Female English As A Foreign Language Research Articles

A Study of Students’ Attitude toward Teachers’ Affective Factors in EFL Classrooms

In any teaching-learning situation, teacher plays a significant role in the classroom. This study aimed at investigating the students’ attitude toward teachers’ affective factors in EFL classrooms. In this study, the students’ population was 300 pre-intermediate (based on the institutes’ placement test) female EFL students (10 to 25 years old) in four English language institutes located in Rafsanjan. In accordance with Morgan and Krejcie table (1970), 160 pre-intermediate female EFL students were selected randomly as the sample size from four English language institutes in Rafsanjan. The results revealed that teachers’ self-confidence, attitude toward English culture, attitude toward English language, attitude toward English people, lack of anxiety(class management), lack of anxiety(topic management), integrative motivation, and instrumental motivation were the affective factors that could affect students’ English language learning. The most important factor to affect the students’ achievement was teachers’ integrative motivation and the least important factor was teachers’ lack of anxiety (topic management). Keywords: Affective Factors, Attitude, EFL (English as a foreign language) students

Perceptual Learning Styles and Critical Thinking: Inspecting the Association among EFL Learners

Influenced by the acknowledged role of critical thinking and learning styles in the process of second language learning, this study attempted to systematically inspect the association between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' critical thinking, on one hand, and their total score of perceptual learning styles, different perceptual learning styles, and number of major perceptual learning styles, on the other hand. To do so, 595 male and female undergraduate EFL learners, between the ages of 18 and 25 (Mage = 22) participated in this study. These participants completed two instruments: a) the questionnaire of critical thinking by Honey (2000), and b) the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Survey developed by Reid (1984). Due to the violation of the assumptions of normality of distribution, the non-parametric Spearman rank order coefficient of correlation was employed in order to answer the initial 3 research questions. The obtained results indicated that there were significant and positive relationships between participants’ critical thinking and total score of perceptual learning styles, ρ = .33, n = 595, p < .01; critical thinking and the number of major perceptual learning styles, ρ = .28, n = 595, p < .01; and critical thinking and group, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic perceptual learning styles. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis was run which revealed that tactile learning style preference is the best predictor of EFL learners’ critical thinking (β = 0.285, t = 6.107, p = 0.0005). The study concludes with a discussion on the findings and stating a number of recommendations for further research.

Writing Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency among EFL Learners: Inspecting Their Interaction with Learners’ Degree of Creativity

Based on the peculiarities of developing second language (L2) writing among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and the significance of studying the way writing skill interacts with EFL learners’ internal factors, the present study attempted to inspect the relationship between EFL learners’ creativity, on one hand, and writing complexity, writing accuracy, and writing fluency, on the other hand. The participants of the study were 185 male and female adult Iranian EFL learners (Mage = 26). The Persian version of O’Neil, Abedi, and Spielberger’s (1992) Creativity Questionnaire, validated by Zaker (2013), was employed in order to estimate participants’ degree of creativity. Participants’ two exploratory and descriptive writings were analyzed through employing the Profile of Larsen-Freeman (2006) by two raters in order to estimate participants’ writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Through running Pearson's Product-moment correlations it was indicated that there are significant correlations between participants’ creativity and writing accuracy, ρ = .84, n = 185, p < .05; creativity and writing fluency, ρ = .77, n = 185, p < .05; and creativity and writing complexity, ρ = .69, n = 185, p < .05. Moreover, running three linear regressions revealed that Creativity can predict 70.1 percent of participants’ writing accuracy (R = .837, R2 = .701); 60 percent of their writing fluency (R = .775, R2 = .600); and 47.5 percent of their writing complexity (R = .689, R2 = .475). The study concludes with a discussion on the findings and stating a number of recommendations for further research.

A STUDY ON COOPERATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING: THE IMPACT OF CLL APPROACH ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OF EFL LEARNERS

The current research investigated the impact of cooperative language learning (CLL) approach on English language proficiency of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The participants were 150 intermediate female EFL learners who were randomly selected from various private English language institutes of Tehran, Iran. First, FCE (First Certificate in English) test was administered to all 150 participants as a means of homogenization which brought down the number of the students to 135. Then, the homogenized participants were taught English through CLL approach for 20 sessions, each for 90 minutes. A pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design was employed to investigate the impact of CLL approach on English language proficiency of the EFL learners. The results were analysed through a one-way ANOVA and paired-samples t-test statistics. The outcomes revealed that CLL has a significant positive effect on English language proficiency of EFL learners. Article visualizations:

The Effect of Cooperative Strategies versus Concept Visualization on Reading Comprehension Ability of Intermediate EFL Learners

