English Learner Students Research Articles

Action Research on Impact of Project-based Learning on Intrinsic Motivation of Private College Students Learning English in China

The study investigates the effect of project-based learning on the intrinsic motivation of private college students learning English in China. Motivation is instrumental to students’ learning process, private college students in China are less academically motivated than their counterparts in public institutions. Project-based learning is an effective instructional technique that empowers students to be the center of learning. In this action research, 21 students learning English in a private Chinese college were administered with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory to examine the difference of their intrinsic motivation level before and after a project. The result of the study shows significant difference existing in interest, autonomy, competence and pressure students perceived before and after the project, which supports project-based learning has a positive impact on students’ intrinsic motivation for learning. Based on this result, it is highly suggested that more considerations should be given to incorporate PBL in course design to enhance intrinsic motivation of private college students in China.

Code-Switching in Interactions between Teacher and Students with Different Levels of Language Proficiencies

In an English teaching and learning process, teachers and students have interactions that occupy the students’ first language. It can be related to the existence of code-switching. It can help them fill in the gap which occurs during a conversation. It can improve the quality of teaching and learning. This study focuses on the analysis of code-switching in the interactions between the teacher and the students with different levels of language proficiency. This study examines how the teacher produced code-switching, the students’ responses towards the teacher’s code-switching, and the teacher’s roles code-switching. This study employed qualitative research. The instruments used for collecting data were audio-video recording, test, interview, and questionnaire. Findings of the study revealed that (1) the teacher used three types of code-switching to the students with different levels of language proficiency and the function of repetitive was the most frequent function found in the interactions, (2) the students responded to the teacher’s code-switching by using English, Indonesian language or code-switching, and (3) the roles of teacher as a controller and a director have the crucial use in the interactions. Hopefully, further studies can explore code-switching deeply in the interactions between teachers and students with different language proficiency levels in instructional settings.

Machine Learning-Based Student Emotion Recognition for Business English Class

Traditional English teaching model neglects student emotions, making many tired of learning. Machine learning supports end-to-end recognition of learning emotions, such that the recognition system can adaptively adjust the learning difficulty in English classroom. With the help of machine learning, this paper presents a method to extract the facial expression features of students in business English class, and establishes a student emotion recognition model, which consists of such modules as emotion mechanism, signal acquisition, analysis and recognition, emotion understanding, emotion expression, and wearable equipment. The results show that the proposed emotion recognition model monitors the real-time emotional states of each student during English learning; upon detecting frustration or boredom, machine learning will timely switch to the contents that interest the student or easier to learn, keeping the student active in learning. The research provides an end-to-end student emotion recognition system to assist with classroom teaching, and enhance the positive emotions of students in English learning.

Students' Perception of Studying English at The Twelfth Grade Students SMN N 8 Jambi City.

This study aims to determine students' perceptions about learning English in the twelfth grade of senior high school 8 in the city of Jambi. This research is a qualitative phenomenological research. The data collection technique was obtained through interviews. The results showed that according to students learning English is very easy to understand if students want to learn to understand it, the interest of students of SMAN 8 Jambi city in receiving learning is also supported by learning support facilities such as books, English dictionaries, and other online English dictionary sites. In addition, the assignment given by the teacher also raises student perceptions. Good teacher interaction in delivering learning can also lead to student perceptions. In this case the teachers at SMAN 8 Kota Jambi always use two languages to interact with their students. Good interaction between students and teachers is also supported by student activities. In this case, students of SMAN 8 Jambi City are always actively asking their teachers and friends about learning English. As for its application in everyday life, due to the lack of students 'ability in English pronunciation, and the lack of students' vocabulary regarding English learning, students lack confidence to interact with other people in using English. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that according to students learning English is very easy. Students' interest in receiving learning is also supported by supporting facilities for learning English such as books and dictionaries. Teachers always use two languages to interact with their students in learning English, namely by mixing Indonesian. Students always actively ask teachers and friends about learning English that students do not know, and students do not apply English in their daily life due to lack of vocabulary and lack confidence in interacting with other people in using English.Keywords: Students' Perception, Studying English

A Vocational English Teacher’s Professional Identity in Industry 4.0

The growth of technology in Industry 4.0 also gives an impact on education. Language teachers are not only consumers of commercial educational materials, but also must improve creativity in managing classrooms. They should find innovative instructional approaches, methods, and strategies. Therefore, the language teacher identity (LTI) becomes very important. The teachers should discover the contexts in which their designed practices are rooted and expelled to criticize their own personal and professional lives. The current article is a narrative inquiry that an English teacher of vocational high school in Indonesia began to experience over a period of two years during which she could see herself trying to find the best English learning for students that are ready to work in industry 4.0. Shimmering on self experiences and documenting the activities narratively made the teacher face with a number of teaching tradition that she wants to bridge education to world current development. With the development of technology, She began to see herself transforming from traditional learning into new learning that well matched for millennial students. These experiences become very challenging for teachers who are interested in self-inquiry research.

