English Language Teaching Program Research Articles

Promoting the development of autonomy in the context of teletandem in language teacher education

This paper reports findings from a study carried out in 2018 on the implementation of teletandem in a Bachelor of Arts in English Language Teaching (ELT) program in Mexico, as part of a learning autonomy course. The goals of the semi-structured teletandem exchange were to provide learners with the opportunity to 1) gain cultural and linguistic learning as a result of the interaction with native speakers and 2) develop and exercise their autonomy to learn English. Although all students enrolled in the course participated in the exchange, only 8 of them were selected to investigate the extent teletandem helped them develop and exercise their autonomy. Data come from the analysis of interviews with students. Findings revealed that the implementation of teletandem in the course made participants more aware of their autonomy and provided opportunities to exercise it. However, areas of improvement were identified to enhance the development of autonomy in teletandem. This study may be of interest to language teacher educators who seek to promote the development of autonomy in other learning scenarios apart from the language classroom. It could also be useful for language instructors and staff at language centers who are willing to improve the practice of telecollaboration in their own contexts.

Teaching reflection of using technology in two Indonesian EFL classrooms: an autoethnography

Integrating technology in EFL writing classrooms is a trial-and-error process that requires teachers to reflect, constructively analyze their practices, and have the flexibility to make positive changes to their teaching with technology. Using various data sources of my students’ blog, written assignments, and online interactions, this qualitative autoethnography study reflects upon my experiences as a lecturer in integrating technology in two EFL writing classes at the English Language Education Program of a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. Based on my written reflections narrated in the findings’ section, I discussed five main themes (i.e., struggle, unsuitable choice of technology, not a magic stick, traditional ingredients, and learning from one another) as the answer to the research question of this study. Overall, these five themes detailed my teaching practices in the classrooms, personal feelings of using technology, teaching and learning challenges of using technology in the writing classes, and possible solutions to deal with those challenges. This study might illustrate how reflecting on teaching experiences allows teachers to be aware of what they did in a class, find areas that need improvement, and plan for teaching-related changes in their future classrooms. Meanings of integrating technology in the classrooms and recommendations for further research are presented.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS IN ONLINE CREATIVE WRITING CLASS AND THE SOLUTIONS

Writing is one of the main skills in learning English students should master. Creative Writing becomes one of the writing courses in the English Language Education Program (ELEP) of UKSW. This year, many institutes including UKSW conducted their learning by doing online classes. However, there may be some difficulties faced by students during their online classes. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the problems faced by the students in online Creative Writing class and the solutions to overcome those problems. Thus, the research questions of this study are “What are the problems that are faced by the students in online Creative Writing class?” and “How do the students overcome the problems?” Twenty-three participants were involved in this study which used a mix of open-ended and closed-ended items in the questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The participants were 2020 students of ELEP, UKSW, Indonesia. From the data from the study, it was found that the problems faced by the students in their online Creative Writing class were the course materials, bad internet connection, students’ motivation, and teachers’ unclear explanations. Besides that, there were also four strategies used by the students to faced their difficulties such as, finding better connections, asking friends or lecturers, doing self-motivation, and learning the material after class. The findings from this study are expected to be helpful for teachers to know the problems faced by the students in online Creative Writing classes.

An Overview of the Structure of English Language Teaching Programs in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Singapore, Norway, and Turkey: The Countries Ranking Among the Top Five in EF Proficiency Index

As English is widely accepted as a lingua franca in today's world, the importance of the language has been acknowledged globally in the present case. To rank the countries in terms of their English language proficiency, the EF Proficiency Index is prepared each year. In this study, five countries having the highest scores according to the Index (2021) were taken into account together with the English language curricula of the top five ranking EFL countries (Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Singapore, and Norway). The English language teaching programs of these countries were analysed and compared in terms of the starting age, language assessment, and course content, adding to the comparison list a low-ranking country, Turkey. The data elicited through document analysis propounded the idea that overall, the objectives of English language curricula in these five countries have many common features and similarities. On the other hand, developing positive attitudes towards learning English is emphasised in the Turkish EFL context, and four basic language skills are treated separately in different grades. While other countries give prominence to communicative competence and communication skills together with the cognitive side of the language learning process, the affective components of the language learning process are emphasised in Turkey. Contemporary formative assessment techniques are also recommended in this continuum.