Reading in foreign language learning has an important place. While the advances in L1 reading comprehension have led us to gain a more comprehensive picture of the nature of reading, the similar studies in L2 context have not had the same impact. Furthermore, the fact that the majority of Iranian second language (L2) learners have been taught by traditional methods has compounded the problem. To unravel the aforementioned dilemma, this study was conducted to find out the effect of cooperative strategies versus visualization on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) students' reading comprehension. In order to carry out the study, 45 female EFL learners, with the age range of 17 to 18 were chosen and after administering the pretest, they were assigned to two experimental groups (visualization and cooperative strategies) and one control group. A predominantly quantitative approach coupled with quasi-experimental design was used. After the treatment, a posttest was given to all groups. The meticulous analysis of data using paired t test and One-Way ANCOVA indicated that the participants in cooperative group outperformed the students in visualization group on reading comprehension test. It also revealed that conventional teaching approach did not have any significant effect on students’ performance in control group. This study offered some implications for teachers and course developers.

Promoting Foreign Language Learners’ Writing: Comparing the Impact of Oral Conferencing and Collaborative Writing

This study was an attempt to compare the effect of conferencing alongside writing on writing ability of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. For this purpose, a piloted sample of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered to 90 intermediate female EFL learners, between 20 and 32 years old (M age = 26). The results of this test enabled the researchers to select 60 homogenous individuals who were then randomly assigned into two experimental groups of 30 named oral conferencing group and collaborative writing To ensure the homogeneity among the participants in terms of their writing ability before the treatment, their scores on the writing section of the PET test were analyzed in isolation and it was considered as the pretest of the study. Oral conferencing included the discussions and negotiations among the participants and the teacher before and after writing activities followed by live teacher-student as well as student-student feedbacks. In the writing group, the participants wrote compositions in groups based on the same topics introduced in the conferencing group. At the end, both experimental groups were given another piloted writing section of the PET test as the posttest. The analysis of the test scores using an independent samples t -test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that there is a significant difference between the effect of conferencing and writing on EFL learners’ writing ability. It was concluded that the ability of EFL learners’ writing was more affected by applying conferencing rather than writing.

An Exploration into the Relationship between EFL Learners' Self-regulation and Willingness to Communicate

This study investigated the association between Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Self-Regulation (SR) among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. In order to fulfill this purpose, male and female EFL learners ( n = 520), between the ages of 19 and 34 ( M age = 26), majoring in English Language Teaching, English Translation, and English Literature at Islamic Azad University, Fars Province, were selected via random selection. These participants were asked to fill in two questionnaires: WTC Scale developed by McCroskey and Baer (1985) and SR Questionnaire developed by Brown, Miller, and Lawendowski (1999). The collected data were initially checked as to meeting the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. Owing to the violation of the assumptions of linear correlation, Spearman's rank-order correlation was utilized to examine the way SR and WTC are associated. The analysis outcomes suggested a significant direct correlation between SR and WTC, ρ = .56, n = 520, p < .05, standing for a large effect size and a very small confidence interval. In addition, running a Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that there exists a statistically significant difference in WTC scores based on the level of SR, divided into three categories through employing the SD, χ 2 (2) = 157.843, p = 0.000. Subsequently, a post-hoc comparison using the Dwass-Steel-Critchlow-Fligner test reflected significant differences among the three groups on WTC scores. The study concludes with a discussion on the results and making a number of suggestions for further research.

The Impact of Self-Regulated Strategy Development on Vocabulary Learning among English Language Learners

The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) on vocabulary learning of students’ English as a foreign language (EFL), and find the relationship between male and female participants with regard to the effect of SRSD on their vocabulary learning. To achieve this goal, 60 homogeneous intermediate EFL learners (30 male and 30 female) were randomly assigned to two groups of 30, a control group who received the mainstream instruction for intermediate learners and an experimental group who received additional training using self-regulated strategy development in their vocabulary instruction. The treatment consisted of five vocabulary learning strategies (using a monolingual dictionary, using new words in sentences, guessing meaning from the context, word part analysis and repetition) which were reinforced through five steps of SRSD, i.e., discuss it, model it, make it your own, support it and independent performance. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to collect the data. The results indicated that self-regulated strategy development can have a significantly positive impact on the vocabulary learning of Iranian intermediate EFL learners and this impact does not differ among male and female EFL learners. Based on the findings of the study, it was suggested that self-regulated strategy development is used in English language classes in order to teach vocabulary. Further educational implications of the study have been elaborated in the paper. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p249

The Effect of Supplementary Materials on Reading Comprehension Improvement of Iranian Female High School EFL Learners Based on Gaj and Khate Sefid Text books

The Impact of using Supplementary books alongside the national academic text book has received great attention of the curriculum and material developers. Since the beginning of language studies, Second &amp;Foreign Language Acquisition (SLA &amp; FLA) researchers have been searching for effective ways of improving learners’ language skills. This study aimed at investigating the effects of using supplementary text books (Gaj and Khate Sefid) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ Reading skill. Data from this study demonstrate a significant role of using two kinds of books Gaj and Khate Sefid in improving the reading skill of participants in the experimental groups. The findings of this study may help the learners to enhance their independent English language learning and improve their reading comprehension and the overall learning of English by using Supplementary books. Keywords: Reading Comprehension, Supplementary Text books, EFL Learners

Teaching Metacognitive Strategies through Anderson’s Model: Does It Affect EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension?

