English Language Teaching Program Research Articles

Dissecting subjective L2 (un)willingness to communicate among EFL learners: a Q methodology study

ABSTRACT This study used Q methodology to explore the subjective perspectives of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners regarding sources of willingness to communicate (WTC). A sample of 40 undergraduate students enrolled in an English language teaching program at a Turkish university was obtained. Based on their shared viewpoints, the participants were clustered into three groups: self-assured communicators, motivated communicators, and nervous communicators. Self-assured communicators exhibited high levels of self-confidence, while motivated communicators displayed strong and unwavering motivation to improve their speaking skills. Nervous communicators, on the other hand, showed noticeable signs of anxiety, impeding their WTC. This study provides evidence that an amalgamation of internal and external factors works in synergy to shape EFL learners’ WTC in the classroom. Recognising this interplay can lead to the development of targeted interventions and instructional approaches, improving L2 learners’ communicative behaviours. Understanding and addressing learners’ subjective experiences, particularly in relation to self-confidence, motivation, and anxiety, are key elements in enhancing their WTC and overall language proficiency.

Exploring Factors Influencing Students' Challenges in Academic Writing: A Qualitative Analysis Based on Student Perspectives

Writing proficiency poses significant challenges for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Foreign Language (EFL), particularly at the tertiary level where academic essay writing is a requirement. This study delves into the factors contributing to students' difficulties in an Academic Writing course, as perceived by the students themselves. Employing qualitative methods, including open-ended questionnaires and interviews, data were collected from 25 students enrolled in an Academic Writing class for repeaters in the English Language Education Program at a university in Hanoi. Thematic analysis of the responses revealed two main categories of factors influencing students' writing challenges: internal and external. Internal factors encompassed issues such as self-motivation, self-confidence, lack of knowledge, and feelings of pressure, while external factors included the teaching style of instructors, classroom environment, instructional materials, and various aspects of the writing process. The findings of this research aim to assist educators in developing effective teaching strategies for Academic Writing courses, with the goal of alleviating students' difficulties and enhancing their writing proficiency.

Idiosyncratic Expression: Analysis of the Junior Students’ Paragraph Writing Test

The study analyzes the errors in the idiosyncratic expressions of 2nd-semester undergraduates in the English Language Education Program at Tanjungpura University. The objectives of the study are to describe the types of errors encountered in the students’ idiosyncratic expressions. The method of research is descriptive. The research participants were the 2nd-semester undergraduate students of the English Language Education Program of Tanjungpura University. The data were collected from corpora written by the students. Idiosyncrasy occurred in the students’ text. 187 constructions, out of 244, were deemed idiosyncratic. the types of errors found in the students’ idiosyncratic expressions were verb form errors (24,60%), subject and verb agreement errors (19,25%), plurality errors (9,63%), pronoun errors (9,09%), preposition errors (9,63%), verb tense errors (8,56%), word form errors (8,56%), article errors (5,88%) and word order errors (4,81%).

A Programme Evaluation Study: The Case of English Language Teaching Programme

This case study aims to contribute to the relevant literature as it is one of the first studies to evaluate the English language teaching programme launched by the Council of Higher Education in Türkiye in 2018 from the perspective of graduate students. The data were gathered through two questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The data analysis revealed the merits and aspects of the programme that need improvement and revision. The graduates reported their high and low competence in various areas. The ELT methodology component was deemed effective, whereas general culture courses were not found to be that effective. In other words, they stated that general culture courses made the least contribution to their teacher competencies, while ELT methodology courses made the biggest impact. The graduates suggested the following to improve the programme: more opportunities for teaching practice should be offered; the medium of instruction for general education and general culture courses should be English; there should be courses which can cultivate their emotional intelligence; and there should be more focus on inclusive and special education. The findings bear implications for the teacher educators who are in the process of revising the teacher education programme by the authority delegation decision made by CoHE in 2020.

The development and validation of the teacher professional identity scale in a Chinese university context.