The Model of Listening CEFR-Based Test Specification for Higher Education

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages offers a prevalent underpinning for the development of languages syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, assessments, and textbooks. This research aimed to design appropriate CEFR-based for languages English listening test specifications for S1 English Study Program. Descriptive qualitative interpretative was used as research design of this research. The data of this research consisted of the curriculum of English language education program which focused on listening courses of 5 universities in Jakarta. The data showed English language competence or ability for undergraduate graduates of English language study programs and abilities based on CEFR. The result showed that the five universities have the level of CEFR in A1 (9,7%), A2 (11%), B1 (7,3%), B2 (8,6%), C1 (5,9%), and C2 (0%) of CEFR levels. The result is a basis for the writer to design English listening test specifications that range from A1 to C1 alienated into Basic Listening, Intermediate Listening, and Advanced Listening. Based on that, the proposed test specifications were created. The writer adapts IELTS as the standardized test to determine the number of sections, question types, number of items, and time allocation.

The The Effectiveness of Recitation Method Based on ICT (Moodle) in Learning Argumentation Writing Skills

This research is designed specifically to measure the effectiveness of recitation method based on ICT (Moodle) in learning argumentation writing skills at students of English Language Education Program, Universitas Panca Sakti Bekasi. which based on the result of preliminary observation which show that students learning outcome was still low and there were some problems that related to the result of their writing skills that still have not achieved the expected aims. This research used the method of classroom action research that involved the number of samples in this research were 30 students. For the data collecting technique, this research used quantitative data and qualitative data. Quantitative data was taken from the results of the pre-test and post-test, while qualitative data was taken during the process of observation and action. The research result shows that there is an increase in learning activity and student learning outcomes. The increase is known from the percentage value of student activity in attending learning process has increased, the results obtained in the first cycle percentage is 53%, then there is an increase in the second cycle to 55%. Student learning outcomes also increased, the average score in cycle 1 is 77.47, with the number of students completing are 21. Cycle 2 there is an increase in the average score by 4.13 to 81.6 with the number of students completing are 23.

A MOOC-based Flipped Classroom Model: Reflecting on pre-service English language teachers’ experience and perceptions

The flipped classroom (FC) model has recently gained an increasing interest in higher education. Similarly, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted international attention in the literature. However, a review of previous studies suggests that although a MOOC-based FC model have often been advocated in theory, it has consistently been disregarded in practice. Therefore, the main significance of this study lies in its implementation of a MOOC-based FC model in an English Language Teaching (ELT) program for pre-service English language teachers for the first time in a Turkish context, and possibly in the literature. Moreover, the study explores their perceptions of a MOOC-based FC model and its effects on their academic achievement. In this regard, the study provides an exciting opportunity to advance our knowledge of the MOOC-based FC model in teacher education, especially in the field of ELT. The study took place at a state university in Turkey with 27 pre-service English language teachers in the 2019-2020 academic year. The methodological approach adopted in this study was a mixed-methods research design, benefiting from both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. It followed a pre-experimental research design, involving the One-Group Pre-test - Post-test Design. A four-week intervention of MOOC-based FC implementation took place between the pre-test and the post-test. Taking the findings of this study into account, some stakeholders, e.g., educators, teacher trainers, policymakers, administrators, other professionals might consider integrating a MOOC-based FC model into their traditional classroom settings or creating a blended course that incorporates a MOOC into their existing face-to-face programs.

A Collaborative Approach to Assuring Standards: Using the CEFR to Benchmark University Pathway Programs’ English Language Outcomes

The past decade has witnessed growing interest in Higher Education (HE) achievement standards and the comparability of program learning outcomes. The HE sector has historically focused on assuring academic standards through two key approaches: standardized educational testing and external peer review of assessment. Both approaches are resource and time intensive. In particular, the English Language Teaching (ELT) sector, which provides international students with Direct Entry (DE) pathways to English medium university study, has been predominately focused on high stakes English language testing. Commercially available tests enable providers to demonstrate clear evidence of ELT DE program standards in terms of internationally recognised scores. English language tests, however, represent only one type of external reference point for assuring standards. This paper provides an overview of a sector-led, collaborative approach to external review of assessment across 20 Australian university operated DE English programs. Twenty-eight ELT units were benchmarked by sixty individual assessors using consensus moderation against the newly expanded Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), a validated language proficiency framework. This case study demonstrates that collaborative benchmarking using the updated CEFR can effectively ensure DE ELT program standards to the benefit of staff and students globally.

