Foreign Language Context Research Articles

Perceptions of Education Stakeholders on Use of Code-Switching in English Foreign Language Classrooms in Primary Schools in Tanzania

Code switching is used as a strategy for teaching of English foreign language in Tanzania public primary school contexts. It is however not officially recognised as one of the strategies for teaching and learning the English subject. Little attention has been given to the use of code switching for teaching and learning English as a foreign language in relation to how it minimises the opportunity to use the target language. The paper is informed by various perspectives on use of code switching in the language teaching and learning classroom. In particular, the paper is pegged on the view that in the foreign language classroom exposure and use of the target language is prime and should be maximised. This paper presents findings from a study that investigated the use of code switching in English language teaching and learning process where a qualitative approach was used. The findings of the study showed code switching negatively affects language proficiency of learners, as it lowers students’ ability to master English language, hinders language learning and it contributes to challenges students face during exams. Code switching impedes English language learning and should be avoided so as to develop a tendency for practicing speaking English language during English sessions. It is recommended to persistently teach English through English in the foreign language context to maximise use and the linguistic space for effective learning of the language.

Flipped classroom pedagogy in higher education in EFL contexts: Findings and implications for further research

The primary aim of this article is to examine the existing findings of flipped classroom (FC) pedagogy in higher education institutions (HEIs) for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Relevant studies have been scrutinised based on keywords, such as higher education, online learning, blended or hybrid teaching, flipped classrooms, and English language instruction in EFL environment. A total of 54 out of the selected 162 articles were analysed using the critical review process as the research methodology, and data were analysed using the content analysis technique. The findings revealed that flipped classroom (FC) had been applied in different parts of the world over many years. But, most of the studies are in science and engineering. Flipped classroom (FC) in the English as foreign language context has remained untapped. Most of the studies conclude that flipped classroom (FC) has more benefits compared to its drawbacks. This review makes several recommendations for further study.

The mechanism for the positive effect of foreign language peace of mind in the Chinese EFL context: a moderated mediation model based on learners’ individual resources

Abstract Foreign language peace of mind (FLPOM) is conceptualized as a Chinese culture-specific low-arousal positive emotional state of inner peace and harmony. It is used to describe learners’ psychological well-being in the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) context. This study examines the intermediate mechanism for the positive effect of FLPOM on language achievement by testing learners’ cognitive engagement as a mediator on the relationship between FLPOM and language achievement and competitive psychological climate as a moderator of the mediation effect. Foreign language enjoyment (FLE), a comparatively high-arousal positive emotion, is also tested in the same model for comparison purposes. Results showed that cognitive engagement mediated the relationship between both FLPOM and FLE and language achievement and that competitive psychological climate negatively moderated (i.e., weakened) the mediation effect of cognitive engagement on FLE and achievement, but did not moderate the mediation effect of cognitive engagement on FLPOM and achievement. The findings point to the role of FLPOM in gaining learners’ individual resources (e.g., cognitive engagement) and, more importantly, the distinctive role of the low-arousal emotion of FLPOM in lowering resource loss and maintaining learner engagement in high resource loss (e.g., high competitiveness, high stress) circumstances.

A review on digital multimodal composing in post-secondary EFL context: Practices and implications

The availability of texts and how they are produced have become more multimodal, along with the rapid development of technology. In the English as Foreign Language (EFL) context, this change has influenced classroom instructions where digital multimodal composing (DMC) is incorporated into students’ meaning-making. This qualitative study aims to review recent studies on DMC in the post-secondary EFL contexts to find out the DMC tasks implemented in this setting and what implications have resulted from the tasks. Based on the analytical review of twenty empirical studies from 2015-2022, DMC was generally used to leverage students’ English language skills, train students’ digital literacy skills, advocate students’ voices, build learning engagement and investment, and increase students’ participation in collaborative projects. The implication of the studies showed that teacher support is needed and that the DMC tasks afford to expand students’ meaning-making. Future direction on DMC studies in the post-secondary EFL context is also discussed.

