English Language Learning Program Research Articles

Analysis of English Learning Needs for Travel Bureau Students in Bali, Indonesia

The tourism industry in Indonesia, especially Bali, has developed rapidly in recent years. This drives the need for skilled workers in the tourism sector, including good English language skills. This research aims to analyze the English language learning needs of students majoring in Travel Bureaus in Bali, Indonesia. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Data was collected through a survey of 100 students majoring in Travel Bureau and in-depth interviews with 10 lecturers and 5 tourism industry practitioners. The research results show that students majoring in Travel Bureau have a high need to improve their English language skills, especially in the aspects of speaking, listening, and reading. This need is driven by the demands of work in the tourism industry, where English is widely used to communicate with foreign tourists. This research provides an overview of the English language learning needs for students majoring in Travel Bureaus in Bali, Indonesia. The findings of this research can be used to develop English language learning programs that are more effective and relevant to the needs of the tourism industry.

Implementation of TikTok as Medium for Learning of English Vocabulary: The Perspective of Department English Education Students

This research aims to examine students' perspectives on implementing the TikTok application as a medium for learning English in the modern era. Especially with the latest technological advances, in the post-pandemic COVID-19 social media can be used as a learning media such as YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok applications. TikTok can help students improve their English language proficiency, as well as what problems and difficulties arise when using the application as a vocabulary teaching tool and what difficulties students may encounter when using TikTok to learn new vocabulary. This research uses a qualitative design with a survey method where students fill out an online questionnaire using Google Forms and interviews. Questionnaires were given to students, and then students were interviewed. The participants were 30 students who took part in the English language learning program. The research results show that the students had a positive response to the use of TikTok in learning English vocabulary. TikTok ease of use and various functions, the TikTok application can be applied to learning activities to increase English vocabulary. This interactive learning media can provide much educational content about English vocabulary and make the learning process more efficient and effective for students. The implementation of This research makes it possible for educators. Content creator educators can easily create a learning process that attracts students' attention. It has been known that the TikTok application is efficient in increasing English vocabulary for students. Through the TikTok application, students can gain more vocabulary and continue to have fun learning by presenting information through interesting content, audio and visuals. Teachers can also process and develop various sources of interactive, interesting and unique TikTok content. So that it makes students interested in learning English and considers TikTok to be an effective medium for learning.

Innovating English language learning programs for Thai EFL grade 6 students: A closer look at program description and learning outcome

Innovating English language learning programs for Thai EFL grade 6 students: A closer look at program description and learning outcome

An Evaluation on the Design and Content of a General English Textbook from the Students and Teachers’ Perspectives

It cannot be denied that textbooks have a crucial role in ensuring the success of English language teaching and learning programs. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct evaluations to maintain the quality of the textbooks. This research aimed to find out the results of the evaluation on the design and content of the Intermediate level textbook for a General English course at a university in Purwokerto from both the students and teachers’ perspectives. This is a quantitative research with a survey procedure. Questionnaires were employed to obtain the data, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics method. The results show that the students were generally satisfied with the design and the content aspects of the textbook. On the contrary, the teachers expressed some dissatisfactions on some of those aspects. From the teachers’ perspective, the textbook needed some improvements in order to be categorized as a good textbook.

The Role of Pragmatic Competence in the Language Proficiency of Saudi EFL Learners

English language learning programs are always evolving to suit the needs of the changing demands of the learners. In Saudi Arabia, English programs are solely focused on achieving language proficiency through teaching learners’ vocabulary and grammar only, excluding other important language constructs such as pragmatics. This research investigates the relationship between pragmatic proficiency and language proficiency by administering an MDCT (multiple-choice discourse completion task) survey test on 80 Saudi health track students who are enrolled in King Abdul-Aziz English language institution. The test questions were adopted from Çetınavci and Öztürk’s original MDCT instrument, designed to focus on testing knowledge of implied meaning “implicatures”. The results were analyzed using SPSS to measure the correlation between pragmatic proficiency and language proficiency and observe the most difficult implicature the students found. The findings indicate that there is no linear relationship between the students’ English proficiency and their pragmatic proficiency.

