Group Of English Language Learners Research Articles

Critical Evaluation of the Business English Course at Kohat University of Science and Technology

English being an official language enjoys a prestigious status in Pakistan. It is considered a key to success in almost every field, especially business. Due to the specificity and uniqueness of different contexts in which English is being taught, one may argue that there is a need to develop specific English courses for different groups of English language learners. This study therefore identifies English Language needs of business students at the undergraduate level keeping in view their academic background and target career. Through needs analysis, the study critically evaluates the current ESP course, Business Communication, offered at KUST and addresses the target needs of business students to meet the demand of the modern business world. Although the study is designed to analyze the needs of a specific group of undergraduate students, it may also be helpful in other similar contexts for better course design and teaching practices. Prior to data collection, the literature was reviewed which helped to decide the tools for data collection. Next, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were selected for conducting needs analysis. The data was collected from students, ESP course instructors, and domain experts. A total of 44 students, two course instructors, and two domain experts were included in the sample of the study. Data analysis and findings conclude that all four major skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) are very important in business communication. Thus, this study offers valuable implications for course designers and provides a guideline for developing an effective business communication course at the undergraduate level.

Exploring the Role of Collocation in Creative Writing among Pakistani Learners at Secondary Level: A Corpus-based Study

Research works on the usage of lexical collocations for enhancing the creative writing of foreign language learners is considerably lacking. To examine the impact of collocation on reading, speaking and writing skills have been the focus of the researchers. It was observed that the writing skill of EFL learners was weak and they faced difficulties in English writing. Pakistani EFL learners are facing problems while writing English creatively especially at secondary level. Their writing is weak due to lack of adequate combinations of words according to the context. The undertaken research endeavours to explore the impact of English collocations on the creative writing skill and the effect of English Newspaper corpus to improve the collocation knowledge among the EFL learners at Secondary level in Punjab, Pakistan. Quasi experimental research design is adopted for the present study. Two groups of English language learners participate in this research. SPSS, version 23.00 is used to analyse the collected data statistically. The research employs a mixed method. Quantitative data is collected through pre and post-tests, writing task. Qualitative data is collected through semi-structured interviews. Sinclair’ (1991), Ying and Hendrick (2003)’s models are utilized to analyse the data. The results of the study reveal that the participants of the two groups possess inadequate knowledge of collocation. The corpus-based collocation intervention proves significantly effective and it assists the students in experimental group to develop their collocation knowledge and creative writing. The results also reveal that collocation approach contributes a lot to creative writing. Therefore, the results of the study demonstrate that the corpus-based collocation intervention has a significant effect on the participant’s performance in expressing their knowledge in a creative way. This study implies that the collocation knowledge plays a significant role in enhancing EFL secondary learner’s creative writing.

Are textbooks enough? Alternative ways of teaching English to adult and adolescent groups of English learners

Adults as well as adolescents create exceptional groups of English language learners with their specific expectations. At present text books are the main source used to teach English. Although it is undisputable that they provide a syllabus, and a range of language activities, taking into account communicative purpose of a language, it is advisable to enrich English language lesson in supplementary materials. These materials should include neurobiological aspects in foreign language learning, the way foreign language is acquired, and personality factors such as multiple intelligences and affective factors. Hence, the author of the present article discusses the reasons why teaching English with the application of textbooks only is not enough, and subsequently suggests additional activities in the form of teaching through culture, stories, poems, songs, and games.

A CRITICAL STUDY ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF BLOOM’S TAXONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL

The purpose of this study was to critically analyze the effectiveness of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, in teaching English language at university level in Karachi, Pakistan. The conceptual framework of the study, included the results of two groups of English language learners that were independent and controlled group. For the current study quantitative research design was used. The population was English language teachers and students of English Department, those were sixty. Stratified sampling was used to extract the research sample. A well-designed test containing twenty-five marks was constructed, to get the achieved outcome of language teaching and learning. It was concluded that incorporating Bloom’s objectives of teaching would be able to improve English language learning among students at tertiary level. It was recommended that teachers training workshops should be arranged for English language teachers, so that they may enhance their knowledge about teaching critical thinking while incorporating Bloom’s objectives of teaching methodology, that may be benefitted both language learners and research in the field of English language learning in Pakistan.