The efficacy of the type of instruction on second language pronunciation acquisition

This study investigates the efficacy of the type of instruction (i.e., perception-based vs. production-based) on second language (L2) pronunciation acquisition in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To achieve this objective, 60 tertiary-level Jordanian learners of English were recruited and put into two groups (30 learners in each group). Group A received 6 weeks of perception-based instruction on both segmental and suprasegmental aspects of English pronunciation, and Group B received production-based instruction over the same period and on the same aspects of pronunciation. Progress in L2 pronunciation was assessed at three time points (i.e., week 1, week 6, and week 14). Pre-, post- and delayed post-tests were run to achieve the study’s objective. A statistical analysis was conducted to analyse the data. The results show that both groups demonstrated a significant improvement in L2 pronunciation accuracy; in particular, Group A which received perception-based instruction demonstrated higher gains in segmental, syllabic, and prosodic aspects while Group B which received production-based instruction demonstrated more improvement in both global (i.e., comprehensibility) and temporal (i.e., fluency) aspects of pronunciation. However, both groups demonstrated similar gains on the delayed post-test. The findings provide implications for L2 pronunciation learners and teachers on the impact of the type of instruction on the addressed aspects of pronunciation.

Development and application of an anti-racist approach in English language teaching: from theory to practice

ABSTRACT South Koreans have long perceived their country to be an ethnically homogenous nation despite the rapidly growing inflow of migration workers and international marriage migrants. Such perceptions foster negative attitudes towards people viewed as outsiders. To counter such attitudes, English teachers acknowledge the need to nurture respect for cultural diversity and recognition of pluralism in a globalized world in their study and address anti-racism in their regular English class. However, what and how to teach anti-racist pedagogy to students are not sufficiently studied in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. In this regard, this study aims to provide English teachers with step-by-step guidelines on how to prepare for and implement anti-racist pedagogy to the English language teaching in a pre-service English teacher education course in Korea. To achieve these pedagogical goals, I discussed the need of an anti-racist approach at school and provided the rationales and pedagogical practices for involving pre-service English teachers in certain activities that can raise awareness about issues of inequality, oppression and marginalization. Moreover, I suggested anti-racist teaching strategies for English teachers to implement in their classrooms and provide an opportunity to design their course and develop their teaching skills through a teaching practice experience.

The effect of implementing a critical thinking intervention program on English language learners’ critical thinking, reading comprehension, and classroom climate

Entering the age of globalization and multi-cultures, the education system has become more accountable to provide a positive and productive learning atmosphere in which both life skills and academic skills are taught and trained. Following this welcoming trend, the present study sought to integrate a proposed critical thinking-based intervention program (3Es) on the ground of Bloom’s original and revised Taxonomy (1956, 2001) into a BA English reading course. This study examined the treatment’s effect on learners’ critical thinking, attitudes toward L2 classroom climate, and reading comprehension in an English as a foreign language context of Iran. According to the placement test results, excluding the upper-intermediate ones left a sample of 40 (29 females and 11 males) intermediate participants being assigned to two groups: control and experimental. While the former received conventional instruction, the latter was exposed to the critical thinking program presented in three stages: exposure, exploration, and evaluation. The data were derived from Honey's critical thinking questionnaire (2004), the L2-contextualized adapted version of WIHIC (What Is Happening In The Class) designed by Fraser et al. (1986), and the British Council reading comprehension tests. After analyzing the data, the results demonstrated positive changes in the experimental group participants’ critical thinking, reading comprehension, and learners’ attitudes toward classroom climate after implementing the critical thinking intervention program. Our findings contribute to firstly EFL practitioners and curriculum designers, as the main authorities in revising and developing curricula and educational facilities to include the skill of critical thinking as one of the major contributors to the positive atmosphere of the class, and next to the teachers to become cognizant of the influential role of critical thinking in students’ attitudes toward the classroom and their academic development.

THE ANALYSIS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY TO EFL THROUGH READING TESTS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN JAKARTA

Teaching vocabulary in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context is challenging. Incidental vocabulary learning is limited due to a lack of second language (L2) input, and most words are learned through classroom instruction. Overall, research has shown marginal L2 vocabulary growth in many EFL situations. Such research indicates a need for a more effective and ef?cient approach to teaching vocabulary in the EFL context. This chapter discusses how to optimise vocabulary learning in the EFL context. It touches on the following questions: Which words should be taught? How should vocabulary be taught? How many words do EFL learners need to know? What should a vocabulary-learning programme include? How can vocabulary learning be fostered given limited classroom time? Which activities might be useful in indirect vocabulary learning?.