Perceptions and attidutes of students towards online learning English in Kazakhstan

English language instruction is no exception to the recent surge in the popularity of online learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate how students perceive online English learning. 34 students who were presently enrolled in an online English language learning program from various educational institutions made up the sample for the survey, which was conducted. The poll used a 5-Point Likert scale to assess attitudes and was designed to find out how students felt about many facets of online English learning, such as its efficiency, practicality, engagement, and difficulties. The survey was sent to the students and an analysis of the data collected was gathered graphically to clearly represent their responses and opinions. According to the study's findings, almost 50% of the students had favorable opinions of online English learning, while the remaining students either had indifferent or negative opinions. The choice of study at the end of the study depended on the circumstances of each individual student and the requirements of the English course.

"We will need to build up the atmosphere of trust again": Service providers' perceptions of experiences of COVID-19 amongst resettled refugee adolescents.

Adolescent resettled refugees across the United States have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, through socio-economic stressors in households, disproportionate morbidity and mortality in immigrant communities, and social isolation and loss of learning due to school closures and the shift to online learning. The Study of Adolescent Lives after Migration to America [SALaMA] investigates the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents who come from-or who have parents who came from-the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region and settled in the U.S. There is a gap in understanding of the experiences during the pandemic of MENA-background adolescents in the U.S. The objective of this study was to describe the perspective of educators and other school-affiliated service providers on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and wellbeing of adolescent resettled refugees and access to and quality of education and support services for adolescent resettled refugees. The researchers collected data using in-depth interviews with key informants in Chicago, Illinois; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Detroit Metropolitan Area [DMA], Michigan, Key informants were school administrators, managers of English language learning services and programs, teachers, therapists, staff of non-governmental organizations and/ or community-based organizations, and case workers. Data analysis was conducted utilizing directed content analysis to develop an initial codebook and identify key themes in the data. Findings revealed a number of pathways through which the pandemic impacted adolescent refugees and immigrants' mental health and wellbeing, with online programming impacting students' engagement, motivation and social isolation in terms of peer and provider relationships. Specific dynamics in refugee adolescents' households increased stressors and reduced engagement through online learning, and access to space and resources needed to support learning during school closures were limited. Service providers emphasized multiple and overlapping impacts on service quality and access, resulting in reduced social supports and mental health prevention and response approaches. Due to the long-term impacts of school closures in the first two years of the pandemic, and ongoing disruption, these data both provide a snapshot of the impacts of the pandemic at a specific moment, as well as insights into ways forward in terms of adapting services and engaging students within restrictions and limitations due to the pandemic. These findings emphasize the need for educators and mental health service providers to rebuild and strengthen relationships with students and families. These findings indicate the need to consider, support and expand social support and mental health services, specifically for refugee adolescent students, in the context of learning and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implicit Impact of English Language Pedagogical Enhancement Policies in Higher Education Under the Indian NEP 2020: Challenges, Curriculum, Approaches, Opportunities, and Implementations

A country’s societal and economic growth needs well-planned, dedicated, open, and technological advancements in education systems and learning policies (Archer, 2013). Since ancient times, India has dominated education, and university education is widespread there. Before and after independence, India’s education system had many improvements. The current research critically explores the influences of English teaching and learning pedagogies and enhancement strategies in higher education under the Indian National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The research employed a descriptive-quantitative approach that collected quantifiable information for statistical analysis of the population sample. Moreover, the study uncovers challenges, curriculum, approaches, opportunities, and implementations under the NEP 2020. The study used a questionnaire to randomly collect data from 200 students to investigate the implicit impact of executing English language teaching and learning programs. The impact was evaluated across four categories: high, medium, neutral, and low, and the analysis of the data showed the high impact of implementing the NEP in India. This study is a preliminary analysis of a policy document that will be used as a starting point for future studies using empirical methods to examine the effects of the NEP once it is fully implemented. Focusing on changes in higher education, the paper has elucidated the holistic, transformative understanding of NEP and highlighted the significance of technology interventions for innovative teaching and learning. This article can be considered as a reference to the policy implementation of English language pedagogical enhancement policies in higher education by the NEP 2020 teams of the Government of India.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KEPUTUSAN SISWA DALAM MENGIKUTI PROGRAM KURSUS BAHASA INGGRIS