Motivation of Students in the Learning English through Audio Visual Media

This study aims to determine the motivation of students in learning English through audio visual media in the eleventh grade at MA Al Amiriyyah Blokagung Banyuwangi then describe how motivation is used in learning English by using audio Audio Visual Media in the form of video. Furthermore, this study also aims to determine whether it is true that it maximally motivates students by using audio visual media. This research uses a descriptive method with a qualitative design, to collect data, the researcher uses several instruments, among others; (1) Observation, (2) Questionnaire, (3) Interview. The subjects of this research were 15 eleventh grade students at MA Al Amiriyyah Blokagung Banyuwangi where these class students were placed in a special dormitory in the form of the Syafa’atul Qur’an dormitory. The results showed that (1) student motivation can be said to be in a good category, according to the results of all these findings the researcher concluded that the motivation to learn English is 80.00% of the questionnaire results which can be said to be in "good motivation". Besides, from the results of the interview, the researcher concluded that student motivation in learning English was quite good. Students' motivation to learn in English is because the atmosphere is pleasant, the teacher delivers the material well and the material is easy to understand, (2) the factors behind the motivation to learn English besides liking the atmosphere in the English classroom, the teacher also combines methods and media in carrying out the learning process, so that students felt confident that it would be easy to understand and learn the material even though they are not yet speak properly due to very minimal vocabulary,

The Characteristics and Self-Regulation of Undergraduate Students in Online English Learning: A Case Study of A Private University in Thailand

Online learning is readily available in Thailand, and scholars acknowledge its importance in assisting language learners to accomplish their foreign language goals. Currently, with the COVID-19 global pandemic, self-distancing is helping to reduce the infection rate. Since learning must continue, technologies play a vital role. Educators and students have managed to adjust to the unprecedented situation and continue with classes despite the many obstacles. Thus, this study examines the characteristic variables (motivation, belief in language, and anxiety) and self-regulation in online English learning classes, as well as investigating the relationship between the characteristic variables and self-regulation of undergraduate students at a private university in Thailand. The study involves 132 participants enrolled in an online English course during the pandemic, with a questionnaire and focus group interviews employed as the research instruments. The results showed that the students were highly motivated, exhibited positive beliefs, moderate anxiety, and high self-regulation toward online English learning. Two variables, namely motivation and positive beliefs, were found to be correlated with self-regulation in online English learning at the 0.01 and 0.05 significance level, respectively. Anxiety in online English learning was found to have no significant relationship with self-regulation in online English learning, indicating that students experiencing some level of anxiety during the online class could still exhibit self-regulated behavior. These findings are expected to provide a foundation for further research in the online learning field.

The use of game-based learning in English class

English teachers may come across challenges within the process of English language teaching, especially now, when technologies and innovations grow rapidly. Teachers who trapped in traditional comfort zone of teaching might left behind. Nevertheless, an English teacher of Sekolah Tunas Bangsa is familiar with new technological media by applying Game-Based Learning to teach English in the classroom. This research aims to explore the using of GBL to increase students’ interest in learning English. This research was conducted in Primary level of Sekolah Tunas Bangsa where an English teacher became the focused participant of this study. The Narrative Inquiry method was used to conduct this research by following the research procedure taken from Creswell (2012). The findings show that the teacher used some game-based platforms, such as Kahoot!, Quizizz, ESL Games Plus, and Duolingo, because they are rich of visuals and easy to play. In this study, the teacher conducted GBL by using structured schedule consisted of instruction, presentation, and reflection helped the students to engage with the materials being learnt. The way the teacher managed the using of GBL by following a structured schedule has also promoted fun and interesting learning. Then, the teacher’s reason on using GBL in the classroom was exposed as her way to engage and to motivate the students in learning English. She believes that when the students feel challenged as well as having fun during the learning, the level of interest increases. The students’ achievements have also increased when the teacher uses GBL in the classroom. In conclusion, the using of GBL has successfully increased the students’ interest in learning English.

