, communicate with peers and study collaboratively. Through the data analysis of experiments and questionnaires, we found that entertainment social media based on deep learning and interactive experience can effectively improve students’ learning interest and motivation in the English e-learning teaching system. Students showed higher engagement and motivation when using the system and achieved better learning outcomes.

Application of speech recognition algorithm based on interactive artificial intelligence system in English video teaching system

Social robots are intelligent programs that can autonomously run, automatically publish information, and interact on social media platforms. This article focuses on the speech recognition algorithm of interactive artificial intelligence systems, combined with the Hanning window function and the Vitit algorithm, and explores its application value in English video teaching systems through detailed experiments. Adopting speech feature extraction technology provides strong support for the subsequent recognition process. The application of Hanning window function has a positive impact on speech signal preprocessing. The most indispensable algorithm in speech recognition models is the Vitit algorithm, which successfully solves the problem of time variation and continuity of speech signals. This study successfully applied speech recognition algorithms based on interactive artificial intelligence systems to English video teaching systems. By combining speech feature extraction, Hanning window function, and Vitit algorithm, a system with strong recognition ability and interactivity was constructed. The English video teaching system aims to improve students’ learning process. By combining interactive artificial intelligence speech recognition technology with English video teaching, it can improve students’ experience in learning English and also meet their personalized learning habits.

Automated English Teaching System Through Deep Belief Network for Human-Computer Interaction Experience

This paper presented the integration of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with the Automated Teaching Belief Network (ATBN) to enhance automated English teaching experiences. The proposed ATBN model implemented the Deep Belief Network for the estimation of the factors related to the HCI to promote the experience of the users. The ATBN model uses the deep learning model for the classification in English Teaching. Through the capabilities of deep learning and HCI principles, the ATBN system offers personalized and adaptive learning experiences tailored to individual student needs. The proposed ATBN model estimates the features in English teaching to improve the performance of the Students through HCI model. Simulation analysis expressed that proposed ATBN model improves the pre-test and post-test score by +15 for the English Teaching. The classification values are achieved with accuracy value of 94.8% with minimal loss of 0.12. The assessment of student performance through pre-test and post-test score is improved by 15 for the beginner, intermediate and advanced level. The findings expressed that proposed ATBN model achieves the higher teaching test performance for the HCI language level through the belief network those significantly improves the user experience.

Reflections on translanguaging as a pedagogical framework in Japanese higher education

This study employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the attitudes of second language (L2) learners and L2 teachers toward the use of learners’ first language (L1) in L2 classrooms. Interview data were collected from Japanese college students (n = 91) and their English teachers (n = 9) to identify salient themes related to the reasons for supporting or opposing teachers’ use of L1. Additionally, data on the students’ English proficiency and experiences with English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication were collected to determine whether these factors influence their views. The results revealed that all the teacher participants support and/or actually use L1 out of necessity. In contrast, approximately 60% of the student participants expressed negative views regarding L2 teachers’ recourse to L1. Logistic regression analysis showed that these attitudes are influenced by both students’ past experiences with ELF communication and L2 proficiency. Although both groups recognized the benefits of L1 use, the students’ compelling arguments against L1 use in L2 classrooms underscore the need for further scholarly attention to the extent and function of L1 use as a pedagogical tool and resource.

Atheists and atheism before the Enlightenment. The English and Scottish experience. By Michael Hunter. Pp. viii + 223. Cambridge–New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023. £30. 978 1 00 926877 6

Atheists and atheism before the Enlightenment. The English and Scottish experience. By Michael Hunter. Pp. viii + 223. Cambridge–New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023. £30. 978 1 00 926877 6

NARRATIVE INQUIRY: AN ADVANCED USER’S STRATEGY TO SPEAK FLUENTLY IN ENGLISH

Speaking skills mastery is often perceived as a parameter of success in language learning. Following this situation, numerous studies and practices related to teaching speaking are continuously conducted in an attempt to best facilitate learners in developing their speaking skills. However, it catches our attention when one of our students can outperform others in speaking. This situation yields a question, “What makes him so different from the other students?”. As an attempt to elicit information about his English learning experience and strategy, especially in developing his English-speaking skills, we decided to conduct a Narrative Inquiry Research. Our research, therefore, addresses the following questions: (i) How is the advanced user’s perception of language learning? and (ii) How did the advanced user build the strategy to speak English fluently? The result of interview revealed that extramural English and some affective factors contribute to his English fluency. Investigating this phenomenon gives us insightful information, especially for language learners who want to be successful in language learning. The finding of this study is also expected to help teachers in their instructional design and practice.