Education is a conscious effort to prepare students through guidance or training activities for their roles in the future. Every educational institution knows that the learning process in schools will never be static, but always dynamic. Informal education business is a profitable business because it has a long period of time. Therefore, many businesses related to education have emerged, one of which is English courses, this is because English is a universal language. The high interest in taking English courses on the market makes competition between English language course institutions increasingly tight. Currently, we can find many English language educational institutions in various big cities in Indonesia. This research was conducted as part of an English course at the Victory Medan Education Center. This research aims to analyze the factors that influence purchasing decisions for English language learning programs at the Victory Medan Education Center.The data used is primary data taken from 40 Victory Center Medan students. Data processing in this research uses multivariate linear regression analysis. The research results show that partial changes in brand image, location and service quality have a significant influence on selection decisions. At the same time, it is proven that the variables of brand image, location and service quality have a significant influence on selection decisions.

Pelatihan Berbicara Bahasa Inggris bagi Santri di Pakisaji, Kab. Malang

The ability to speak English has become a popular issue in the management of foundation to be learned that Islamic boarding school students need English speaking training activities to improve their communication skills in foreign languages. Based on observations, the students have different basic abilities so it was decided to provide basic language training. This training was attended by 19 students consisting of 8 male students and 11 female students and carried out five stages including field assessment, preparation, program planning, implementation, and evaluation. This training uses an educational and mentoring approach. It was found that 63.15% of the students experienced an increase in their English-speaking skills and 36.84% less. This is due to two inhibiting factors, namely time and discipline. So, it is recommended that the next training activities be carried out regularly and participants are committed to learning and the board of Islamic boarding schools or foundations are more involved in the English language learning program.

Using TED Talks In English Language Teaching (ELT): Supplemental Resources for English Language Teaching (ELT)

The objective of this research is to discuss using TED Talks in English Language Teaching (ELT). This research uses the descriptive qualitative method. Based on the findings, it shows that TED Talks can help students learn a variety of skills on English skills such as speaking, listening, and writing skills. In speaking, TED Talks allow the students in listening to a good example of talks/lecturers and to analyze how they are structured and presented. The students can be given the opportunity outside of class to watch selected TED Talks, so these talks are can be analyzed in class and the students are familiar with the language and content. In listening, TED talks are delivered by native English speakers from all over the world which allows the students to see some TED chats about a subject that concerns them, by merely listening to a native English speaker. They can help develop their understanding, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills. In writing, available TED Talks’ transcripts allow the students to read along with the spoken word. This can develop their skills in grammar and vocabulary to hear what is being said quickly. It is important to point out that there are lots of websites or digital channels where the students and teacher can find TED Talks English video which provides speeches or presentations from world inspirational figures from various fields with various interesting topics. These video-based language learning make the students understand the influential TED Talks concepts and explore them more. Teaching English with TED Talks supports every English language program with easy-to-use classroom tools. TED talks are also great resources for teachers like approach to teaching ESL. English Language Teaching by using TED Talks is one of the authentic supplemental resources for English teachers to manage in English language learning programs.

Photovoice: Young children online English language learning, parents’ voices and its implication to educational policy and provision

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to the education sector. The shift from classroom-based conventional learning to virtual mode means that the study from home policy appears to place responsibilities of students learning on parents. By focusing on primary level education, we explored parents’ voices and aspirations in assisting their children in taking online English language classes. As most of the parents have been overwhelmed, we offer some insights regarding how to mitigate the problems. Using photovoice, fifteen parents whose children were learning English language in primary schools were invited to take the photographs from the online English language learning (OELL) program and discussed the photographs. We used Photovoice in the project to capture parents’ concerns over the program and their relationship with the pandemic. Thematic analysis was used as a tool to generate important themes from the photovoice data. While appreciating the program, our respondents highlighted the obstacles and concerns over the online English learning through their photographs. In this article, we demonstrated, that photovoice not only offered a space to explore parents’ experiences in engaging in their children’s OELL program, but also served as a space for parents’ aspirations in disrupting and influencing educational programs and reforms.