Professional identity has become a central topic in teacher education research and a crucial factor in shaping teachers' self-perception and perspectives on various aspects of their profession, including teacher roles, scholarly research, curriculum design, classroom instruction, instructional methods, and strategies, as well as their interactions within the educational context. Despite the considerable scholarly interest in teacher identity development, relatively few studies have considered how to measure teacher professional identity. This study developed and validated a new measurement of professional identity among Chinese pre-service teachers from an English language education program. A total of 560 pre-service teachers majoring in English language education were invited to participate in a survey and 542 questionnaires were deemed valid and subjected to analysis. Through this analysis, a scale with 17 items was developed, focusing on three different dimensions: professional self-efficacy, career commitment, and professional knowledge. After excluding items with a relatively poor correlation with factor loading, the final scale consisted of 13 items. The results showed that the developed scale has relatively good reliability (α = 0.939) and structural validity (χ2/df = 2.46, p < .001, CFI = 0.978, TLI = 0.971, SRMR = 0.033, RMSEA (90% CI) = 0.071 0.054, 0.089). This study may provide a quantitative instrument for future research to measure professional identity among pre-service teachers, both in Chinese and other contexts.

Exploring the Impact of Language Models on Undergraduate Thesis Writing Skills among Higher Education Students

This article explores the impact of language models on undergraduate thesis writing skills among higher education students. With advancements in technology, language models have become integral to the digital writing landscape. This study examined the influence of language models on students' confidence and motivation in academic writing. The research employs a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with five students from an English Language Education program who utilized AI tools in their thesis writing process. Despite acknowledging the advantages, participants underscored challenges encompassing overreliance, inaccuracies, and disruptions in the natural flow of their writing. The impact of these tools on participants' confidence and motivation in academic writing manifested diversely, introducing varying degrees of perceived artificiality in writing proficiency. There were already numerous researches regarding the pretinence of language models usage on students’ writing aptitude.  However, there remains a gap in understanding their specific influence on undergraduate thesis writing. Thematic analysis of the interview data reveals insights into the influence of language models, on the writing proficiency of higher education students engaged in the process of crafting undergraduate theses. Employing a methodology encompassing interviews, participants reported noteworthy enhancements in the coherence, clarity, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of their theses facilitated by the utilization of these language tools. Overall, the incorporation of language models in the writing process emerged as a catalyst for heightened efficiency, skills development, and enhanced clarity in undergraduate theses, affirming the constructive role of AI technology in educational settings. Individualized experiences with language models exhibited variance contingent upon personal preferences and attitudes towards the writing process.

Empowering mentor teachers for supervision through an online mentor training program

AbstractThe study focused on the improvement of supervisory skills among mentor teachers in K‐12 who work with student teachers in an English language teaching program of an English‐medium state university in Istanbul, Turkey. The researchers explored how the mentor teachers' supervisory skills, namely observation and giving feedback, were improved after participating in an online mentor training program. The training program was designed based on Morrison et al.'s (2013) instructional design model and implemented for seven mentors during the practicum period. The program included mentoring tasks that asked mentor teachers to organize reciprocal observation sessions with the student teachers, followed by mutual feedback discussions. The researchers investigated the influence of the tasks through thematic analysis of the mentor teachers' reflection reports. The data showed that the tasks improved mentor teachers' understanding and practice of the supervision process and increased their awareness of their own teaching practices by promoting personal and professional growth. The results suggest that an online mentor training program may have the potential to empower mentor teachers both for their supervisory roles and ongoing professional development.

The Role of Video-Based Shadowing Practices in L2 Oral Proficiency Development

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of shadowing practices on oral proficiency and pronunciation, specifically in terms of comprehensibility, pronunciation, intonation, and speech rate in second language learners. To this end, intact freshmen classes in an English language teaching program were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group carried out 11 shadowing tasks bi-weekly in two academic terms and submitted their shadowing recordings to the learning management system to receive feedback from their instructor. After the intervention, oral rating forms, an activity evaluation survey, and a semi-structured interview were used to investigate the outcomes. The oral assessment forms including pre- and post-treatment oral recordings of the participants were rated online through a 7-point Likert scale by native speakers of English. The ratings of the experimental and control groups were compared through ANOVAs. The descriptive statistics revealed that the experimental group demonstrated a relatively higher but small increase in the oral rating components (comprehensibility, intonation, speech rate) except for the pronunciation of individual sounds. However, the pre- and post-test differences of both groups were not found to be statistically significant in the ANOVA analysis. The 5-point Likert scale activity evaluation questionnaire and the content analysis of the interviews showed that the experimental group participants thought shadowing improves pronunciation and overall, participants had positive attitudes towards the shadowing practice.

