Foreign Language Teaching Research Articles

EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices on the Use of Questions in Mozambican Secondary Schools

In this study, the use of questions in a Mozambican English as a Foreign Language context is explored as a technique to develop communicative and critical thinking skills in secondary school students. Therefore, a qualitative approach was adopted using a phenomenological design which allowed the use of classroom audio recordings and semi-structured online interviews for data collection, based on Lowery’s (2005) questioning framework. The results revealed that English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Mozambican public secondary schools are aware of open and closed questions, which they claim to use for checking understanding. However, in practice, they often use open-ended, rhetorical, and procedural questions found in Lowery’s framework. These teachers ignore the relevance of using integrating, confirming, valuing, as well as feeling questions, which foster learners’ communicative skills. These results have strong implications for the decision EFL teachers make on the selection of questions for their classes, as well as the impact of such practices on the students’ outcome at the end of the course or year. Therefore, further studies should be conducted to understand the students’ abilities in the use of English as a result of such practices. In addition, similar studies in Mozambican higher education should examine whether EFL teachers under training are prepared to use questions in class.

More than tough luck

Abstract Applied Cognitive Linguistics (ACL, henceforth) offers a vision of language closely tied to our experiences and views of the world, showing great promise for foreign language teaching and learning. Building upon this meaning-centered perspective, this paper discusses an interventional, quasi-experimental study assessing the effectiveness of incorporating animated images into materials for teaching comparative constructions in L2 Spanish. Conducted in three phases with varying participation rates (69 students in the first, 18 in the second, and 27 in the third), the study faced numerous factors that hindered data collection process and thereby influenced the results. Although the findings were not statistically significant, they suggest a slight improvement in post-test performance in both the experimental and comparison groups. While the potential of ACL in second language teaching and learning is undeniable, so are the challenges faced in L2 classrooms. This underscores the need for further empirical research to bridge the gap between theoretical principles and their practical implementation in real classroom settings.

Exploration of the Application of Multimodal Teaching Mode in German as a Second Foreign Language Teaching for English Majors in Universities

Exploration of the Application of Multimodal Teaching Mode in German as a Second Foreign Language Teaching for English Majors in Universities

Examining Parents' Views on Parental Involvement in Preschool English Teaching

This study aims to examine parents' views on parental involvement in preschool English language teaching. Today, as parents realize their roles, they have started to play a more active role in their children's educational process. In this period when children need their parents' support the most, parents need to turn this situation into an opportunity and contribute to their children's foreign language acquisition process. For this reason, this study examined the views of parents on their participation in this process in the preschool period, which is considered to be very important in terms of foreign language acquisition. It is predicted that this study will shed light on parents' thoughts about their participation in the preschool foreign language education process and will benefit the studies to be carried out to make English language teaching more effective in the preschool period. In this study, the case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used to obtain parents' views on their involvement in preschool English language teaching. A total of 15 parents, consisting of eight fathers and seven mothers, whose children received preschool English education in different schools in Afyonkarahisar province in Turkey, voluntarily participated in the study. In this study, the parents' opinions about their involvement in English language teaching were obtained through semi-structured interview forms. As a result of the study, it was found that although almost all the parents adopted the view that parental involvement was necessary when the situation of supporting their children's English learning at home was examined, it was found that they could not support their children in their English learning process due to limited time, insufficient English level, the view that school alone is sufficient and similar reasons. It is concluded that parents who thought that their English level was insufficient for their children's participation in the English language learning process, remained passive in this process and were not informed about how they could participate in the foreign language teaching process of their children.

PECULARITIES OF DEVELOPING CRITICAL READING ABILITY OF THE MASTERS OF THE SPECIALTITY 7М01712 – TRAINING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS

The article reveals the development of critical reading skills of master's students of the specialty 7M01712 - ‘Preparation of teachers of foreign languages’. The article emphasizes the importance of using lecture texts in the educational process to prepare master's students for professional activities. Effective use of professional texts in the classroom contributes to the improvement of scientific and professional speech and communicative competence of master's students, which in turn provides the optimal use of various methods of critical analysis in their future professional activities. Special attention is paid to the development of independent thinking skills, search, analysis, systematization, structuring and communication of information.The author identifies three stages of critical reading development. The author also suggests types of questions that promote the development of this type of reading, as well as the ability to identify contradictions and types of structures present in a text and to argue one's point of view based not only on logic, but also on the ideas of the interlocutor. The use of various methods and tools of critical reading technology at the stage of challenge, at the stage of reflection and at the stage of analysis is described. Methodological recommendations on mastering the technology of critical reading are intended for teachers of a foreign language, but can be useful for teachers of other subjects, since the technology of critical reading development belongs to the interdisciplinary modern educational technologies. The article presents practical experience of using some techniques of critical reading technology on the example of the special course “Cognitive linguocultural methodological foundations”.