Evaluating the AI dialogue System's intercultural, humorous, and empathetic dimensions in English language learning: A case study

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has been notable in supporting English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners, particularly in offering interactive assessments. AI-driven dialogue systems that produce culturally relevant humor and empathy, bridging the native language (L1) and the target language (L2), have been employed to engage EAL learners more effectively and boost their learning results. However, there's a noticeable gap in research concerning the fusion of humor, empathy, and intercultural dimensions in language learning. Intercultural dimensions encompass acquiring crucial knowledge, communication skills, and the values essential for meaningful interactions across cultures. This case study examines the effectiveness of an AI dialogue system, termed the Multidimensional Approach Culture, Humor, and Empathy Bot (MACHE-Bot), in elevating the English language learning experience and its potential to enhance EAL proficiency. Using convenience sampling, 37 individuals were selected from an English language learning group on Facebook. Following a two-week pilot study, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results revealed that MACHE-Bot adeptly initiated and reciprocated with humor, empathy, and cultural nuances in a manner well-received by participants. Additionally, the study identified five pivotal factors in EAL learning with MACHE-Bot: (1) intercultural dimensions, which include culturally humorous interaction and culturally empathetic support; (2) user trust comprising both affective and cognitive elements; (3) anthropomorphism; (4) reciprocal self-disclosure; and (5) higher engagement and motivation. These five factors collectively contribute to creating an engaging, relatable, and supportive learning environment, facilitating a more natural learning process, and fostering a deeper learner-bot connection, thereby potentially enhancing motivation and investment in the learning process.

Research on Improving the English Listening and Speaking Ability Development of College Students Wearing Masks During the Pandemic

This study investigated the impact of wearing masks on students’ English listening and speaking performance in a classroom setting. The study was conducted with 30 first-year students of a practical English course at a southern Taiwan science and technology college. The class was designed using social-cognitive tools and profession-related podcasts to reduce interference from wearing masks. The study tested the impact of wearing a medical mask and a transparent mouth mask on students’ motivation, anxiety, and clarity of message communication. Students believed wearing a medical mask and a transparent mouth mask had a stronger motivation to learn, but their classroom anxiety was insignificant. The course used selective podcasts and online voice recording exercises to make students respond more positively. Students were more capable of changing the negative external factors of mask-wearing for their precision English communication. However, students generally did not agree that the use of transparent mouth masks affects the clarity of English communication. Based on this study, the practical English course design and teaching experiences for students’ learning needs in mask-wearing circumstances of English teaching environment can further benefit future research

The cognitive-emotional dialectics in second language development: speech and co-speech gestures of Chinese learners of English

Abstract This study examines the cognitive-emotional dialectics of Chinese learners of English in terms of both speech and co-speech gestures in their second language development within the lens of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. This qualitative study focuses on Chinese learners of English in different learning contexts and analyzes data from interviews and emotional narrative tasks in the English learning experience. Overall findings showed that learners’ emotion and cognition interacted in different learning contexts, and speech and co-speech gestures worked to influence the cognition-emotion dialectics in participant’s perezhivanie. This study implies the inextricable unity of emotion and cognition in second language development, and emphasizes the role of speech and co-speech gestures in shaping second language learners’ perezhivaniya.

How emotion is experienced and expressed in multiple cultures: a large-scale experiment across North America, Europe, and Japan.

Core to understanding emotion are subjective experiences and their expression in facial behavior. Past studies have largely focused on six emotions and prototypical facial poses, reflecting limitations in scale and narrow assumptions about the variety of emotions and their patterns of expression. We examine 45,231 facial reactions to 2,185 evocative videos, largely in North America, Europe, and Japan, collecting participants' self-reported experiences in English or Japanese and manual and automated annotations of facial movement. Guided by Semantic Space Theory, we uncover 21 dimensions of emotion in the self-reported experiences of participants in Japan, the United States, and Western Europe, and considerable cross-cultural similarities in experience. Facial expressions predict at least 12 dimensions of experience, despite massive individual differences in experience. We find considerable cross-cultural convergence in the facial actions involved in the expression of emotion, and culture-specific display tendencies-many facial movements differ in intensity in Japan compared to the U.S./Canada and Europe but represent similar experiences. These results quantitatively detail that people in dramatically different cultures experience and express emotion in a high-dimensional, categorical, and similar but complex fashion.

