Foreign Language Context Research Articles

Demystifying Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of learning-oriented assessment (LOA): challenges and prospects in focus

As a growing approach to assessment, learning-oriented assessment (LOA) has recently flourished to position learning at the center of assessment practices. It aims to unify assessment, teaching, and learning. However, little is written and known about its benefits, challenges, and practices in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. To shed light on these aspects, the present study was a bid to unpack Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions about the benefits, challenges, and professional activities that facilitate LOA understanding and practice. To this end, 40 EFL teachers including both genders were invited to a semi-structured interview held in person. The results of the thematic analysis obtained by MAXQDA revealed that Iranian EFL teachers had different perceptions regarding LOA. They argued that LOA is a process-based, feedback-oriented, formative, and alternative assessment technique that foregrounds feedback and progress rather than the final outcome. Furthermore, it was identified that LOA can be practiced by using alternative assessment, performance assessment, dynamic assessment, peer assessment, self-assessment, and portfolio assessment. Likewise, the results demonstrated that LOA is beneficial in enhancing classroom interaction, collaboration, and engagement, integrating assessment, teaching, and learning, and monitoring students’ progress. However, the time budget, large classes, and teachers’ lack of knowledge and training on LOA were perceived as challenges for applying LOA. Furthermore, it was found that Iranian EFL teachers supported the use of training courses, reading articles and books, and attending assessment-related workshops, webinars, seminars, and conferences to improve LOA knowledge and skills. The study provides implications for EFL teachers and trainers, who can use different assessment techniques/practices representative of LOA.

Peer response in Chinese as a foreign language context: A classroom-based case study

Peer response in Chinese as a foreign language context: A classroom-based case study

The Employment of Self-regulated Learning Strategies in Learning English at a Ho Chi Minh City-based High School

Self-regulated learning strategies are referred to as learning processes which students conduct independently and purposefully such as goal setting, planning, motivating, attention controlling, monitoring, and evaluating their learning. Student’s academic achievements, therefore, are supposed to be affected by their self-regulated learning strategies employment. The present study aims to investigate to what extent 90 twelfth graders use self-regulated learning strategies to learn English at a high school in Ho Chi Minh City. The quantitative data collected via a closed-ended questionnaire were statistically analyzed by means of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 (i.e., mean and standard deviation). The findings showed that the surveyed students generally employed eight categories of self-regulated learning strategies including goal setting, planning, self-motivation, flexible use of learning strategies, attention control, self-monitoring, help seeking, and self-evaluation during their English learning. Amongst the self-regulated learning strategies categories, the goal setting strategies were the number-one category while the self-evaluation strategies were the least used category. Based on the preliminary results of this study, some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research on the employment of self-regulated learning strategies in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts are given.

Processing figurative language: Evidence from native and non-native speakers of English.

In recent research on figurative phrases, factors (e.g., familiarity, transparency, meaning, and decomposability) have played a significant influence on how native and non-native English speakers (various L1 and L1 Arabic) acquire, process, and comprehend figurative language. These factors are not always described and operationalized precisely and are frequently considered autonomous. This study explores these factors in terms of language users' ratings and their abilities to accurately infer meaning from a variety of familiar English and translated idioms and novel metaphors. A total of 123 participants from various language groups engaged in this study. The findings showed that familiarity is a strong predictor of transparency. In the ability to infer the meaning correctly, the best-fit model included an interaction between transparency and familiarity. The findings showed that guessing the meaning correctly led to a greater increase in the scores of transparency and decomposability. We explore how these factors work together to enable speakers to infer the meaning of both known and new figurative words at various levels. These results have significant implications for the learning and teaching of figurative phrases in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context, as they indicate variables that may make a figurative phrase valuable in terms of teaching time and effort.

Functions of L1 Use in the L2 Classes: Jordanian EFL Teachers’ Perspectives

This qualitative study investigated teachers’ perspectives on the functions of first language (L1) use in the second language (L2) classroom. Data were collected from seven Jordanian English as foreign language (EFL) teachers, where each teacher participated in one classroom observation and two rounds of interviews, one pre-observation and one post-observation. Interviews were transcribed and coded for recurrent themes. Thematic analysis identified six functions of L1 use that teachers used to enhance teaching and learning: translating, explaining metalinguistic information, overcoming teaching challenges, giving instructions, improving motivation, and avoiding words in the L2 that sound taboo in the L1. This research contributes to a more complex picture of L2 teaching in Jordan and potentially other similar EFL settings. The findings could also guide L2 academics, policymakers, and practitioners in better understanding the role of the L1 in the L2 classroom, particularly in foreign language (FL) contexts.

Understanding the importance of motivational intensity in English as a foreign language context: A structural equation modeling analysis.