Metacognitive Strategies (MS), as one of the main categories of language learning strategies, are presumed to encourage higher-order thinking, autonomous learning, and, in all actuality, better learning. Based on this premise, this study attempts to investigate the effect of teaching MS on intermediate-level EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ Listening Comprehension (LC). To fulfill this objective, a group of 130 male and female EFL learners, attending a TOEFL test preparation course, took a sample of Preliminary English Test (PET) as a proficiency test, and 90 of them were selected as homogeneous learners. This homogeneous group, then, took a LC (pre)test whose scores functioned as the basis for selecting a number of 60 male and female students, between the ages of 18 to 35 (M age = 26), as the participants of this study. The participants were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups (n = 15 in each class). These four classes were instructed by four EFL teachers, employing the same textbook and content, over 18 sessions. Only the two experimental groups received MS training based on Anderson’s 2002 model. At the end of the training course, a listening posttest was administered to all four classes. Analyzing the data through a t- test revealed that the two experimental groups significantly outperformed the other two control groups; accordingly, it was confirmed that teaching MS has a significant and positive impact on EFL learners’ LC in this context. The study concludes with stating some pedagogical implications and highlighting some avenues for future research.

The relationship between metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies with learners’ L2 learning achievement

This study was an attempt to explore the extent to which second/foreign (L2) learners used metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies. Additionally, it investigated the relationship of metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies with L2 learners’ language learning achievement. To these ends, 49 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, including 8 male and 41 female EFL learners, from several language institutes participated in this study. To collect the data, Metacognitive Strategy Questionnaire by Item Type (MSQIT), Self-Regulated Learning Strategy Questionnaire (SRLSQ), and Final English Achievement Test were used. The data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Pearson product moment correlation procedures. The results revealed the high and medium use for metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies, respectively, among Iranian intermediate-level EFL learners. Moreover, there was a positive relationship between metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategy use with L2 learning achievement. The findings can help L2 teachers in gaining better understanding of L2 students’ weaknesses and strengths regarding metacognitive and self-regulated learning strategies and making modifications in their teaching methods to provide opportunities for their students to promote L2 learning achievement.

Uncovering Undergraduate English-as-a-Foreign-Language Learners’ Perceptions of Reticence

The study of factors influencing undergraduate learners’ participation and/or reticence in second/foreign language classrooms, a relatively recent line of research, can contribute to the betterment of language teaching and learning practices. In this work, we attempt to investigate the causes of a population of undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ reticence by focusing on their own perceptions and by seeing the problem from their perspective. 201 male and female undergraduate Iranian EFL learners selected randomly based on Krejcie and Morgan’s formula for determining sample size served as the participants of the study. The data were collected through interviews, observations and a five-point Likert-scale researcher-made questionnaire. The results of the analyses of the data through qualitative content-based coding of the transcripts, frequency counts, and factorial analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed the following: a) based on systematic class observations, most students appeared to understand teachers’ instruction, took notes, and spoke when addressed; however, they rarely asked questions or volunteered responses; b) unfriendly and competitive class atmosphere, boring and useless topics and materials, and having unmotivated and serious teachers were among the most frequent learner-perceived factors causing reticence; c) based on the results of exploratory factorial analysis, 12 factors including learner anxiety, poor class management, peer/ teacher correction, background knowledge, grouping learners, and self-image were reported as the main causes of reticence. Based on these findings, we make suggestions for EFL teachers about how to consider students’ concerns and to promote class participation.

Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Investigating Reported Social and Affective Strategy Use by EFL Learners in Virtual and Real Learning Environments

Recently, research on computer-assisted language learning has been growing. However, little research is conducted to explore the strategic social interactions of students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in a virtual world. The purpose of the study was to investigate how 52 EFL college students engaged and interacted socially in virtual and real spaces. This paper endeavors to address the issue from the theory of language learning strategies. The results reveal that the learners engaged more in a virtual learning environment compared to those in a real English communication class. Moreover, the avatar-embodied virtual world elicited more strategic social interactions for the female EFL students than the ones in a real space, which gave rise to active use of English for communication.

İNGİLİZCE'Yİ YABANCI DİL OLARAK ÖĞRENEN TÜRK ÖĞRENCİLER NASIL 'HAYIR' DER?