EFL students' epistemic beliefs and their relations to critical thinking and reading achievement

One of the key points of reading comprehension is epistemic beliefs. Epistemic beliefs can be explained as students’ determination of way of learning. Epistemic beliefs’ relation with critical thinking and reading achievement has not yet been clarified. The study has the aim to explore the relationship between the epistemic beliefs’ of students to their critical thinking and reading achievement. The method of the study is correlational. The participant of the research is 102 students from the 2019 batch of the English Language Education Program of reading comprehension class, A-E class in Universitas Brawijaya. The participants helped to fill the questionnaire. The researcher used SPSS to analyst the questionnaire that has been filled by the participants to know the result of the research. The result of SPSS’s analysis showed that between epistemic beliefs and critical thinking, there is a very strong correlation and between epistemic beliefs and reading achievement, there is a strong correlation. Based on the result of the correlation from SPSS’S analysis, it can be known that there is a close relation between epistemic beliefs, critical thinking, and reading achievement. If the students have high epistemic beliefs, they will have high critical thinking and reading achievement
 HIGHLISGHTS:
 
 Epistemic beliefs are very related to the critical thinking and readingachievement of students.
 The higher the level of epistemic beliefs, the better the critical thinking ofstudents.
 The higher the level of epistemic beliefs, the better the reading achievement ofstudents.

Paraphrasing as a Strategy to Develop Reading Comprehension at The Tertiary Level of Education

The three aims of this study are to determine (1) the reading proficiency and the motivation level of a group of tertiary level learners, (2) how far paraphrasing as a strategy can help in developing the reading comprehension of the learners, and (3) whether this strategy also motivates the learners to read more. This study employed a quasi-experimental design. The research population comprised all 18 students in the third semester of the MA in ELT (English Language Teaching) programme of Gauhati University. The data were collected by using (1) two types of tests to measure abilities in literal and inferential comprehension, (2) paraphrasing as technique for reading and (3) questionnaires. The results showed that there was a greater engagement with the text and higher levels of motivation while using the paraphrasing strategy. However, more research needs to be carried out to obtain conclusive evidence that the reading comprehension of students can be developed substantially with the use of the paraphrasing strategy.

Evaluation of the Intensive English Language Teaching Program for the 5th Grade according to Teachers' Views

Language policies of countries have focused especially on the teaching and learning of English, the universal language of communication because of the increase in international exchange of information. In this context, one of the changes which were made in the field of foreign language teaching in recent years in Turkey is that the intensive foreign language education, put into practice in the 2017-2018 academic years, is implemented in the 5th grades of the determined pilot schools. The aim of the study is to evaluate the intensive English language teaching program for the 5th grade (IELTP) according to the teachers’ views. The research is conducted in the phenomenological pattern, one of the qualitative research methods. In the 2018-2019 academic years, the data were collected by interviewing with 26 volunteer English teachers from seven different districts of İstanbul. Descriptive and content analysis methods were used to analyse the data. As a result, most of the teachers generally have expressed positive opinions about the intensive English language course for the 5th grade and its curriculum. The instructional activities, methods, and techniques; tools and materials; measurement tools, methods and activities used by the teachers in their lessons are in line with the ones suggested in the curriculum. However, some teachers have indicated that they face with some problems such as being the subjects in the curriculum intense, above the students’ level, and focusing on the grammar; abundance of the number of objectives; the lack of materials.

EVALUATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROGRAM OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BENGHAZI USING THE PEACOCK MODEL: TOWARDS QUALITY EDUCATION

<p>The English Language Teaching (ELT) is a theory and practice of English teaching and learning for the welfare of the non-native students whose language is not English. It is an English language degree in exploring the application of the language development and current practice in teaching and testing. The study aims to identify the aspects of the English Language Teaching (ELT) and how do the aspects of the English Language Teaching (ELT) program should be maintained and improved based on the Peacock’s Model and Evaluation. The study employs the quantitative and qualitative descriptive research design and method. The study comprised seventeen (17) alumni of the Faculty of Education, English Department, University of Benghazi, Libya as these participants had experienced the evaluation of the English Language Teaching program to be maintained and to be improved in the Faculty of Education. Purposive sampling is utilized in the study because it is non-probability which is known as judgmental, subjective, and selective sampling. Results show that participants are encouraged to be a reflective teacher when they start teaching and taught to evaluate themselves as a teacher which is vital and important in ELT profession in the Faculty of Education and in English as a Foreign Language, show to promote flexibility in using different teaching practices in different situation and classroom management skills in terms of participation, show that there is adequate training and teaching skills and balances of teacher-centered and student-centered learning on its courses in ELT in terms of experimentation, show to avoid overlapping information between different courses and are ready to teach ELT of the program in the university in terms of application, and show that participants are encouraged to reflect on their past experiences as a language learners and are encouraged to be a reflective teacher in their teaching process in terms of cooperation.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0863/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Use of Islamic Literature to Teach Ethical English