Motivational intensity is the effort learners make in language learning. It is an essential component and a direct measurement of L2 motivation. Few studies have distinguished motivational intensity from motivation and explored its role in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). This study examined 208 university students from Hong Kong to investigate the factors that affect motivational intensity and explored the relationship between motivational intensity and learning motivation using structural equation modeling (SEM). The students' motivational intensity was affected by personal factors (daily English-learning time and stage of English learning), family factors (monthly household income and parental attitudes), and school factors (English learning engagement and satisfaction). The differences in personal factors, school factors and monthly household income of family factors among different motivational intensity groups were significant whereas the difference in parental attitudes (family factors) between the high- and the low-motivational intensity groups was insignificant. As for the relationship between motivational intensity and motivation, motivational intensity indirectly affected students' intrinsic interest through their attitudes toward native English speakers (β = 0.16, p = 0.041 < 0.05). The significant path coefficient from the learning situation to attitudes toward native speakers was negative (p < 0.05), indicating that attitudes toward native speakers decline even when the learning situation improves. This study enriched the theoretical study of motivation theory and provided teaching suggestions for improving EFL learning.

The impacts of performance-based assessment on reading comprehension achievement, academic motivation, foreign language anxiety, and students’ self-efficacy

The types of assessment tasks affect the learners’ psychological well-being and the process of learning. For years, educationalists were in search of finding and implementing accurate and convenient approaches to assess learners efficiently. Despite the significant role of performance-based assessment (PBA) in affecting second/foreign language (L2) learning processes, few empirical studies have tried to explore how PBA affects reading comprehension achievement (RCA), academic motivation (AM), foreign language anxiety (FLA), and students’ self-efficacy (SS-E). To fill this lacuna of research, the current study intended to gauge the impact of PBA on the improvement of RCA, AM, FLA, and SS-E in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. In so doing, a sample of 88 intermediate EFL learners were randomly divided into experimental group (EG) and CG (control group). During this research (16 sessions), the learners in the CG (N = 43) received the tradition assessment. In contrast, the learners in the EG (N = 45) were exposed to some modification based on the underpinning theories of PBA. Data inspection applying the one-way multivariate analysis of variance (i.e., the one-way MANOVA) indicated that the learners in the EG outperformed their counterparts in the CG. The results highlighted the significant contributions of PBA in fostering RCA, AM, FLA, and S-E beliefs. The implications of this study may redound to the benefits of language learners, teachers, curriculum designers, and policy makers in providing opportunities for further practice of PBA.

The Impact of Language Aptitude on Grammar Attainment of EFL Learners with Different Ages of Onset in the Chinese Context

The effect of language aptitude on grammar attainment of second language learners with different ages of onset became one of the hot topics in the last decades. However, most previous studies were conducted in a second language context with inconsistent results, and few studies were conducted in a foreign language context. To fill this gap, the current study investigated the impact of language aptitude on grammar attainment of EFL learners with different ages of onset in the Chinese context. A Timed Grammatical Judgment Test and an Untimed Grammatical Judgment Test, a Metalinguistic Knowledge test, and a Language Aptitude test were used in the study, and 112 participants were sampled. The results show that the aptitude scores of the three groups of EFL learners with different ages of onset have no significant difference; language aptitude moderates performance on the Untimed Grammatical Judgment Test and the Metalinguistic Knowledge test, which was mainly reflected in the earlier starters; and higher aptitude learners outperform lower aptitude learners in all three grammar tests. Overall, this study provides evidence to support the impact of language aptitude on EFL learners in the Chinese context.

Backward Design Implementation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

Backward Design Implementation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Context

The Use of Translanguaging Pedagogy in Writing Classes of Turkish EFL Learners

Despite the blurred boundaries among languages and classroom evidence contrary to the implementation of monolingual pedagogies, the dominance of monolingual policies for teaching foreign languages continues to persist. To provide foreign language learners with an appropriate bilingual pedagogy and target one of the most challenging second language (L2) skills, this study aimed to explore the role of translanguaging pedagogy (TP) in writing classes and participants’ perceptions regarding its implementation in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The participants (n=63) at the English prep school of a state university were assigned as one control and two experimental groups. Throughout one semester, the first experimental group was exposed to TP in their writing classes, whereas the second one learned writing through the translanguaging instructional cycle excluding their mother tongue (L1). The control group had product-focused English-only writing classes. Quantitative data collected via four in-class writing tasks (WTs) from three groups were analysed using inferential statistics. A weekly questionnaire regarding the first experimental groups’ perceptions of TP was conducted. The results revealed significant gains in task achievement, lexical and grammatical range and accuracy, and cohesion and coherence favouring TP and the participants found the implementation of TP useful in helping them improve in a variety of aspects in their English writing classes.

