University English Language Research Articles

An Investigation into University English Language Instructors’ Inclusion of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Skills in Testing Language Skills: Selected Universities in Focus

The purpose of this study was to investigate into university English language instructors’ inclusion of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive skills in testing undergraduate students’ language skills. The participants of the study were 32 English language instructors who were offering English language courses to undergraduate students. They were selected using a purposive sampling. All the participant-instructors were made to fill in a close-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview was held with four of them. Document analysis was also conducted using the judgments of the English language experts. Data collected by the questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively using frequency counts and percentages, whereas data gathered through the interview was analyzed qualitatively. The study employed a descriptive research design and mixed-methods approach. The study's findings revealed that the test items are hardly higher-level cognitive skills (analyzing, evaluating and creating); they are completely dominated by lower-level cognitions (remembering, understanding and applying). Hence, it is recommended that university ELT instructors should give due attention for the revised Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive skills in testing their students’ language skills.

American and Moroccan undergraduates encounter religious difference: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT As emerging adult college students ponder their religious/spiritual beliefs and identities, those in religiously diverse countries (e.g. the USA) often encounter beliefs different from their own. These encounters can prompt new perspectives on their own beliefs and elicit responses from rejection to incorporation of the diverging belief, thus shaping students’ beliefs and identities going forwards. But do undergraduates in religiously homogeneous countries like Morocco have similar experiences of encounter and response? Here, 213 American and 78 Moroccan English-language university students wrote descriptions of encounters with, and responses to, others’ dissimilar religious views. Comparisons revealed expected differences (more self-chosen identities among those in the diverse context; older age at the encounter in the homogeneous context) and striking similarities (frequency of encounters with atheism; interpersonal relationships as the most common encounter setting). Across both samples, ‘incorporating others’ belief’ was the rarest response to encountering a difference, and women were more open to learning about divergent beliefs than men were. The roles of local and global contexts in exposure and response to religious diversity are discussed.

Supporting linguistically and culturally diverse English language learners by integrating first language

This qualitative study is to report an activity designed in the Learning English through the Arts program to explore the L1 use in an L2 class at a Canadian University English Language Improvement Center. The participants are five adult English language learners registered in different departments and faculties at a Canadian university. The results showed that: 1) L1 can, to some extent, facilitate students’ L2 learning; 2) home culture sharing is an effective activity when teachers consider integrating L1 in L2 class, and 3) multimodal ways of presentation are crucial in integrating L1 into L2 learning. This study can provide insights for English language teachers who want to integrate L1 into L2 classes. In addition, for teacher educators, this study can also offer suggestions for teacher education programs with an increasing need to develop competent teachers to support English language learners in a diverse learning environment./ Keywords: First Language, English language learning, English through the Arts, gamification, mobile apps

Co-regulation strategies and their associations with writing self-efficacy in a computer-mediated collaborative writing setting

This study examined the structural relationship between learners’ co-regulation strategies and writing self-efficacy in a computer-mediated collaborative writing setting. Two questionnaires about Co-Regulation Strategies (CRS) and English Writing Self-Efficacy (EWSE) were developed and administered to 219 college English language learners following six-week computer-mediated collaborative writing activities. The results of factor analysis indicated that learners’ co-regulation strategies consist of five factors: co-planning, co-monitoring, co-evaluation, effort regulation, and help-seeking, while writing self-efficacy involves learners’ confidence in writing ideation, writing conventions, and writing self-regulation. The path analysis revealed that students with better co-planning and co-evaluation strategies tended to be more confident in writing ideation and writing conventions. More interestingly, effort regulation and help-seeking acted as powerful predictors of self-efficacy for writing self-regulation. Learners’ self-efficacy for writing ideation and conventions could also positively explain their self-efficacy for writing self-regulation. Suggestions were given regarding how to improve students’ writing self-efficacy through promoting co-regulation in collaborative learning.

A history of violence; exploring Lebanese university faculty mental health and professional lived experiences following the 4th of August 2020 port blast

This qualitative research uses lived experience data to explore the mental health and professional experiences of faculty members in the education department of an English language university in Beirut, following the August 4, 2020 Beirut port blast. The data shows how our participants managed adverse mental health issues, while simultaneously re-engaging with teaching in the aftermath of the explosion. The study concludes that university emergency plans should aim to provide continuous professional development for faculty; utilize unambiguous language in cross-university communications; and offer personalized psychosocial support strategies for staff and students alike.

Fostering Intercultural Communicative Competence and Student Autonomy through Project-Based Learning

In today’s internationalized learning environment, intercultural communicative competence is deemed insufficient for students. Academic mobility presents challenges and opportunities due to language, culture, and learning background differences. The number of international students in Ukrainian universities is increasing. The efficacy of project-based learning in foreign language acquisition is recognized and incorporated into the English language syllabus in Ukraine. The current study investigates the effectiveness of project-based activities in English classes at Ukrainian University for improving students’ intercultural communicative competence and autonomous learning. It included seven university English language teachers and five groups of 59 students from various cultural backgrounds. Classroom observation and case study design were carried out to describe how the teachers and students used project-based learning. This research will provide new perspectives on the effective incorporation of project-based activities in English classes to boost students’ communication confidence to collaborate with diverse cultural groupmates and develop autonomy in learning. The study revealed that project-based learning allowed students to interact with the target content, focusing on long-term memory and promoting attitudes about education. Several advantages of this technique over traditional methods of improving international communicative skills and increasing confidence in language acquisition were highlighted by teachers and students. It engaged students in collaborative and cooperative language learning, improved their digital literacy, and promoted student autonomy. Thus, the project-based learning approach is highly recommended for educational use by teachers and students and should be encouraged in universities.