Writing Anxiety among EFL Students of John Senior High School

The objective of this is to examine the level of deep writing anxiety experienced by high school students in learning English as a foreign language for various reasons and consequences of the anxiety. Many results of research on scientific papers in this decade indicate that writing anxiety in foreign languages has negative effects on attitudes, success, student achievement, hinders the writing process, and reduces interest in writing. In this study, the quantitative research method is used to measure the level of anxiety experienced by students. This study adapted the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory questionnaire compiled by (Cheng, 2004). The results showed that the participants had high and moderate writing anxiety. Cognitive anxiety showed the highest result. Whereas, avoidance anxiety was reported in the second position of writing anxiety. The lowest score was performed by somatic anxiety that occurred in the result. They have problems in choosing a topic to write on, finding helpful ideas, time constraints, and a lack of effective feedback are the most worrying factors, followed by grammar, brainstorming, idea organization, and topic sentence writing.

English as a Foreign Language Lesson Plans During Covid-19 Pandemic in The Senior High School

Teachers have difficulties in preparing lesson plans that are adapted to online learning. This has resulted in students having difficulty learning English as a foreign language (EFL) through Google Classroom during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to analyze the abilities and difficulties of teachers in preparing lesson plans and the difficulties of students in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) through Google Classroom during the Covid-19 pandemic. The design used in this research is the Embedded Mix Method design. The technique used to collect data is a questionnaire. The instrument used to collect data is a questionnaire. The population of this study found 10 teachers and 55 students. The ability of teachers to prepare lesson plans for EFL through Google Classroom is measured and described quantitatively. Meanwhile, the difficulties of teachers and students were described and analyzed qualitatively. The study results are the teacher's ability to prepare EFL lesson plans through Google Classroom, which is 67.50. It can be said that EFL teachers are less able to choose learning procedures or steps, choose learning media and evaluate learning. Students also have difficulty learning EFL through Google Classroom.

An Analysis on Rewards and Punishments toward Students’ Motivation in English Learning

Rewards and punishments are one of the strategies used to motivate students in learning English. This study purpose to find out the kinds of rewards and punishments used by the teacher in motivating students and to know the students’ responses of rewards and punishments in learning English at VIII-I grade at SMP Islam Ibnu Khaldun. The method used in this study was descriptive study. The participants of this study were an English teacher and 30 students of VIII-I grade. This study used interviews and questionnaires of instruments. Analyzing the data for the interview, the writer included the audio-tape recording, then the writer transcripted what the interviewers said and the writer classified the answers based on the transcription, and then draw the conclusion. To analyze the data the writer used percentage formula of questionnaire. From the results of the interview several rewards were used by the teacher in the classroom; praise, gifts, and grades and there were some punishments that were used by teachers; memorizing vocabulary, writing sentences, reading Al-Qur’an letters and cleaning class. In addition, the results of the questionnaire showed that most students responded positively to the provision of rewards and punishments by the teacher. In addition, 99 % of the students agreed that they became more active, more responsible, and also motivated. It turns out that those who considered punishment to be effective were 100%. Therefore, it could be concluded that implementation of rewards and punishments in learning process was more effective because it can make students study hard.

Chinese EFL Learners’ Cross-cultural Pragmatic Competence: The Appropriateness of Request

The speech act of requesting has attracted a lot of attention in recent research. Previous studies reveal that conventionally indirect request strategies are commonly used by second language (L2) learners. This study is relevant because the findings would improve the requests strategies and its responses between Chinese EFL learners and foreigners. The study also examines the role of cross-cultural pragmatic competence in Chinese students in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) by considering the appropriateness of requests. It aims to find out the effects of knowledge of L1 culture on L2 pragmatic competence and how requests and its responses would contribute to pragmatic failure. The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative approach to analyse data. The data were collected through a discourse completion test (DCT) from 72 undergraduates and postgraduate students. The modified DCT was composed of two parts. The first was mainly concerned with the demographic information of the participants and second was composed of 12 simulated situations eliciting the appropriateness of requests in various communication settings. The findings of present study revealed that Chinese learners do not differ markedly from native speakers in their use of strategies, but do differ significantly in the formulaic expressions they employ for making the requests. Unclear request strategies and responses were identified as contributing factors to pragmatic failures. However, the study recommended that instructors should engage learners of English as a second language in a lot of appropriate request strategies to build learners’ competence and ability to understand situations in different environments.

Application of Smart-Phone Apps by Chinese College Students in Learning English

Application of Smart-Phone Apps by Chinese College Students in Learning English

PARENTAL PARTICIPATION TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE CASE OF INDONESIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

This research seeks to investigate the role of parents in the success of children's education. It is intended to evaluate parents' role and evaluate the participation of parents in the success of elementary school students in learning English. The qualitative approach was used in this study to derive the findings by using a questionnaire and documentation from the research subject. In this report, there are 28 students and parents involved. Furthermore, the data processing method is used to accumulate the data, reduce the data, show the data, and make a conclusion. The outcome of this research is a perfect reflection of the standards of English learning success by parents. In learning vocabulary, parents understand the limitations and challenges of their children. Parents' role is also excellent; 91 percent of parents help children learn English provides benefits, and positively affect children. Then, 23 percent of parents are only interested in getting support at home with children's education; therefore, the family or siblings can help unless the child has problems.