Language Learning Strategies Used by ESL Undergraduate Students

English is considered a second language (ESL) in Malaysia and is one of the prerequisite subjects at private universities. Students are able to identify the strategies yet still some struggle in learning the language. In order to master a language, students must be able to develop their own language learning techniques. The goal of this research is to find out more about the language learning strategies (LLS) used by students of a private university in Selangor. It involved 200 freshmen from five different faculties at a university. This quantitative survey used a questionnaire adapted from Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1990) as the instrument. Descriptive statistics were administered to investigate the usage of LLS among the respondents. The findings showed that respondents tend to use their preferred LLS in improving their language skills. It is hoped that language educators would use the findings to focus their attention on facilitating English language learning programs that are appropriate for students’ LLS, thus assisting them in developing their English language skills.

CRITICAL REVIEW OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IMPLEMENTED IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRAMS IN SINDH

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to explore the merits and demerits of a formative assessment technique used in an English language learning program in Sindh. The teachers teaching the English language to the students of rural Sindh in an English language program implemented a formative assessment technique and in the end, shared their views about the effectiveness of the program. Methodology: The research is based on a qualitative method. Formative assessment was conducted in a language teaching program in rural Sindh. At the end of the program, 6 male and 12 female teachers, who were selected on purposive sampling method, participated in a focused group interview to share their views about the merits and demerits of the formative assessment technique. The data was analyzed using content and thematic analysis. Main Findings: The merits of the formative assessment technique used were reported as helpful in identifying the learning gaps, providing constructive feedback, identifying the students’ strengths, empowering the teachers, and creating a stress-free assessment. Similarly, the demerits were reported as being time-consuming, unconventional assessment strategies, and creating a lack of professional development to adopting a new strategy. Applications of this study: Many language teachers regularly implement formative assessment in their language classrooms and are always in search of some good material to make their formative assessment more fruitful and result-oriented. This study will be useful for such teachers. They can benefit from the findings of the study and improvise their method of formative assessment. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study is one of its kinds using the teachers’ perspectives to explore the effectiveness of drawbacks of formative assessment technique. People who have recently joined the teaching fraternity must be inquisitive about various techniques of assessment. This study is going to assist them in not only deciding whether they want to implement formative assessment in class, but it will also prepare them in advance to encounter the limitations of formative assessment and take necessary measures to address these limitations.

“Marrying the Monster”: World Bank Loans and English Language Projects in Sri Lankan Universities

A large portion of the World Bank’s loans for universities in Sri Lanka is provided for English language learning programs. The justification has been the necessity of English language proficiency for creating an employable graduate, and in so doing, to advance the economic prospects of the country. This is in line with the World Bank’s global education policy agenda. Even though the Bank has provided Sri Lanka loans for the development of higher education for two decades, there is little independent research on their impact. There is also a gap in our knowledge of its policy on language education. This article aims to contribute to these areas, drawing on a qualitative study of the English language component in World Bank funded projects in Sri Lankan universities from 2003-2016. It uses data from semi-structured interviews with academics who were involved in the projects and selected documents from the bank’s projects. Three principal themes are discussed: a) the coercive conditionalities that accompany these loan projects, b) participants’ queries on whether the real needs of the student population were met, and c) changes to academic practices. The article ends with recommendations and a call for further research.

The Current State and Perceptions of a Cross-cultural Distance Learning Program for English in Korea

This article critically examines the current state of a cross-cultural distance learning program (CCDLP) for English learning in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, which has been running since 1998 among four universities in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The initial purpose of the program was to provide a networked English language learning program to overcome the limitations of Asian EFL contexts where authentic interaction in English is minimal and to enhance intercultural competence. With physical exposure to international students on campuses increasing and further developments in communication and educational technology, the CCDLP has needed to evolve. In this article, how courses offered in the program have changed is analyzed. Data from a survey given to participants in two courses in the program were examined to determine participants’ perceptions towards their contributions and satisfaction with the courses in the program. Results show that courses need to be more customized to maximize interaction through online collaborative learning and that the technology part of such a program no longer needs to be emphasized in the wake of widespread remote learning. Lastly, implications for distance learning programs in general are discussed.