How to express politeness is an important issue for language learners. The aim of the study is to investigate the refusal strategy use of female EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners at a Discourse Completion Task (DCT). 82 EFL learners participated in the study, and 62 of the participants completed the English DCT and were B1.2 (intermediate level) learners. 20 of the participant completed the Turkish DCT and were A2 (beginner level) learners. The DCTs were completed during class time. After the DCT, follow-up interviews were conducted with randomly selected 10 participants who completed the English DCT. The data were analyzed qualitatively and in frequency bases. The data were coded by two coders for reliability. The findings showed that stating reason and regret were the most preferred strategies while refusing and the participants who completed the English DCT used more various strategies than the participants who completed the Turkish DCT. Power was another consideration in deciding on the refusal strategy use. When compared, both data sets presented both similar and different semantic formulas in refusing the given situations. At the end of the study, it is suggested that more attention should be paid in teaching pragmatic knowledge to EFL learners and authentic material and DCT activities can be used for enhancing pragmatic awareness for language learner.

“I Would Study Harder if I Was a Girl”: Gendered Narratives of Low-Achieving Male and High-Achieving Female EFL Learners

Informed by a social and critical turn of reading practices and a poststructuralist paradigm of gender, this study delved into the commonly held belief that reading and language learning is a feminine domain, and examined the connection between the construction of gendered subjectivities and English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) reading practices among two high-achieving female students and two low-achieving male students in China and Sweden. The narrative inquiry revealed that gender played a role in shaping their decisions concerning the extent to which they invested in EFL reading. The students’ narratives, characterized by subject positions that revealed a feminization of EFL reading and a subjectification to the patriarchal order, leads to our argument that English reading in both contexts can be viewed as a right for men but as work for women. This view gives male students a legitimate excuse to distance themselves from avid reading, but female students an inclination toward contradictory feelings of both desire and stress.

The Impact of Four Reading Motivational Constructs on Motivating EFL Learners to Read Online Texts in English

It is generally acknowledged that motivation plays a critical role in second-language (L2) reading. The technology-enhanced learning environment, specifically the computer-assisted reading environment as an interactive tool with distinctive attributes, is said to motivate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to make more sustained efforts in online reading and show greater perseverance. Such an environment encourages students to devote more time to reading due to its ability to more profoundly engage English learners in reading accessible, electronic English texts. The present study investigates the relative contribution of four motivational constructs that constitute the EFL learner’s online reading motivation: the intrinsic value of reading online English texts, the extrinsic value of reading online English texts, the attainment value of reading, and reading efficacy. The study closely measures the views of EFL learners in preparatory programs at selected Saudi universities regarding the value of online reading with respect to these four motivational constructs. In addition, it explores differences in these motivational constructs according to the perspectives of both genders who are attending preparatory programs, as well as examines the motivational attitude of EFL learners toward the value of reading online English texts. A 35-item survey was administered to the selected respondents to identify the four dimensions of EFL learners’ online English reading motivation. The findings indicate that the four online reading motivational constructs contribute positively to EFL learners reading online English texts in the following order: extrinsic, attainment, intrinsic, and efficacy. The questionnaires were analyzed by use of within- and between-subjects ANOVA and post-hoc pairwise comparisons, whereas the open-ended questions were analyzed by use of content analysis. The results also show that both male and female EFL learners have high motivation to read online English texts, with female learners scoring significantly higher than male learners on the attainment scale.A thorough discussion that incorporates the present results is provided, along with proffering and highlighting practical technical and pedagogical implications for computer-assisted language learning (CALL) reading classrooms beyond the given context. Areas of potential future research are delineated as well.

EFL female faculty members’ beliefs about CALL use and integration in EFL instruction: The case of Saudi higher education

The researcher investigated female English as a foreign language (EFL) faculty members’ beliefs about computer-assisted language learning (CALL) use and integration in EFL instruction at four Saudi universities. The study also examined the EFL female faculty’s perspectives of computer-assisted language learning usage and its implementation in language teaching and learning. The researcher used questionnaires and interviews to gather data. No significant differences among female EFL faculty members were found in terms of age, academic title, teaching experience, and computing proficiency level that may have affected their use of CALL in EFL instruction.

Exploring communicative practices in the blogging of female EFL university students

Blogs and other Web 2.0 technologies have offered the possibility of interactive communication to students who use English as a foreign language (EFL). The author proposes that we should explore how university students coconstruct a multitude of interactions within and around EFL blogging. Drawing on two interconnected methodologies — sociocultural theory and sociolinguistic studies — this paper analyzes online interactive discourse among small groups of female EFL students in an undergraduate “Online English Learning” course. The analysis suggests that the integration of these interactive, community-based approaches to EFL blogging opens up rich and complex communicative practices in which participants can share second language (L2) knowledge, support each other, and present their virtual selves through creative text construction and semiotic language use. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for L2 learning and future research.