Critical thinking in teaching and learning English for Vietnamese students: The case of textbook Life Pre-Intermediate (Vietnam edition

To improve the effectiveness of English teaching and learning, it is necessary for learners to develop critical thinking skills. Despite being a common-used skill of students worldwide, it has not been effectively acquired by Vietnamese students when using English textbooks as Life Pre-Intermediate (Vietnam edition). Using the methodological triangulation, we set the task of helping English learners and their teachers in conceiving, designing, implementing and operating critical thinking construction in the textbook, and in relevance to their background knowledge. The results of a survey of freshmen at Vinh University show that the participants' capacity of critical thinking, their embodied experience and learning methods are rather far from what the textbook requires. Therefore, the essential way to learning and teaching English as a second language with Life Pre-Intermediate is to re-recognize and adhere to the principles of foreign language teaching and learning, and that teachers need to play the role of advisors.

Senior High School Students’ Anxiety and Performance in Learning English

This study focused on the anxiety and performance of the students in learning English specifically in speaking. It sought to find out anxieties and its causes that affect their English performance in terms of inter-language phonology, grammar and meaning system. The study covered the use of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) that measure the English learners’ anxiety levels while learning English in the classroom. The respondents of the study were the selected Grade 12 senior high school students from the selected public schools in Maguindanao Division, Philippines. Descriptive-correlational survey method was used in the study.
 The findings show that English language speaking anxiety does exist among Senior High School students in Maguindanao Division and their level of anxiety in learning English is high. It is further concluded that students’ anxiety levels in speaking English in terms of inter-language phonology, inter-language grammar and inter-language meaning system contributed to students’ performance in learning in English.

“My Language Learners Seemed Like Ghosts”: A Rural Teacher’s Transformational Journey Implementing the Seal of Biliteracy

This paper describes the personal and professional journey taken by one secondary Spanish teacher to implement the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) for English learners (ELs) in a rural Florida school district. The teacher’s goal was to promote bilingual pride among her ELs and to validate their bilingual abilities, which had been frequently unrecognized in the community. This promising practice in a rural Florida district demonstrated two important transformations: first was the teacher’s personal views about bilingualism as an asset rather than a deficit, and second was the instructional practices she employed and fierce advocacy for the ELs in her rural secondary school. Ultimately, the work of the teacher disrupted inequities that her bilingual students faced and positively affected her EL students’ views of bilingualism and their lives in the rural school community.

FACTORS AFFECTING ENGLISH LEARNING OUTCOMES -APPLYINGSTRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM)

This study aims to present an overview of researches on factors affecting the results of students learning foreign languages, especially English, from previous studies. The results of retrospective analysis of documents and studies have shown the gaps of research methods in analyzing the factors affecting English learning outcomes of students and recommended the use of structural equation modeling methods (SEM) to predict students English learning outcomes based on both subjective and objective factors.

Exploring Organizational Leadership for English Learner Equity

ABSTRACT In this study, we explore leadership practices in a dual-language elementary school led by three leaders of color committed to the ideals of cultural responsiveness. We employ an organizational leadership lens informed by aspects of culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) and teaching (CRT) to interpret interview and observational data collected during the implementation of an equity-oriented engineering program for English learner (EL) students. In the midst of attempting to implement this school-research partnership, preexisting tensions between the school’s leadership and instructional culture rose to the forefront, offering the opportunity to analyze the data with this particular intersectional lens (organizational leadership and CRSL). Thus, subsequent data analysis focused not on program implementation but rather the existing challenges present in the school. Insights from our data suggest that both school leaders and teachers faced considerable challenges that appeared to stem from disparate understandings of how to achieve equity for their EL students. Ultimately, these challenges prevented leaders’ successful enactment of CRSL within the existing organizational infrastructure. We suggest that the lack of explicit processes of critical consciousness defined the school culture and that accountability practices limited leaders’ ability to implement CRSL.

Application of the SOLE (Self Organized Learning Environments) Learning Model in Improving Student English Learning Outcomes

The aim from this study is to improve English skills mastery of students by applying the SOLE (Self Organized Learning Environment) learning model. The study conducted qualitative research by case study type. The research result showing the improvement of students self-confidence in explaining their idea towards other students, after getting the stimulus of challenging question from the teacher.