Book Review: Teaching and Learning Writing in ESL/EFL, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2021

This article reviews the volume Teaching and Learning Writing in ESL/EFL by Rachael Ruegg, edited by Peter Yongqi Gu and Guoxing Yu, and published in 2021 by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Beijing. The book provides a comprehensive overview of writing instruction, particularly within the EFL context, and addresses topics that practically-minded readers would expect, such as writing pedagogies, feedback, and assessment. This review explores these aspects in detail and reflects on the book’s strengths and weaknesses, offering suggestions on how the book could be utilised effectively.

CHATGPT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT: EXPLORING EFL INSTRUCTORS’ EXPERIENCE

The paper presents the results of the first stage of the research into the specifics of ChatGPT application in assessment development for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. The article aims to investigate the perceptions of English language teachers regarding the utilization of ChatGPT in their teaching and assessment practices obtained through a survey in order to establish the degree of their familiarity with the possibilities of ChatGPT for teaching a foreign language and the mechanics of AI-generated test tasks design. The participants are mostly experienced English language instructors, affiliated with higher education institutions in Ukraine, the EU and the USA. Findings reveal varying levels of respondents’ confidence in ChatGPT's functionalities. A considerable proportion of educators appeared to be either unfamiliar with ChatGPT or possess limited knowledge of its capabilities. Hesitancy in implementing ChatGPT in teaching practice primarily stems from a lack of guidance as to its effective utilization closely followed by academic integrity concerns. However, educators who have employed ChatGPT recognize its potential as an assistant in lesson planning, content creation, task design, and assessment, especially for vocabulary, grammar, and writing. Despite acknowledging the tool's benefits, respondents express reservations about ChatGPT-generated tasks’ accuracy for assessment purposes. Challenges include the need for meticulous proofreading, issues with biased information, and insufficient task complexity. Nonetheless, overall satisfaction levels among educators implementing ChatGPT range from moderate to high, substantiating its value in foreign language teaching. Thus the survey stage of the research revealed the growing interest in ChatGPT’s potential for foreign language teaching and assessment among Ukrainian and international EFL and ESP instructors and underscored the need for guidelines and recommendations to create effective ChatGPT-generated test tasks. Future research will develop criteria for evaluating ChatGPT-generated tasks, provide prompt design guidelines, and formulate ethical policies for AI in assessment, addressing educators' concerns and

RESULTS AND PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF USING MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

RESULTS AND PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF USING MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

The Challenges and Countermeasures in Integrating Chinese Traditional Culture into English Listening and Speaking Course

Foreign language education involves not only language education but also cultural education. It is the new mission of today’s foreign language education to integrate Chinese traditional culture into foreign language teaching and cultivate foreign language talents who can tell Chinese stories well and spread Chinese voice. As a basic course for English majors, English Listening and Speaking faces many challenges when it is integrated into Chinese traditional culture, such as complex teaching content, limited teaching resources, insufficient teachers’ literacy, and students’ listening and speaking difficulties. In order to solve these problems, teachers and universities should work together to sort out the connotation of Chinese traditional culture, develop audio-visual teaching materials, organize teacher training, and innovate teaching methods, so as to effectively promote the connection between Chinese traditional culture and English Listening and Speaking curriculum system.