The Influence of the Reading Medium on Learning Efficacy

This paper outlines the differences between electronic and printed reading comprehension for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. It explores which sources EFL students prefer and the reasons behind that; whether the reading mode influences the comprehension of the material being read; and which reading strategies are applied to each reading mode. We hypothesize that comprehension is easier and more successful when reading from printed sources. The method includes an experiment with students from the English Language Teaching (ELT) Program at the South East European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia. It aims to analyze and compare text comprehension and strategies used during digital reading (e-reading) and printed reading (p-reading). Findings clearly showed a preference for p-reading and more successful comprehension with this mode. No difference was found in the reading strategies application between e-reading and p-reading. The main conclusion is that there are no differences in the cognitive process underlying reading and understanding of electronic and print media, but comprehension and hence learning is more successful with printed sources. Eye fatigue and brain strain are the greatest disadvantages of electronic reading. Current and future English teachers, educational workers and policy makers should consider these conclusions when creating curricula for all educational levels and all ages.

The “pedagogy of personality”: becoming better people in the English language teaching and learning space

Abstract This paper interrogates how English language teaching and learning spaces become a locus for a “pedagogy of personality”: spaces where ideal forms of personhood can be transmitted, taught and learned. We draw on ethnographic accounts of moments produced in a municipal English language teaching programme in Rionegro, Colombia, and in the English language class of an elite international school near Barcelona, in Catalonia. We explore discourses mobilised by teachers, students, and school administrators that glorify personality traits that should enable students to become “good community members”, “good citizens” and to reflect on the ways in which language learning spaces are imagined to have an effect on learners’ personalities. We claim that it is not necessarily the English competence acquired in these spaces, or the act of speaking English itself, which is imagined as automatically triggering the enactment of ‘better’ forms of personality. Rather, we believe that our ethnographic data point to the fact that language curricula provide the space to construct, spread and normalise moral values which are associated to idealised forms of subjectivity, and desired forms of being. The discourses circulated through landscapes and classroom interactions show how the mere act of being in an English language learning space is expected to raise students’ awareness of the moral duty to become better, more responsible individuals. We make a key contribution to critical sociolinguistic research by placing a focus on how “good personality” is informed by the pedagogic trajectories of each space, beyond neoliberal projects of self. Moralising catholic discourses, values and ideologies, and broader humanist educational discourses inform ideas about personality and personality development in these spaces. Thus, we call for a slower sociolinguistics, that takes pause before reaching for the explanatory power of neoliberalism and makes room for the complex, historically sedimented logics of our research sites.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT EFL STUDENTS' DIFFICULTY IN READING COMPREHENSION

This study aims to discover the internal factors that affect EFL students' difficulty in reading comprehension. The research participants in this study were five English as Foreign Language (EFL) students who could not achieve the grade standard in a Reading class at the English Language Education Program (ELEP) in a small town in Central Java. The Interviews were used as the instruments to collect the data. In the interview, 5 participants were asked about the internal factors that affected students' difficulties in reading comprehension. The thematic analysis revealed that students' difficulty in reading comprehension is affected by two primary internal factors. The first factor pertains to students' ability, encompassing their grammatical and vocabulary knowledge in English. The second factor encompasses students’ perceptions including feelings of interest, boredom, anxiety, sickness, and personal problems.

Students’ Ability in Writing English Argumentative Essay

Learning to write has a significant impact on determining the ability and quality of students in academic activities. One form of essay featured in academic writing is the argumentative essay. Writing an argumentative essay leads students to explore their opinions or arguments to convince the reader. Nevertheless, some studies show that college students face some difficulties in writing argumentative essays. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the students’ ability to write argumentative essays in terms of essay structure. A qualitative case was used in this study. The data was taken from the final test of the Advance Writing course written by 36 fourth-semester students of the English Language Education Program. The research findings showed that most students’ ability to write an argumentative essay is well developed, with a result of 31%. The result indicated that the students knew how to write an argumentative essay based on its structure, but they still made some mistakes dealing with sentence structure and the credibility of the references used.