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study was to critically analyze the effectiveness of critical thinking skills in teaching the English language at the university level to non-native speakers of English. The study further analyzed the performance measured by a test of two groups of English language learners that were independent and controlled groups.
 Methodology: The study analyzed the performance measured by a test of two groups of English language learners that were independent and controlled groups. of BSII. For this purpose, an aptitude test was designed and served to sixty students grouped as group A and group B. Both groups have thirty students. According to the paradigm of the study, the independent samples t-test proved to be the most appropriate statistical test.
 Main Findings: It was concluded that incorporating critical thinking skills would be able to improve English language learning among students at the tertiary level. It was recommended that teachers' training workshops should be arranged for English language teachers, so that they may enhance their knowledge about teaching critical thinking.
 Applications of the study: Critical thinking skill is directly relevant to the instructional objectives and English language teaching. The purpose of this study was to critically analyze the effectiveness of critical thinking skills in teaching the English language at the university level.
 Novelty/Originality of the study: Research in the field of English language learning in non-native English speakers’ countries is always rewarding.

Examining authenticity in the native-speakerist context of EFL in Iran: a turn towards bi/multilingualism

ABSTRACT Native-speakerism is the main goal of the monolingual approach to language education. In an attempt to challenge native-speakerism as a dominant ideology in English language education, this study probed into language learners’ experience of authenticity through an existential framework, comprising the two concepts of resoluteness and self-other relations, which was derived from Heidegger's (1962) concept of authenticity in Being and Time. To collect data, a group of English language learners studying at Iranian state universities were investigated by the administration of semi-structured interviews. The analysis of data led to the emergence of three core themes: epistemological and ontological engagement, agency for response-ability, and the process of in-situ knowing. Indeed, the collected data demonstrated a shift of emphasis on authenticity from native-speakerism towards the realities of language learning where the possibility of being rendered capable can be provided, and space is offered for the integration of mainstream epistemology and learners’ ontology through in-situ knowing. More importantly, the existential interpretation of authenticity, proposed in our study, was revealed to be an inclination towards bi/multilingualism.

Critical Literacy Practices Within Problem-Based Learning Projects in Science

Digital technologies are part of many children’s everyday lives. They use them for entertainment, information seeking and connecting with friends on social media. These shifts in children’s literacy practices have impacted the ways in which they learn. As more children are engaged with digital technologies, critical literacy practices are vital, particularly in our current “fake news” and misinformation era. This paper describes a case study that examined a class of elementary grade students’ engagement with critical literacy practices during their problem-based learning (PBL) projects in science classrooms. A group of English language learners (ELLs) in this classroom have attracted our attention throughout our study, particularly the unique ways they engage with critical literacy practices. Our findings suggest that students are using their critical literacy skills for evaluating the validity of online information and sources during their problem-based learning projects. We conclude with suggestions to support elementary science teachers who are interested in integrating critical literacy practices within a problem-based learning approach.

If-conditional sentences across Asian Englishes

This study explored the syntactic and semantic analysis of if-conditional sentences in the International Corpus of English (ICE). Using the three corpora of Asian varieties of English such as ICE-PHI (PhilE), ICE-HK (HKE), and ICE-SING (SingE) that have 6,375 if-conditional sentences in total, structural analysis of the corpus revealed that the simple present verb in both conditional and main clauses was the most frequent verb combination in spoken and written PhilE and SingE while simple present and modal + verb were found to be the most widely used in HKE. Moreover, PhilE had the most number of open conditionals and the least attestation of hypothetical conditionals in written and spoken data. Conversely, in all the genres of the corpus, HKE conveyed much more hypothetical conditionals than open conditionals. These data indicate that the verb combinations and semantic categories of conditional sentences used in these Asian countries may vary; hence, a shift in pedagogical orientation and classroom practices should be contextualized for different groups of English language learners. Further, directions for future research were provided.

Impact of Supra-segmental Features on Reading Comprehension in First and Second Language: A Comparative Study of Iranian EFL learners

Supra-segmental features refer to various forms of intonation and how words and sentences are uttered. Such features challenge meaning and comprehension, too. Despite the importance of these features and their reported association with phonological awareness and linguistic comprehension, their effects on reading comprehension have not been explored. The current work investigated the impact of a remedial program on Persian and English reading comprehension of a group of English language learners (N=30 divided into experimental and control groups). The measurements tested the components of reading comprehension based on the Simple View of Reading (SVR). Additionally, supra-segmental features were assessed by Profiling Elements of Prosody (i.e., supra-segmentals) in Speech-communication (PEPS) in both languages. As a result, English and Persian elision and also Persian listening were affected by teaching supra-segmental features. Assessing the transfer of linguistic skills revealed that Persian listening and knowledge of supra-segmentals, in particular, recognizing short syllables and awareness of stress position in a sentence, contribute to English reading comprehension. It indicates that reading and listening comprehension are affected by similar cognitive processes that may lay in the knowledge of supra-segmentals. The findings also suggest that simpler systems of supra-segmentals are more likely to transfer. Pertinent pedagogical implications were presented, as well.