A MODEL FOR THE FORMATION OF THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF A FUTURE

The model of formation of the communicative competence of a future English teacher by means of effective technologies of interaction between subjects of the educationalprocess is a process of consistent creation of its constituent substantive blocks and ways to achievethe set research goal - the search and finding effective technologies for interaction between subjects of the educational process.The article presents a model for the formation of the communicative competence of a futureEnglish teacher through effective forms and technologies of interaction between subjects of the educational process.It includes the following blocks: a state order for an English teacher; requirements forgraduates of employers; rules set out in new state standards; a goal-setting block; various forms of pedagogical interaction; communication technologies; a set of organizational and psychologicaland pedagogical conditions. The key to the successful formation of the communicative competence of a future Englishteacher is the search and implementation of effective technologies for the interaction of subjectsof the educational process in this process. The establishment of communications between the subjects of the educational process is possible through clear informing of all departments bothabout the general concept and purpose of the educational institution, and informing them about the set professional goals, tasks within the framework of professional training of students of all departments of the faculty, departments in the areas of their interaction with the university administration. To solve this problem, we used the modeling method. The analysis of modern conditions for the training of future foreign language teachers has shown that there is a need to create a system aimed at the formation of professional and communicative competence of a foreign language teacher, which serves as the basis for the implementation of professional and pedagogical functions. On the basis of competence-based, communicative and professionally-oriented approaches, a model for the formation of professional and communicative competence has been developed, which includes targeted, conceptual,meaningful, procedural, methodological and effective blocks.

Unlocking the Potential: Attitudes of Tertiary Level EFL Learners Towards Using AI in Language Learning

In the current era of rapid change in which AI has become inevitable in foreign language education as in many aspects of life, this study, which aims to examine EFL learners’ attitudes towards AI and to analyse its future potential, was conducted with the participation of 772 English preparatory year students studying at A2, B1, and B2 levels in the schools of foreign languages of a state and a private (foundation) university in Türkiye. The data for the study were collected online through an attitude scale (MALL:AI) and an open-ended survey question. Quantitative results revealed that the participants had moderate attitudes towards the use of AI in EFL learning, with no clear tendency towards positive attitudes. While university type and gender were not found to be significant determinants of attitudes, engineering and natural sciences students showed more positive attitudes towards AI in EFL learning than those in the humanities and social sciences. In terms of proficiency level, A2 level participants reflected lower attitudes in the behavioural factor than B1 and B2 levels. Qualitatively, it was found that students had overwhelmingly positive perspectives on the use of AI, shared some negative approaches with reservations, and offered concrete suggestions for the integration of AI into ELT. With its intriguing findings, the present study sheds light on further studies and paves the way for educational administrators and EFL instructors to better make use of AI in language education.

Activation of Motivation in Foreign Language Classroom

This article examines how teaching a foreign language through motivation, novelty and a variety of forms and methods of the lesson effectively affects improving students' perception of the materials provided and increasing the level of knowledge of students, and also proves that it enriches, systematizes knowledge and leads to the activation of cognitive activity of students in a foreign language lesson. The definition of modern methods of teaching a foreign language and various forms of teaching is given. And most importantly, it promotes the wide use of the acquired knowledge as the owner of a professional profession, applying them on the basis of practice. In addition, non-traditional technologies of lessons are explained, methods of work useful for the student and effective for the teacher are differentiated. Innovative pedagogical technologies and non-traditional technologies, trainings related to other educational methods that allow effective and interesting use of new information technologies in the classroom, definitions and comments on new teaching methods and techniques are provided. This article discusses the results of the survey conducted among foreign language educators about their attitudes towards the motivation and innovation in foreign language classroom.

THE ROLE OF CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS IN TEACHING TURKISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF POST-METHOD PEDAGOGY

Language learning is becoming increasingly important in the current field of Intercultural communication. As a result, educators and experts face challenges in deciding which teaching methods to use when teaching a second foreign language. To address this issue, it is crucial to conduct new researches from theory to practice or from practice to theory, based on the fundamental principles of the post-method pedagogy, the learning environment, learners’ needs, and teacher’s professional competencies. Contrastive analysis is a method that provides instruction based on the nature of the language while also addressing the needs of students in solving problems encountered by Kazakh learners when studying Turkish as a foreign language. At this stage, the aim of this study is to determine the significance of contrastive analysis within the post-method framework. The research is based on a qualitative research design. Additionally, a semi-structured interview form was used to achieve the study’s objective. The interviews involved 15 students learning Turkish as a foreign language at the Faculty of Philology, Abai KazNPU. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis based on the “code-category-theme” approach with the MaxQDA 24.4.0 program. The findings revealed that the method supports post-method strategies such as minimizing perceptual mismatches, enhancing language awareness, activating intuitive heuristics, integrating language skills, supporting learner autonomy, and raising cultural awareness, thereby making the learning process effective, simple, and suited to learners’ needs. These results are expected to be valuable for both theorists and practitioners in foreign language education during curriculum development.