Examining the Cross-Cultural Validity of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory in English Language Courses

This study examined whether the five scales of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory produced valid scores when used in university English language courses across four different countries. We surveyed 1,147 students in English language courses in Iran, Mexico, China, and Egypt and analyzed their responses by performing measurement invariance testing using multiple group confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency reliability of the five MUSIC Inventory scales was acceptable. The configural, metric, and scalar invariance held across the four countries, providing evidence of construct validity for the five scales. Relationships between the MUSIC Inventory scales and measures of behavioral engagement, disaffection, and achievement provided some evidence of criterion validity, but some inconsistencies with expected relationships were noted. Overall, this study provides validity evidence for using the inventory in English language courses.

The Cross-cultural Education in College English Language Teaching

The Cross-cultural Education in College English Language Teaching

Exploration on the Mode of College English Language Teaching under the Background of Informatization

Due to the rapid growth of information technology (IT), the network has already penetrated into all fields of social life. In this situation, the traditional English language teaching (ELT) can no longer meet the needs of the times. It is an urgent task for ELT in universities to effectively integrate network resources and integrate IT into ELT. Based on this, this article explores and innovates the ELT mode in universities under the background of informationization. This article analyzes the positive influence of information background on university ELT. This article probes into the English learning situation in universities under the condition of informationization; It also puts forward some ideas on the construction of university ELT mode in the information age. Information-based teaching in English classroom can create a good learning atmosphere and communication environment for students, and arouse their initiative to participate in the classroom. In order to promote the sustainable growth of college information-based ELT.

The impact of flipped classroom teaching on college English language learning: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined the effects of the flipped classroom (FTC) on college students’ English learning outcomes. Employing strict inclusion criteria, we identified 24 high-quality empirical studies with 31 effect sizes involving 2,526 participants at the tertiary level. The results showed a positive, moderate impact of FTC (ES= +0.68). Results of subgroup analysis and meta-regression found that the availability of review, use of a learning management system, and the constructivist instructional model were significantly related to the effectiveness of FTC. Our findings imply that special attention needs to be paid to the design characteristics of FTC to identify the best method for learning improvement. Integrating technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge in the design of flipped English classes is of great importance.

Reading strategies for college English language learners

This research focused on determining the effectiveness of reading strategies for English university students, such as previewing, scanning, skimming, prediction and inference, with the purpose of perceiving the changes in their reading comprehension and other skills after the application of these strategies. As methodology, a quantitative approach based on a quasi-experimental design was used. For this purpose, a sample of 60 students from the Metropolitan University of Quito, Ecuador, were subdivided into 30 for the control group and 30 for the experimental group, to whom pretest and posttest were applied. The results revealed that the students in the control group did not achieve considerable improvements but those in the experimental group did. The skills developed were: vocabulary, interpretation, comprehension, identification of main and secondary ideas, fluency and summarizing.

The Application of "English Public Speaking" in College English Teaching

As a practical work experience, English public speaking plays an important role in cultivating college students' oral communication ability and thinking ability. English speaking ability is the necessary English literacy for young college students in the new era, which reflects the speaker's English language expression ability, critical thinking ability and cross-cultural communication ability, Therefore, college teachers should fully integrate "English public speaking" into college English teaching, so as to improve the thinking of college students. From the perspective of in novative development of college English language, this paper summarizes the development of Chinese college English public speech and English courses, and emphasizes the shortcomings in teaching and the development path of English public speech.

The Deficiency and Reconstruction of Knowledge of China's English Language Education History among University English Language Teachers

The Deficiency and Reconstruction of Knowledge of China's English Language Education History among University English Language Teachers

Investigating Bandura’s Processes of Observational Learning Implementations from EFL Faculty Perspective at Umm Al-Qura University English Language Centre

Investigating Bandura’s Processes of Observational Learning Implementations from EFL Faculty Perspective at Umm Al-Qura University English Language Centre

Japanese University English Language Entrance Exams and the Washback Effect: A Systematic Review of the Research

The entrance exams to Japanese universities have long been criticised for creating negative “washback” on English education in high schools in Japan, as teachers have often focused their teaching efforts on teaching grammar to prepare students for these exams rather than helping students to develop competency in spoken English. Many government initiatives have attempted to reform English language education by encouraging a greater focus on speaking competency. This paper outlines the nature of the Japanese university entrance exam system, considers the phenomenon of washback, and critically reviews the body of empirical research related to washback in the Japanese context. A systematic review was conducted on articles published between 1993 and June, 2022. These articles were subjected to thematic analysis in which four broad categories were identified: learner behaviour; washback to teacher behaviour; affective factors; and washback specifically from the introduction of the listening test. Findings suggest that more empirical studies are required to understand the complex nature of washback from university entrance exams, and that future research is required to examine potential washback from four-skills testing and, in particular, from the inclusion of a speaking test.