Theatre as a Means for Teaching a Second Language

This paper discusses theatre as a way to enhance and/or revitalize the language classroom both in second and foreign language contexts. Theatre and drama have been identified as creative pedagogical approaches to engage students to interact in situations and realistic scenarios in which their second language would be used in an accessible, safe way that adequately prepares them for language use in the real world. Using theatre and drama as instructional support does not disregard current language teaching practices, but provides educators options to enhance their teaching and learning spaces. I hope the discussion presented here will inspire educators to integrate theatre into their classroom contexts because when language is accessible, approachable, and relevant in a fun and meaningful way, language learning and acquisition are achievable.

Relationship between socio-cultural writing strategy use and language proficiency among Chinese tertiary English majors

This paper aims to report on the results of a study on the use of socio-cultural writing strategies as well as its correlation with second language proficiency of a group of Chinese tertiary English majors. To this end, 306 English major students were randomly invited for participating in a questionnaire survey, and 12 of them were purposively sampled for a semi-structured interview. The collected quantitative data were subjected to descriptive analysis as well as Pearson Correlation test. The quantitative results show that the respondents orchestrated a wide range of utilizing socio-cultural writing strategies, of which they had a high level of using role-mediated strategies, followed by a medium-to-high level in deploying sign-mediated strategies, rule-mediated strategies, tool-mediated strategies, and community-mediated strategies respectively. Pearson Correlation test reveals a significantly negative correlation between a dimension of community-mediated strategies (peer interaction) and the surveyed population’s NMET (National Matriculation English Test) scores, and a significantly positive correlation between a dimensional (task requirement) and overall rule-mediated strategies and the participant’s TEM-4 (Test for English Major Band 4) results. These results were further reflected in the qualitative data. The findings of this study shall shed light on teaching English writing to English majors in the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) context and others.

The EFL Learning Process: An Examination of the Potential of Social Media

Social media as a technological tool has recently come to support learning in both academic and public use. Students typically use social networks to enhance their education by discussing and exchanging academic content. However, its impact that needs carefully study to the vast inroads that social media has made into the academic sphere. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine its impact on the process of learning English language in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. It also aims to determine the impact of employing a social media platform in the Saudi classroom on the learning of EFL students. This study explores the role of social media by giving a panoramic view of the types of social media and social networking sites, the use of social medias in education, social media in learner engagement, social media and students' achievement, social media application in the EFL classroom and finally, social media research in the Saudi higher education scene, and the challenges of each of these. This study concludes that students can benefit the most from these media when they are encouraged to use their mobile devices as learning tools. This conclusion echoes earlier findings in the Saudi context that showed the positive impact of social media applications in boosting students' English language learning. Based on a review of the literature gathered from diverse sources, it is recommended to investigate the inclusion of social media applications, platforms and sites in the English language course descriptions at Saudi universities.

Facts and Fictions of Native Speakerism: Local EFL Teachers’ Experiences and Viewpoints

Most literature on native speakerism has criticized its impact especially in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts where native English-speaking teachers, who are deemed to be more competent and desirable, enjoy more benefits and privileges than their nonnative counterparts. However, recent research has suggested that such assumptions associated with native speakerism may not accurately reflect what is actually happening in EFL school settings. The current study examines Korean English teachers’ views on various dimensions of native speakerism in order to capture the impact of native speakerism as experienced by local English teachers. Data were collected from 37 in-service teachers working in elementary and secondary schools in South Korea via surveys and interviews. The survey results showed negative effects of native speakerism for some constructs; however, the qualitative results revealed that concerns surrounding native speakerisms were not as problematic as one might hypothesize based on the existing literature. The results are discussed with suggestions aimed at alleviating any negative effects of native speakerism in EFL settings.

Effective Written Corrective Feedback on EFL Students’ Academic Writing

Abstract. Written corrective feedback (WCF) is believed to be one of the essential factors in the improvement of students' academic writing in English as Foreign Language (EFL) context. WCF is crucial for EFL students as they may face both language barriers and problems related to academic requirements during the process of writing. Hence, EFL students tend to have more challenges than L1 students, especially in making pieces of academic writing. This current research aims to find out the criteria of effective WCF that help EFL students on their academic writing. This current research employed qualitative approach. The current research isa descriptive qualitative research design. It employed interview as a data collection method. Interview guidelines were used as the instrument of data collection. Participants of the study are four students in an English Education Department in a private university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The participants experienced the process of writing a research report as the fulfillment of getting an undergraduate degree. The research found that criteria of effective WCF i.e. WCF should be understandable, focused, and direct. These findings imply that teachers should consider how to give WCF to the students. The criteria of effective WCF found in the current study could be reference and guideline by the teacher about what kind of WCF that help students better in their academic writing. By considering the WCF they give, teachers could have better writing feedback to the students.Keywords: Feedback, Written Corrective Feedback, Academic Writing