ICT in Teaching Foreign Language in a Ukrainian University

Modern technologies play such an essential role in human life that it is impossible to imagine a full-fledged existence without them. Their application is possible in almost any field of economy, improving human’s life and increasing the efficiency of work. Technologies in education give students and teachers access to a much more considerable amount of information and opportunities compared to learning without technology. Today a student can learn a foreign language directly by hearing it not only in a video or audio recording, but also with the help of various applications, communicating with native speakers, learning their culture. Many scholars have been researching the role of ICT in language learning and have proved its effectiveness. The aim of the article is to determine the role of ICT in foreign language learning at Ukrainian Universities. In addition, we conducted a questionnaire of the English language teachers to determine the frequency of ICT usage at lectures. The results of the researched proved the hypothesis, set in the research, that the younger the teachers, the more often and diversely they use modern technologies in the educational process. Using ICT in teaching foreign languages requires not only the will and time of the teacher but also the skills and abilities to use modern technologies and Internet resources. The introduction of ICT in the educational process will have a positive effect on the results of student learning, among which we will highlight student interest in the educational process, modern and practical materials, immersion of students in the language and cultural environment, the opportunity to better study and master the academic material, communicate with native speakers.

Investigating Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Self-efficacy in Their Classroom Management Skills using the EPOSTL as a Self-assessment Tool

Self-efficacy in classroom management is one of the important dimensions of the concept of teacher self-efficacy. Higher levels of classroom management self-efficacy (CMSE) have been positively correlated with an increase in teacher resilience and students’ learning outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to develop CMSE beliefs to promote the quality of their teaching. Although the issue of classroom management has been comprehensively explored in the field of education, there are not many studies focusing on pre-service EFL teachers’ development of CMSE beliefs. Moreover, the relationship among several variables such as teachers’ affective states and students’ attitudes towards teachers or courses has been explored in the context of foreign language education (FLE). However, whether there is a relationship between self-assessment and development of CMSE beliefs in FLE settings has not been studied extensively. In this vein, the purpose of this study is to investigate pre-service EFL teachers’ CMSE beliefs depending on their use of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) as a self-assessment tool in their undergraduate education. This study follows an interventionist experimental design based on mix-method data collection. The participants of the study are 31 senior pre-service EFL teachers studying at a state university in Türkiye. Quantitative data of this study were collected through Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) in the form of pre-test and post-test to the participants. Between pre and posttest period, the participants assessed themselves through the EPOSTL for three times. Qualitative data were collected through the participants’ reflective reports and semi-structured interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. The findings of the study have shown that the use of EPOSTL leads to an increase in participants’ level of CMSE beliefs. It may be stated that the wide-spread use of the EPOSTL can be fostered by designing language teacher education programs as more reflection-oriented. By this way, pre-service EFL teachers’ autonomy, CMSE beliefs, perseverance, and continuous professional development can be sustained.

Embracing ChatGPT for Enhanced English as a Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: Teachers’ Attitudes

Embracing ChatGPT for Enhanced English as a Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: Teachers’ Attitudes

ENHANCING SOFT SKILLS IN TEACHING ENGLISH: A STUDY UTILIZING PADLET APPLICATION AMONG STUDENTS

This research aims to examine the efficacy of utilizing the Padlet application to enhance soft skills in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education among students at International Information Technology University. Soft skills, such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, are crucial competencies for students navigating the globalized workforce. Technology integration in education has become increasingly important, and Padlet provides a versatile platform for collaborative learning and content sharing. This study adopts a quantitative approach, employing a pre/post-observation design to evaluate the influence of Padlet usage on the development of soft skills among EFL students. Participants are randomly assigned to either an experimental group, engaging with Padlet activities, or a control group receiving traditional instruction. Validated instrument, including performance evaluations, are used to measure soft skills before and after the intervention. Quantitative data analysis techniques are utilized to compare mean scores between groups and assess the effectiveness of Padlet in fostering soft skills. Expected outcomes encompass improvements in communication clarity, increased collaboration in group tasks, enhanced critical thinking through information synthesis, and greater creativity in idea generation. The findings of this study hold implications for EFL educators seeking innovative approaches to skill development and for institutions aiming to effectively integrate technology into language education. By exploring the role of Padlet in enhancing soft skills within the specific context of EFL education at International Information Technology University, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of technology-supported learning and its impact on student outcomes.