Communication apprehension and self-perceived communication competence: a study of undergraduate students in their final year

PurposeCommunication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety about communicating. In addition, self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) refers to the learners' perception of their competence. CA hampers individuals' ability to communicate effectively in various communication contexts, which has an impact on their employability. Confident communicators with effective communication skills are important issues for graduation as well as desirable attributes for recruiting agencies. Given that employers value graduates who can communicate effectively in the workplace without any apprehension, this study was designed to determine the levels of CA and SPCC among final-year non-English major undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia and the extent to which SPCC could affect their CA when speaking in English with implications for their employability as the next generation of workers.Design/methodology/approachTwo survey questionnaires were administered to 70 non-English major undergraduate students in their final year employing probability random sampling to measure their CA level and to assess their SPCC in different English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between CA and SPCC. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics in SPSS 21.FindingsThe findings indicated a medium level of SPCC and CA. Moreover, the correlation formula revealed that there was a moderately significant association between learners' SPCC and their CA (r (70) = −0.524, p < 0.01). Through regression analysis, it was found that their SPCC could predict 27% of the variance in their CA. The moderate effect of SPCC on CA implied that students could be prepared to cope and perform in the workplace.Originality/valueWithout communication, the establishment and evolution of the human community are unattainable. This aspect is more evident and crucial in the list of graduate objectives and needed outcomes for future career endeavors. The findings encourage instructors and course designers to provide many learning opportunities in pleasurable learning environments to raise students' perceptions of their competence, in turn enhancing their confidence to speak in English and ensuring a smooth transition from academia to the workplace. Based on the findings, several suggestions for future studies in the EFL context are presented.

Effectiveness of WhatsApp as a Pedagogical Tool in Learning Phrasal Verbs: A Case Study at a Higher Educational Institute in Oman

This study investigates the effectiveness of WhatsApp (WA) in helping students learn phrasal verbs in an English as a Foreign Language context. Using a mixed-method approach, data were collected from 32 Level 4 students of the General Foundation Program at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Ibra, Oman. The students were provided with 15 phrasal verbs to be learnt and used in sentences within five weeks through WA. An achievement test was conducted in the fifth week to measure the learning. In addition, a questionnaire survey and an interview were conducted to investigate students’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of WA in learning and the challenges they faced during the process. The findings showed students’ positive perception regarding WA’s effectiveness as a learning tool. However, certain challenges such as distraction, poor Internet connection, and poor time management were found to hinder their learning process considerably. Overall, the study highlighted the possibility of successful WA integration in foreign language education with strategies to minimize the challenges and maximize the effectiveness.

Learner Uptake with Automated Feedback and Teacher Feedback in an Online EFL Writing Context

The Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) system has garnered growing attention in recent years. It is a powerful complement to traditional teacher feedback. Drawing on the data collected from student written texts, AWE feedback, teacher feedback and student interviews in a Chinese university, this study aims to investigates the impact of man-machine feedback on the practice of teaching English writing in an online English as a foreign language (EFL) context as well as students’ engagement with it. The results show that compared with teacher, AWE provides more feedback items and focuses on surface-level such as vocabulary, mechanics and grammar, while teacher pays attention to both surface-level and meaning-level, including organization, content, coherence, etc. Although there is not much difference in the uptake rate between teacher feedback and AWE feedback, the uptake rate of meaning-level feedback is much higher than surface-level feedback. Furthermore, students believe that uptake rate is influenced by various factors such as English competence, feedback quality, score, available time, personal preference, motivation, interest in English learning, and so on. Additionally, students deem that the combination of AWE feedback and teacher feedback has a positive impact on stimulating their writing enthusiasm and improving their writing abilities.

An investigation of the Saudi EFL teachers’ pragmatic awareness

This study aims to investigate Saudi teachers’ pragmatic awareness and the impact of their gender and qualification. A lack of appropriate knowledge and pragmatic activities may limit students’ pragmatic growth in the target language. Thus far, most pragmatic research has focused on issues concerning learners’ pragmatic competence, with only a few studies focusing on teachers’ pragmatic competence, particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. A total of 86 EFL teachers from Saudi public schools participated in this study. The questionnaire created by Ivanova (2018) was used to collect data for this study. The findings indicated that even though some teachers did not respond or provided irrelevant or incorrect examples of speech acts, Saudi EFL teachers have a relatively high level of awareness in general, and teachers’ qualifications and gender have no significant effect on pragmatic awareness, with female teachers having slightly higher pragmatic awareness than male teachers, and master’s degree holders having slightly higher pragmatic awareness than bachelor’s degree holders. This suggests that, while individual characteristics, such as gender and degree, have no apparent effect on awareness, teachers should be aware of their own pragmatic competence to develop their students’ pragmatic competence.

AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS MEDIA, LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND ATTITUDE: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOMS

Audio-Visual-Aids (AVA) media is a type of media that has long been acknowledged as a teaching aid in foreign language contexts. However, its uses are varied greatly from teacher to teacher depending on the content, inventiveness, classroom needs, and benefits approaches in language learning. Thus, the current research focused on the investigation of the analysis of vocabulary acquisition in the form of nouns and word spellings. In addition, the researcher also determined the influences of the use of the media on learners’ attitudes. A quantitative pre-experimental research approach in a one-group pre-test post-test design was performed involving 35 participants. AVA media was given within four meetings in the form of PowerPoint slides completed with original audio dubbing and fifteen images representing “Things in My Room”. To get further looks at their attitude, the participants also completed a questionnaire responding to 4 Likert Scales regarding their experiences. The analysis was reported to find out the average scores and initial hypotheses using a t-test on two main focuses with a 0.05 significance level. Findings showed a positive significant difference in the average scores of students’ vocabulary acquisition in the pre-test (7.66) and post-test (12.37) or 12.37 7.66. Scores of the tcoun reached higher than the ttable or 18,56438 2,021. Most of the students agreed and strongly agreed, that learning with AVA media brought some benefits to their learning experiences, particularly in the context of Vocabulary Acquisition.

Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-concept

Perceived teacher support, the primary social support that students receive in classroom settings, is positively associated with students’ academic achievement. However, limited studies have explored whether academic enjoyment and self-concept mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and academic achievement in the learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate the chain-mediating role of academic enjoyment and self-concept in the association between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Survey data were gathered from a cross-sectional study of secondary EFL learners in Guangdong Province, China (N =517). Results demonstrated that perceived teacher support was positively correlated with EFL achievement. Moreover, academic self-concept and the chain mediating effects of academic enjoyment and behavioral engagement mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A serial mediation model testing associations between teacher–student relationship, resilience, autonomous learning and academic performance in the Chinese EFL context

The current study investigated the relationship between students’ perceived teacher–student relationship (SPTSR) and their performance in English via multiple mediation effects of resilience and autonomous learning in the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The participants were 15,184 eighth-graders from China. Results of the multilevel mediation model revealed that after controlling for students’ gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and school type, the positive association between SPTSR and students’ academic outcomes in English was partially and serially mediated by the resilience and autonomous learning. The current study sheds new light on the crucial mediating roles of resilience and autonomous learning in improving EFL learners’ English proficiency. We recommend that English language teachers establish a friendly and equal classroom climate, which may enhance students’ resilience to cope with learning setbacks. Such positive beliefs help stimulate students’ autonomy in English language learning, which in turn promotes performance in learning English.

Conceptualisation, measurement, and prediction of foreign language learning psychological capital among Chinese EFL students

ABSTRACT Psychological capital (PsyCap), the resource that responds to developing an individual’s positive psychological capacities, is positively related to academic behaviours, achievement emotions, and academic resource. However, the domain-specificity of the PsyCap scale and the prediction of PsyCap resources have not been examined in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, especially in China. This study aims to conceptualise EFL PsyCap, develops its corresponding measurement, and explore how EFL PsyCap resources were associated with EFL-related achievement emotions, academic engagement, and EFL performance. Item-level analyses, internal consistency analyses, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the reliability and validity of the EFL PsyCap scale in a sample of 1,396 Chinese EFL learners. Furthermore, structural equation modelling analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between EFL PsyCap resources, achievement emotions, academic engagement, and EFL performance after controlling for gender and age. Results showed that the 16-item EFL PsyCap scale retains excellent psychometric properties and EFL PsyCap is a hierarchical construct underpinned by its four first-order components of optimism, hope, resilience, and self-efficacy. Additionally, EFL PsyCap resources positively predicted academic enjoyment, behavioural engagement, and EFL performance and negatively predicted academic boredom and anxiety.