Ethical English instruction has paved the way for every religion to make its interpretation. From the Islam religion perspective, such interpretation is still under research. This study describes how ethical English instruction takes place in an Indonesian Islamic higher education institution; how literature, particularly Islamic literature, becomes a factor of ethical English instruction; and the students' transformation through ethical English instruction. Applying a content analysis method, this case study involved 60 freshmen students of the English language education program of State Islamic Institute of Metro, Lampung, Indonesia. The research data was drawn from five main data sources, namely interviews, classroom observations, teaching materials, samples of students' works, and questionnaires. This study shows that (1) the use of Islamic literature to teach ethical English in the Indonesian Islamic higher education is potential; (2) text exploitability becomes a dominant factor in ethical English instruction; and (3) a contextualized approach, derived from the existing global approach and local teaching method, transforms the students positively. It is concluded that ethical English teaching within Indonesian Islamic higher education ought to utilize Islamic literature and be conducted through a contextualized approach.

The effect of stay at home days on the language learning motivation of foreign language students during the COVID-19 pandemic process

World has been going through an unusual transformation process in terms of economy, health and education system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Education system could easily adapt to ‘new normal’ period for digital technology had already developed online education. Students, teachers and academics in all over the world have had the chance to use digital platforms to persue education online. As other countries, Turkish universities have been applying online education during pandemic. Stakeholders in education have been affected in online education system differently. In this study, it is aimed to determine what language students experience in online English courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, their motivation situation towards online English language education, whether they could use Internet effectively and take online English courses or not, what techniques they found useful and whether lockdown days affected their language learning motivation or not. In this study, one of the qualitative research methods, case study design was used. The participants in the present study consisted of students studying in the 1st and 2nd grade of the English Language Teaching Program of Bartın University, Department of Foreign Language Education, in the spring term of the 2020-20021 academic years. The data were collected by sharing a link to the students with a fully structured interview form prepared in Google Form. In the analysis of the data, frequency, percentage calculations and content analysis technique, which is one of the qualitative methods, were used. Findings show that stay at home period in pandemic process did not affect the motivation of language students negatively. Even though there was a lack of positive energy face to face education brought and the psychological impacts of COVID-19 precautions on the students, students tended to study English willingly in pandemic process. It was determined that students were aware of the positive impact of technology, used various websites and social media tools to practice English, and attended online courses, albeit very few. Thus, it was concluded that students positively evaluated the process of staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in favour of learning and practicing English.

Kabul Koşulları Önemli midir? Hollanda ve Türkiye'de İngilizce Öğretmenliği Programı Kabul Koşulları Kıyaslaması

Qualifications of language teachers affect their students' language development and proficiency. Turkish learners' low performance in international English proficiency indices requires an investigation of the qualifications of language teachers from a critical point of view. Without doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language. However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted. Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.

Evaluation of the intensive English language teaching programme for the fifth grade according to teachers’ views

With the increase in international exchange of information, language policies of countries have focused especially on the teaching and learning of English, the universal language of communication. The aim of the study is to evaluate the intensive English language teaching programme for the fifth grade according to the teachers’ views. The research is conducted in the phenomenological pattern, one of the qualitative research methods. In the 2018–2019 academic year, data were collected by interviewing with 26 volunteer English teachers in 7 different districts of İstanbul. Descriptive and content analysis methods were used for analysing the data. From the results, most of the teachers generally have expressed positive opinions about the intensive English language course for the fifth grade and its curriculum. This paper recommends that the content should be eased by reducing the number of unit numbers and grammar subjects in the curriculum. Keywords: Intensive course, English language, teaching programme, programme evaluation, teachers’ views, the fifth grade.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING DIFFICULTIES IN AN ACADEMIC SPEAKING CLASS