Edebiyat Derslerinin İngiliz Dili Eğitimi Programlarına Katkıları

This study aims to investigate the contributions of literary texts to English Language Teaching Programmes. The study focuses on the changing status of literature courses in the Higher Education in Turkey; discusses the pedagogical benefits of literature courses in language teaching education and intends to examine to what extent literature causes a positive change on student teachers’ personal growth and their linguistic, literary, cultural competence, as well as their command of English in reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking skills, and their vocabulary repertoire. The data was conducted with 29 participants who completed their 3rd grade at Gazi University English Language Department. To find out the participants’ subjective opinions, experiences and beliefs, a semi-structured interview was used for the survey as a qualitative research method. The findings demonstrate that literature courses have led to a meaningful improvement in the participants both personally and academically. Yet, the results indicated that this positive change expected in the participants had been limited for certain items. Some suggestions were given for further studies.

Attitudinal stance toward translanguaging in Saudi Arabia: A mixed method case study

AbstractWith the global demand to engage in a reflexive critique of using English‐only as a medium of instruction, teachers of English in higher education need to find ways to support and scaffold students in the process of learning, and translanguaging (TL), as defined by García and Lin, could be a useful tool for this purpose. Teaching English in Saudi higher education is a worthwhile context to investigate the pervasive practices of TL due to the immense variety of Englishes spoken, varying Arabic dialects spoken in the classes, and the fact that English students are seen as emerging bilingual/cultural students. This study aims to unpack teachers’ attitudes toward TL in Saudi Arabia as well as the ideological underpinnings of those attitudes in order to gauge the openness of teachers to this potentially useful practice. We sought to understand how TL is used as a practice and theory that empowers English language students while tapping into their available resources in the process of learning. Data were collected through a survey and then followed by semi‐structured interviews of five university English language professors. Findings of the current study, especially the interviews, suggested that teachers of English in the Saudi context realize that incorporating more than one cultural, dialectal, and linguistic code in the classroom is a natural, humanistic phenomenon. Results also showed that participants in the present study were ambivalent about its use for ideological, institutional, and pedagogical reasons. The study concludes that TL is viewed favorably by English as a foreign language teachers when both teachers and students share common linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The study implies that teachers and stakeholders can embrace a rhetoric of differences in their classrooms rather than a unitary, one‐sided way of meaning‐making.

Marking and unmarking the (non)native speaker through English language proficiency requirements for university admission

AbstractThis article examines the language ideologies undergirding university English language admission requirements. Universities are today caught between the order of the nation state and that of corporate globalization as they seek to attract both national and international students. This tension produces conflicting processes of (converse) racialization and linguistic (un)marking within which universities construct language proficiencies and ethnonational identities. Our study finds two categorically different constructs of English language proficiency (ELP): inherent ELP based on citizenship, linguistic heritage, and prior education, and tested ELP. These two constructs of ELP map onto two dichotomous student groups. One side of this binary—the white native-speaker citizen construct—is subject to converse racialization and unmarking. While it becomes blurred, it casts its Other into clear relief: the Asian non-native speaker non-citizen. The research has implications for critical language testing and language policies in higher education. (Citizenship, English as a global academic language, internationalization of higher education, international students, language ideologies, language testing, native speakerism, racialization, World Englishes)

Is gender-bias in textbooks spilled over from schools to universities? Evidence from Ethiopian university English language course textbooks

Is gender-bias in textbooks spilled over from schools to universities? Evidence from Ethiopian university English language course textbooks

What are the Effects of Project-based English Curriculum on the Development of Learners' Competencies? A Case Study of a Japanese University English Language Program

Japanese English education reform continues to falter, and the same is true of university English education. However, amidst these circumstances, transmission-oriented English education is gaining attention as a methodological approach to English language educational reform. Transmission-oriented English education, in which the authors are also engaged, is a model for reform that shifts the emphasis from the traditional reception-based approach in English education to a more communicative, active learning approach. However, while these educational practices have shown results in terms of excitement in the classroom and subjective satisfaction among learners, there is a lack of objective proof, and the accumulation of research to verify the results objectively is an urgent need. In this paper, we examine the results of the GTEC (Global Test of English Communication)-Academic and TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), which objectively measure English proficiency, and the GPS (Global Proficiency Skills)-Academic, which objectively measures basic social competencies, in two different groups of participants to determine whether the presence or absence of transmission-oriented English education has contributed to the growth of abilities ranging from subsets of English skills to socially necessary competencies by utilizing statistical verification. One interesting result was that the experimental group that took transmission-oriented English education for one year scored significantly higher in English writing than the group that did not, and since there were no statistically significant differences in any of the other components of English proficiency, we concluded that this could be considered an outcome of transmission-oriented English education.