Does Gendered Language Exist in a Foreign Language Context? A Study in Written Discourse of Saudi Male and Female EFL Learners

This investigation aims to verify the hypothesis that gendered language exists in foreign language usage as manifested in the EFL learners’ writing output in a Saudi university. The motivation behind this is to, ultimately, check and weed out elements of gendered language that are early on embedded amongst the genders which, with the passage of time, lead to various biases. Though it may be utopian to think of eradicating linguistic bias, yet this study hopes to contribute meaningfully to curb it and substitute the temptation of allowing it to seep into communication, by educating and training EFL users to substitute these with gender-free language and helping ensure greater gender equality. The writing output of 42 EFL learners was analyzed using an electronic parsing tool called Stanford Parser (v. 3.7.0), and all components classified as grammatical dependencies. Results showed that differences existed in male and female writings in the use of noun in subject position which occurred more frequently in female text at 69.15 mean dependency occurrence. This has long been held as a marked feature of female language use. The same dependency stands at a much lower 51.28 mean occurrence in males. Further, female writing has long been associated with a great deal of use of ‘empty’ modifiers, such as ‘very’ which act as modifiers to adverbs and adjectives. The current study upheld this contention as well. Lastly, backchanneling occurred more in female output in EFL than their male counterparts.

Perceptions of Students of English Education Program towards ICT in ELT Course

There has been a considerable number of studies related to the use of ICT in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. However, only a limited amount of research that examines the practice of ICT teaching and learning to EFL students has been conducted. Hence, this study intends to address this issue. Specifically, it aims to investigate the perception of students of English Education Program towards ICT in ELT course. This research applies qualitative approach with case study research design. The data were collected from observation in ICT in ELT course in Brawijaya University and there were three classes being observed. In addition, interviews with students were also conducted. The study employs purposive sampling, and from each class, three participants were selected based on recommendation from the instructors. A total of 9 students were then chosen as the participants in this study. The research findings show that all the research participants agree that it is important for English Education students to learn ICT. Furthermore, related to their preference in ICT teaching method, 44% of the respondents argued that online learning is better while the other 56% prefers offline face-to-face meeting. Finally, it is found that all of the respondents have positive perceptions about the ICT course. The ICT course was depicted as fun and necessary, important, exciting, helpful, and useful.

Digital Games and Second Language Learning among Tertiary-level EFL Learners: A Critical Review

Despite the increased interest in the possibilities of digital games in second language education, their use in higher education is a relatively uncharted territory. This review was carried out to examine how digital game-based language learning is used, and what its effects are on language learners at tertiary level in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Twenty-seven studies were short-listed from academic literature and were analysed for research methodology, theoretical frameworks, research foci, game types and specifications, research results, and pedagogical implications. The research revealed six types of digital games, each with its own affordances that could enhance language learning. It was also found that these games increased vocabulary uptake and long-term lexical retention, enhanced L2 reading and listening comprehension, fostered writing ability and communicative competence, and increased motivation and willingness to communicate in the L2. Therefore, it may be deduced that digital games can be employed as a beneficial tool for the development of L2 competence and for the enrichment of the language learning experience. Suggestions for further research and educational implications have been provided.

An Exploratory Study of Reflective Dialogue Journal Writing of EFL Graduate Students in the English as a Foreign Language Context

This study was conducted to examine Thai EFL graduate students’ perceptions towards reflective dialogue journal writing (RDJW), their writing fluency as well as self-awareness of their own English language learning and writing development. Thirty-four Thai graduate students aged 23 to 39 were required to carry out the RDJW task for 13 weeks – one journal entry per week. The teacher provided feedback to each journal entry on its content to which the students replied in a dialogic manner. After having completed 13 journal entries, the students completed a questionnaire and were interviewed individually. In addition, focus group discussions were implemented. The students’ writing fluency was also assessed quantitatively through a product-based indicator. The findings of the study revealed that the students viewed RDJW as a means to engage a student and the teacher in a two-way communication as they exchanged information without worrying about making or correcting errors in the writing. The students also reported an improvement in their writing fluency since their journal entries were longer and they could communicate their thoughts and feelings more easily. A paired t-test confirmed the significant gains in terms of the number of words written in the journals. RDJW also served as students’ reflection which heightened the awareness of their own English language learning and writing development.