Impacts of an Information and Communication Technology-Assisted Program on Attitudes and English Communication Abilities: An Experiment in a Japanese High School

We conducted a randomized experiment targeting 322 Japanese high school students to examine the impacts of a newly developed English-language learning program. The treated students were offered an opportunity to communicate for 25 minutes with English-speaking Filipino teachers via Skype several times a week over a 5-month period as an extracurricular activity. The results show that the Skype program increased the interest of the treated students in an international vocation and in foreign affairs. However, the students did not improve their English communication abilities, as measured by standardized tests, probably because of the program's low utilization rate. Further investigation showed that the utilization rate was particularly low among students demonstrating a tendency to procrastinate. These results suggest the importance of maintaining students’ motivation to keep using such information and communication technology-assisted learning programs if they are not already incorporated into the existing curriculum. Having procrastinators self-regulate may be especially crucial.

Language teaching and settlement for newcomers in the digital age: A blended learning research project

Blended Learning (BL) in English language learning programs in Canada is defined as the combination of f2f learning with instructor-facilitated use by students of online activities and resources that complement the in-class teaching (Kennell & Moriarty, 2014). Blended Learning is increasingly in demand by students, teachers, and programs (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008), particularly in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, the English language and settlement program provided by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in Canada (Kennell & Moriarty, 2014). This article explains the findings of a demonstration research project regarding the effects of blended learning in LINC for students, instructors, and the program. The blended approach shows promise for enhancing English language learning and access to LINC classes for newcomers to Canada via technologies important in our digital age. The research findings here regarding the effects of BL in LINC are important in light of the need to enhance accessibility to English language learning for newcomers to Canada and the paucity of research related to BL for English language learning and settlement needs (Kennell & Moriarty, 2014; Lawrence, 2014).

NEED ANALYSIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING (ELL) CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENTS

Lately, the arguable consensus of curriculum has many of cavities, the experts, academicians, and stake-holders, take position, in purpose of settling the curriculum problems. The globalizing aspects of life must have had the curriculum makers do the revisions as well as developments toward the present curriculum. Developing curriculum should be setting out needs of students hence it must be related to the contexts. So, competitiveness as the keystone to develop the students’ needs. The development of the language learning curriculum should be paid attention in terms of constructed curriculum design having based on the theoretically-constituted frameworks. In the context of curriculum development, the basic assumption which should be considered in the educational programs, that is, the analysis of students’ needs. Need analysis as part of system approach to curriculum developments in the scope of educational programs. This procedure let most of linguists to employ needs analysis as the basis to language learning curriculum. The usage of such procedure is underlain upon the learners’ needs toward competitive world. In addition, the development and implementation of English Language Learning programs must be approached to the three aspects of English learning programs. These have different implications to the curriculum development, that is, each of them differs in relation to the input, process, and output. Thus, the general part of English language program curriculum design can be divided to forward design; concerning to the syllabus design, center design; the methodology of learning , and backward design; the assessment is based on the learners’ outcomes. In turn, the three designs of language learning program must be in accordance with philosophical purposes of curriculum.

MAHASANTRI SATISFACTION TOWARDS THE UNIVERSITY BOARDING SCHOOL: A SERVICE QUALITY APPROACH IN ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION

Mahasantri (an Islamic university students) is an agent for Islamic Higher Education Institution to face the Moderate Islam Malay Era. In Indonesia, for example, there is a university boarding school program for Mahasantri to improve their personality and competence. This study is trying to find out whether the program has been aligned with their satisfaction. One of service they received in the boarding is English Language Learning program. They are going to be interviewed about their satisfaction toward the program. Then, the interview result will be analyzed to generate the satisfaction indicator referring to five dimensions of Service Quality (SQ) by Parasuraman and Berry (1991).