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the L2 Savoring Beliefs Inventory

The rise of positive psychology (PP) in applied linguistics has led to a focus on the role of positive emotional functioning in second language (L2) learning and teaching. This field has identified key constructs from PP to understand how to replace negative emotions with positive ones in L2 learning. Despite these advancements, there is a need for a specific framework and scale to foster and measure positive emotions in this context. The concept of savoring, which involves recognizing and embracing positive emotions, addresses this need. The paper investigates the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Language-Specific Savoring Beliefs Inventory (L2SBI) through exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). The results revealed that the bifactor ESEM solution is the most suitable model for assessing L2SBI. In other words, the L2SBI can be better represented by a comprehensive general component of L2 savoring beliefs, distinct from the three specific factors of anticipating progress in learning English, savoring the moment while learning English, and reminiscing about experiences in learning English. The study confirms the consistency of the L2SBI across genders and language levels, offering insights into varying belief patterns among learners and explaining differences in positive learning outcomes.

Investigating Autonomous English Language Learning of Thai Students

Autonomous learning, which emphasizes learners taking charge of their knowledge acquisition, plays a vital role in effective English language acquisition. However, attempts to foster autonomous learning in the Thai context face many challenges. Therefore, this mixed-method study explores how autonomous learning thrives in the context to inform future attempts to foster autonomous learning. The study employed exploratory sequential mixed methods which consists of two phases to collect the data. The data collection began with the qualitative phase which involved interviewing fifteen first-year undergraduate students who have high English language proficiency. The focus was on their English language learning experiences concentrating on the four main constructs suggested by literature to reflect autonomous learning namely: learner beliefs, learning behaviors, metacognitive knowledge, and factors influencing English language learning. Themes and sub-themes emerged from the interview were used subsequently to develop a questionnaire with 396 undergraduate respondents. In the quantitative phase, the questionnaire results confirmed that the findings in the qualitative phase were prevalent in the larger sample. Moreover, the discussion presents several causal relationships between the factors influencing English learning and the other three constructs, suggesting that the manipulation of the factors may help in fostering autonomous learning in the Thai context.

Exploring EAP English text readability and reader ability of Chinese university students through Lexile measures and metaphorical conceptualizations

This study aimed to ascertain and then close gaps between the readability demanded by degree-level textbooks in English and the reading abilities of Chinese students in a foundation programme of an English-medium university in China. A quasi-experimental research design shows Lexile-based reading interventions conducted both outside and inside class over one year within an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class which might close the reading gap. Participants' English reading experiences were explored through Metaphor Analysis of their constructed metaphors regarding reading, academic reading and EAP reading strategies. The quantitative results show a significant reading ability growth in the experimental group after engaging in Lexile-based reading activities. This suggests that the Lexile-based reading intervention tends to raise students' reading ability towards a desired standard. Students completing inside-class reading journals made greater reading improvements than those joining outside-class reading tutorials. The metaphor analysis showed conceptualisations within five broad functions of reading evident in the participants’ metaphors: cognitive, affective, socio-cultural, moral-spiritual, and aesthetic. The cognitive and emotional aspects emerge saliently in both positive and negative student comments in metaphors on reading. Pedagogic implications and applications are suggested.

Transformasi Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris: Menggunakan Solid Model Sebagai Media Pembelajaran di MI Fathul Jannah

This study investigated the success of a solid model teaching medium with the theme “My Farm” to enhance the English learning experience among second grade students at MIS Fathul Jannah. This medium addresses the challenge of unevenly distributed educational resources. Thirteen grade 2 students participated in this community service activity. The implementation of the activity involved three stages: preparation (survey, observation, media and material adjustment), implementation (introduction, core activities, ice breaking, and reflection), and evaluation. The results showed that the solid model media fostered active participation, created a fun learning environment, and had a positive impact on the classroom atmosphere. Future research should consider expanding the content coverage and deepening the analysis to obtain more robust data as well as innovative findings.