Çevrimiçi ve yüz yüze eğitimde uygulanabilecek bir model: Problem temelli kuantum öğrenme modeli

This study aims to determine the effect of the problem-based quantum learning model in distance education on the cooperative learning, self-efficacy beliefs, and metacognitive thinking skills of pre-service teachers and their views on the model. In this research, an experimental research method was used. The participants were English Language Teaching program students studying in the 2nd class in a state university in Turkey. The data were collected by Student Letters, Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, Metacognitive Thinking Skills Scale, and Attitude Scale for Cooperative Learning. In the analysis of quantitative data, t-test from parametric tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank test from non-parametric tests were used and in the analysis of qualitative data, the content analysis method was used. According to the data obtained from the research, it was concluded that the problem-based quantum learning model positively affected the attitudes of pre-service teachers towards cooperative learning and group work, their self-efficacy perceptions, problem-solving, thinking, research, and decision-making skills. Also, it was concluded that this model was effective in learning the content of the course, learning the information, and increasing the desire to learn, their attitudes towards the model changed, and the model was effective and fun.

Evaluation of the Intensive English Language Teaching Programme for the Fifth Grade according to Students Views

In the academic year 2017-2018, the Ministry of National Education in Türkiye launched intensive English as a foreign language program specifically designed for fifth-grade students in middle school. This study, employing a quantitative research design methodology, aims to assess the program's effectiveness from the perspective of fifth-grade students and include sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students who have previously undergone this program. The study adopts the CIPP (Context, Input, Process, and Product) evaluation model developed by Stufflebeam (2003) to achieve this goal. Data were collected through a comprehensive questionnaire consisting of 31 questions, administered to 208 students enrolled in a secondary school in Diyarbakır, Türkiye. Statistical analyses, encompassing both descriptive and inferential methods, were conducted using the SPSS software. The findings indicated an overall positive attitude among students towards the program, with female students expressing more favorable opinions than their male counterparts. Furthermore, it was observed that fifth and sixth-grade students held more positive views compared to seventh and eighth-grade students. Consequently, the study suggests that certain adjustments and refinements may be necessary for the program.

Teaching English with Movies

This study looks into the benefits of employing movies as a pedagogical tool in English language teaching programs. The objective is to explore potentials of movies in enhancing English language teaching and gauge some teaching challenges related to using them in English language teaching. A quantitative approach is employed, and data is collected using a questionnaire given to teachers of English in order to find out what they think about this technique of instruction and to investigate some frequent issues that arise when using movies as teaching resources. The study concludes that incorporating movies into EFL instruction can be an effective strategy for enhancing students' language skills and fostering a more engaging learning environment.  The findings imply that movies provide students with contextualized language input, foster cultural awareness and stimulate their enthusiasm in learning English. Furthermore, the study recommends two methods for creating movie-based teaching materials: worksheets and interactive video quizzes using the Edpuzzle platform.

PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ON READINESS OF TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS

In recent years, researchers have focused on how students and teachers perceive language learning and teaching. However, few studies have been conducted on pre- service teachers’ and teachers’ beliefs about teaching speaking skills. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine pre-service EFL teachers’ beliefs about their readiness to teach speaking skills. In particular, the researcher aimed to find out which speaking skills pre-service EFL teachers felt ready or unprepared to teach, and to what extent pre-service EFL teachers perceived themselves as ready to teach speaking skills. The participants of the research are 61 undergraduate senior students enrolled in the English Language Teaching program at Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University in Turkestan. A mixed-method research design approach was used and samples from both quantitative and qualitative sections were utilized. Factor analysis was performed for the validity of the scale developed in this study, and the reliability of the scale was determined by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0,92). The results of the study showed that the majority of the participants gave positive responses to the belief statements about teaching speaking skills. However, some participants stated that they did not agree with some statements of belief. Several interpretations and suggestions were derived from the results of the present study.