Pedagogic Meaning-Making in Spherical Video-Based Virtual Reality – a Case Study from the EFL Classroom

This article explores relevant conceptual frameworks and design principles for the planning and implementation of a virtual reality (VR) learning environment in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. The primary focus is on what knowledge teachers need to acquire when designing and implementing a spherical video-based training world that allows English learners to experience the different phases of an oral examination in English. Therefore, the paper introduces the educational potential and affordances of spherical videos and describes structural and contextual aspects of oral examinations in English. Employing a prototype learning environment, we expand on major learning theories in spherical video-based learning and suggest best practices for the design and implementation of immersive learning experiences in EFL contexts.

Self-regulated learning strategies of Macau English as a foreign language learners: Validity of responses and academic achievements.

Self-regulation is important in enhancing students’ academic performance, yet evidence for the systematic and valid instruments to measure self-regulated learning strategies of college students in an English as a foreign language context is far from robust. This study was situated to develop an evaluation tool to examine the status quo of self-regulated learning strategies employed by college English learners and the associations between the use of these strategies and their academic achievement. A large-scale survey was conducted at a university in Macau to provide evidence of the construct validity of responses to the questionnaire on self-regulated learning strategies. Conceptualized in social cognitive theory, the questionnaire comprised environmental, behavioral and personal self-regulated learning strategies with 48 items weaving into 10 dimensions. Strong evidence for reliability and validity was found. Findings also revealed that students who intrinsically valued and used more self-regulated learning strategies achieved higher academic performance. Students in advanced-level English course reported significantly more frequent use of self-regulated learning strategies than students in medium-level and mixed-level English courses. Our results draw attention to the pedagogical orientation for teachers of English as a foreign/second language in helping students become adaptive learners with self-regulative process.

Some Reflections on Reference in the Teaching of French as a Foreign Language Context

Abstract Grammatical and lexical cohesion are necessary conditions to guarantee a text’s coherence (Halliday and Hasan 1976). Grammatical cohesion is classified into four types of relation: reference, conjunction, substitution, and ellipsis. This study aims to investigate the use of the cohesive device of reference in written discourse produced by users/learners of French as a foreign language, to explore the kind of references they prefer and to highlight the difficulties they come across. Our study is based on a learner corpus composed of written productions of Greek-speaking users/learners of French who participated in National Foreign Language Exam System (Κρατικό Πιστοποιητικό Γλωσσομάθειας, ΚΠΓ). We used a sample of texts produced by candidates who participated in the examination willing to be certified at the levels B (Independent user) and C (Proficient user) of language proficiency according to the 6-level scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe 2001).

Some Reflections on Reference in the Teaching of French as a Foreign Language Context

Abstract Grammatical and lexical cohesion are necessary conditions to guarantee a text’s coherence (Halliday and Hasan 1976). Grammatical cohesion is classified into four types of relation: reference, conjunction, substitution, and ellipsis. This study aims to investigate the use of the cohesive device of reference in written discourse produced by users/learners of French as a foreign language, to explore the kind of references they prefer and to highlight the difficulties they come across. Our study is based on a learner corpus composed of written productions of Greek-speaking users/learners of French who participated in National Foreign Language Exam System (Κρατικό Πιστοποιητικό Γλωσσομάθειας, ΚΠΓ). We used a sample of texts produced by candidates who participated in the examination willing to be certified at the levels B (Independent user) and C (Proficient user) of language proficiency according to the 6-level scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe 2001).

English language teachers’ engagement in and preference for experiential learning for professional development

Experiential learning is an assertion in the professional development of teachers. However, there is a scarcity of studies exploring experiential learning from the integrative perspectives in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context and at the level of a primary school. This study, therefore, aimed to assess primary school EFL teachers’ engagement in experiential learning from these perspectives. A concurrent mixed research design was adopted to explore the cases. 186 teachers were selected for the questionnaire while eight teachers were selected for interviews. Questionnaires, document analysis, and interviews were used to collect data. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results indicated that most primary school English language teachers were mostly engaged in professional learning and development activities. Besides, they applied cognitive experiential learning strategies and preferred diverger experiential learning styles dominantly. These findings indicate a deviation from the scope, focus, and major aims of experiential learning and constructivist premises. As a result, the study suggested that the teacher development programs for primary school teachers in the EFL context should incorporate activities that lead to the self-directed and autonomous learning of teachers.