Academic Speaking class is the last speaking class that students at an English Language Education Program (ELEP) have to take. However, to pass this class is not very easy because the students had to be able to speak in an academic context. Seeing this phenomenon, the researchers tried to identify the second-year students’ difficulties in the Academic Speaking class, in a private university in Central Java. There are three research questions in this research, “What are ELEP second-year students’ speaking difficulties in Academic Speaking class?”, “What factors contribute to the speaking difficulties in Academic Speaking class?’, and What strategies do the Academic Speaking students employ to overcome the difficulties?”. This research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches that took place at an ELEP and involved 38 participants from three Academic Speaking classes. The data were taken using questionnaires and interviews. This study acknowledged 8 difficulties in speaking English, difficulties in dealing with anxiety, over-using mother tongue, giving a spontaneous response, learning unfamiliar and strange accents, expressing ideas, finding the right lexicon, ordering the right grammatical patterns, and dealing with a competitive environment. Subsequently, the factors which contributed to the difficulties were students’ lack of confidence and lack of vocabulary. The findings of the study are hoped to be advantageous for both students and teachers in the Academic Speaking class.

Poster Presentation as A Tool to Assess Students’ Academic Speaking Performance: Teachers and Students’ Perspectives

A poster presentation is a way that is done to share or inform a research data and information in oral communication. Through poster presentation, the presenters will be able to present the data easily. In education, poster presentation is always used for the research seminar and the conference. For the English-speaking students, they use a poster presentation as a project to learn English and how they can use English as the academic speaker. This is the reason why the Academic Speaking classes at an English Language Education Program (ELEP), in a private university in Central Java, Indonesia used the poster presentation as the final project to assess students’ performance. The study was conducted at the Faculty of Language and Arts, at a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. The aim of the study is to see how the teachers and students’ perceptions about the use of poster presentation and how it can increase the students’ academic speaking performance. The research participants were two of Academic Speaking class' lecturers and two students of batch 2016. They were interviewed using an audio recording and also the interview protocol. Based on the interview, there are some different opinions about the use of poster presentation in Academic Speaking class. Overall, the results found that the use of poster presentation, which is a form of speaking skill assessment, could increase the students’ academic speaking performance such as eye contact, gesture, fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and knowledge.

The Analysis of Correlative Conjunctions Used in Undergraduate Students’ Research Articles

This research belongs to qualitative research. The aims of this research are to identify the types of correlative conjunction and to explain their functions in students’ research articles. The data source of this research is students’ research articles written by undergraduate students of English Language Education Program at Purworejo Muhammadiyah University in the academic year of 2018/2019. In collecting the data, the researcher checked all the research articles published from August 2019 until December 2019. In analyzing the data, the researcher organized the data from the first correlative conjunction until the last correlative conjunction found in research articles; gave code for each of the correlative conjunctions; classified the correlative conjunctions based on the types: both__and, not only__but also, either__or, and neither__nor; classified the correlative conjunctions based on their functions in joining sentence elements such as words, phrases, and clauses; counted the data; discussed the finding; and drew conclusion and suggestion based on the data in this research. The result of this research shows that there are 91 correlative conjunctions found in 46 research articles: 39 both__and (42.86%), 40 not only__but also (43.96%), 8 either__or (8.79%), and 4 neither__nor (4.39%). There are 25 conjunctions connecting words (27.47%), 65 conjunctions connecting phrases (71.43%), and 1 conjunction connecting clauses (1.10%).

INCORPORATING LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE INTO ENGLISH WORD-FORMATION TASK IN AN ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY COURSE

This exploratory case study focuses on the development and implementation of a task called the Inventive English Word Formation in Public Spaces for an undergraduate English Morphology course within the English Language Education program of a university in Indonesia. This task was created based on students’ feedback that they disliked the typical memory-based test, which was reported to have a significant strain on them. In that regard, this task was developed to replace the teacher’s lectures and achievement test to increase students’ learning engagement and understanding of the Word Formation theory. Students were asked to morphologically analyze how Indonesian people invented new English words in commercial signs in linguistic landscapes. Sixty students were involved in the task and they were put into groups of four. Each group was assigned to write a paper reporting how they identified and explained the types and subtypes of word-formation of the invented names. The findings suggested that although students found that the task was more meaningful and engaging than the usual learning procedure, the papers they produced showed that they were still not ready for the demand of academic reading and research skills associated with the task. This task, however, promises positive avenues that can be improved and explored in future studies.