Motivation strategies for non-linguistic students to learn a foreign language in the process of professional training using artificial intelligence technologies

Digital technologies have removed all restrictions in the availability of information in a foreign language and deformed the motivation of students of non-language specialties to learn a foreign language. The authors believe that artificial intelligence technologies have the potential to systematically and purposefully influence students' motivation strategies. The goal of the research is to identify main directions of implementing artificial intelligence technologies in the language training process in the context of different motivation strategies. The research methods used are analysis of secondary data, systematization, synthesis, generalization. The research results are the following: 1) approaches to the development of motivational strategies have been differentiated and the prospects of introducing artificial intelligence technologies into the system of student motivation have been described; 2) the necessity of internalizing motives for learning a foreign language have been substantiated; 3) the priority directions of using artificial intelligence technologies in the process of forming students' motivational experience have been described. Key conclusions: 1) the main condition for the effectiveness of the foreign language teaching system is the formation of conditions for the internalization of learning motives; 2) the student's motivational experience is formed through the application of different motivational strategies and in accordance with the motivational design of the training course; 3) a teacher can use different approaches to the formation of the author's portfolio of motivational strategies; 4) artificial intelligence technologies allow to optimize and increase the effectiveness of the process of developing foreign language competences, but they are used in the following ways.

Features of the formation of professional competence of a future foreign language teacher through simulation games

The article emphasizes the importance of using the simulation-game method for the formation of professional competence of future foreign language teachers and describes its effective developmental impact. The principles and methods of the simulation game that contribute to the professional growth of students are considered. The authors of the article emphasize the necessity of professional development of future foreign language teachers and reveal the potential of simulation tasks. It is noted that learning through simulation game allows to achieve two goals at the same time. In addition, the authors note that the use of simulation games gives the learning process an interesting and practically oriented character, contributes to the development of students' universal competencies such as cooperation and critical thinking, which increases their competitiveness in the labor market. In the article the authors describe in detail the main stages of the simulation game method and offer a number of optimal linguistic and content tasks for the development of professional competencies. Based on the above, the authors conclude that it is necessary to introduce the simulation game as an effective method of teaching foreign languages in higher education institutions when training future teachers. The purpose of this article is to analyze the potential of using imitation tasks to improve the effectiveness of foreign language teaching. The main objective of the article is to describe the rules and principles of the method of imitation games, as well as to formulate the didactic foundations for the use of such games in the training of future foreign language teachers. On the basis of the studied theoretical sources and their own experience of using imitation games, the authors offer a set of tasks for teaching a foreign language that meets the requirements of language teaching methodology.

THE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AS A TOOL FOR THE FORMATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE MEDIACOMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF A BACHELOR’S DEGREE JOURNALIST

This article is devoted to the study of the use of media technologies for the formation of foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist. The term “media technologies” was defined and its history was presented in the article. The concepts “foreign language communicative competence” and “foreign language mediacommunicative competence” were defined and described. The subcompetences of foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist were presented and described. The relevance of using media technologies for the formation of foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist was explained. The set of exercises for the formation of foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist was illustrated. The process of organizing the experiment related to the study was described. The outcomes of the conducted experiment were analyzed. The purpose of the research is to study the essence of using media technologies for the formation of foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist. The novelty of the research is that the results of the research will be used in teaching bachelor degree journalists and in advanced courses for foreign language teachers. The theoretical significance of the study is that the theoretical provisions and conclusions gained during the study will assist to contribute to methods of teaching bachelor’s degree journalists. The outcomes of the study can be used as a theoretical basis for the further consideration of the problem. The practical significance of the work is that the results of the study can be utilized in the practical work of the university, in the system of training and refreshment training of teaching staff working with future journalists.The study enables readers to use the proposed set of exercises when forming the foreign language mediacommunicative competence of a bachelor’s degree journalist.