Google translate in academic writing class: How EFL learners use and perceive it

The study of the use of Google Translate (GT) in ELT classroom has been an interesting issue to be discussed. Researchers noted that GT’s translation quality has significantly increased as a result of utilizing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique which studies languages through examples. The employment of GT as a tool to help students in ELT classes seems to be advantageous for them. However, many language teachers continue to question the value of this translation machine. This study investigates the learners’ perspectives towards the use of GT in their Academic Writing class; whether they think it is helpful in assisting them in the learning process or not. The researchers attempt to answer the research question of “What are the learners’ perceptions towards the use of GT as a learning support in Academic Writing class?” because there are still very few studies that have examined the use of GT as a learning support tool in Academic Writing class. The study uses a qualitative approach through the use of interviews as a data collection instrument. The interviews were conducted with five participants from the English Language Education program of the Faculty of Language and Arts in one private university in Central Java. The participants are the students who have just taken Academic Writing (AW) class in the previous semester before the research was conducted. The findings of the study show that all participants agree that GT has its own positive and negative impacts in their learning in the classroom.

English Prospective Teachers' Views on Using Poetry to Enhance Reading Skills

Exploring the role of poetry in language education, this study seeks to understand its impact on reading skills from the perspective of EFL students preparing to become English teachers. With the increasing globalization of English, the techniques for teaching and enhancing its comprehension are evolving. Poetry, with its rhythmic and metaphorical nuances, offers a unique avenue to tap into this development. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the research engaged ninety-one English Language Education program participants. The findings reveal multifaceted benefits: a significant majority viewed poetry as an avenue for vocabulary enhancement, emphasizing its rich and varied lexicon. Others associated poetry with improvements in literal comprehension, attributing this to the layered meanings often found in poems. The attributes of critical thinking, interpretation of figurative language, grammar refinement, and reading fluency were also highlighted, reflecting poetry's comprehensive influence on reading dimensions. These insights underscore the pedagogical value of poetry in language development, suggesting that integrating authentic poetic materials not only enriches the language repertoire but also amplifies the depth and relevance of the learning experience for students.

Pre-service Teachers' Perspectives on Discourse Analysis and Its Implications for English Language Teaching

This study aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service English teachers regarding discourse analysis (DA) and its potential impact on English Language Teaching (ELT). The participants of the study included 198 second-year pre-service teachers (126 females and 72 males) studying at a Turkish state university. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive research design. Data were collected through written reflections, and qualitative content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results of the study revealed that pre-service English teachers expressed positive perceptions towards DA, recognizing its potential contributions to their professional development and future teaching careers. Participants reported that the course helped them to understand the importance of language use in different contexts and situations, and provided them with practical tools for analyzing and teaching language. The findings suggest that ELT programs can consider incorporating DA into their curriculum to help pre-service teachers develop a deep understanding of language use and its implications for effective teaching. By doing this, teacher education programs may support the growth of proficient language teachers and ultimately raise the standard of language instruction

Ungrammatical Construction: An Analysis of the Causes and Types of the Ungrammatical Construction

The present research is about analysis on ungrammatical constructions encountered in the texts written by the 3rd semester undergraduate students of English Language Education Program of Tanjungpura University. The objective of the study is to describe the types of the ungrammatical constructions and the causes of the ungrammatical constructions. The method of research is descriptive. The research participants were 34 students of the 3rd semester undergraduate students of English Language Education Program of Tanjungpura University. The data were collected from corpus written by the students. The ungrammaticalities occurred in the students’ text. They were 496 errors encountered by the students. 312 errors related to phrasal errors and 184 related to clausal errors. The phrasal-related errors affected the area of noun phrase (37%), gerund phrase (13%), verb phrase (17%), infinitive phrase (12), prepositional phrase (12%), adjective phrase (7%), and adverb phrase (2%). The clausal-related errors were alternating form (49%), omission (33%), simple addition (15%), double marking (2) and misplaced subject and verb (1%). The sources of these errors were interlingual (2,9%) and intralingual (97,1%).