Potential of ICT in Teaching English as a Foreign Language Focused on Autistic Spectrum Learners

The number of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) educated under mainstream school system is still raising. Since English is a compulsory subject for every school child in Slovakia, students with ASDs also belong to the group of English language learners. Thereupon causing worries to teachers and calling for a necessity of a wider concept. The purpose of the study is to help the ASDs learners and their teachers to acquire the curriculum under the virtue of ICT. Data were collected via the Case Study as the main research, based on teacher´s daily experience in teaching English to ASDs children. Results are presented in the form tables and figures and prove the expectation to meet special educational needs of ASDs.

Laughing Matters: ELLs’ Comprehension and Perceptions of Humor

Humor is probably one of the few features applicable to virtually all people in the world, but the perception and appreciation of humor can be circumstantial and culture-dependent. Although the potential role of humor in language classrooms has been the topic of research over the last years, limited research has been conducted on cross-cultural variability in humor perception and appreciation. The current study, seeking to address this gap, was conducted with a multicultural group of English language learners (ELLs). One hundred and six ELLs consisting of three main groups (i.e., Turkish, Asian and European) took part in this study. After completing a language background questionnaire, participants rated 6 humorous scenarios and then completed a 25-item humor perception questionnaire. Further, participants answered three open-ended questions at the end of the questionnaire. The results indicated that learners generally assigned more positive scores to universal jokes when compared to linguistic and cultural jokes. As for the perception of humor use in English classrooms, Asian group held slightly less positive attitudes towards the use of humor whereas Turkish group was the one most interested in the employment of humor. In addition, the results indicated that humor was linked to several benefits such as lowering affective barriers to English language learning, increasing ELLs’ attentiveness in the classroom and improving teacher-student rapport.

Pinterest: Pinning the Gap Between SoTL and SLCE in Higher Education

This is an evaluation of an SLCE (service learning/community engagement) assignment that uses Pinterest in a collaborative reflection and learning experience among students in a Methods for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Course at a United States University. Technology is ever changing, and social media provides a unique platform for collaboration. It only makes sense that as innovative instructors, we look for ways to improve in class collaboration using these methods from the ‘real world.’ Social media platforms such as Pinterest have yet to be used by students as processors in higher education service learning classes, despite the collaborative nature of this tool. Third- and fourth-year students in an ELL certification program taught small groups of English Language Learners and received mentorship from primary teachers at a local elementary school. They were assigned in class and peer to teacher reflection and collaboration opportunities. After instructor review, it was decided that these possibilities did not provide for the kind of dialogue necessary to aid students in their knowledge of the course content or how it applied to the service site. Therefore, the instructor introduced Pinterest as an educational platform for outside collaboration on activities that connected course content to the objectives laid out for them at the service site. Students pinned, explained, and commented on one another’s pins to further student learning on the two topics. Improvement in student grades suggests the benefit for enhancing understanding of course objectives as they related to service. Communication between students illustrates an example of interactive social media use that could be replicated in other service learning courses in higher education yet has been untouched for this purpose.

Effects of Writing in a Class Blog on EFL Students’ Attitude towards Writing

The present study attempts to explore if writing in a class blog can improve EFL students’ writing attitude. Data has been collected from a group of English language learners enrolled in an undergraduate level academic writing course at a university in Bangladesh. An experimental research design has been adopted by the teacher researcher. It is expected that the findings of the study will provide policy makers, course coordinators and writing instructors with an improved understanding of and practical considerations for an effective integration of class blogs in English writing instruction at tertiary level in Bangladesh.

A Study of Form and Content of Private Speech Used by Iranian EFL Learners

From the sociocultural point of view, the investigation of private speech is important in seeing how the mind works. Yet, not much is known about the form and content of private speech. A group of English language learners were required to talk about some topics of their reading courses. Their voices were recorded and the private speech used by them were identified. It was found that the main role of the loud and silent forms of the private speech in the data is to help learners manage the interaction. Private speech is embedded within the speech context and it needs to be explained in the context in which it happens.

Mobile reading as social and embodied practice

Literacy, and particularly reading, is critical to success in schooling and full participation in contemporary societies. As one of the primary skills needed to develop proficiency in a language, the study of reading in additional languages has attracted significant research attention. Focusing on behaviourally visible and locally occasioned literacy events, this paper reports on an analysis of how public interactional practices for out-loud reading by small groups of English language learners facilitate the routinisation of interactional practices. The learners are participants in a mobile augmented reality (AR) activity that involves walking around a university campus in order to complete five serial tasks. Data come from video recordings of the game playing of eight groups (16 h of data) and their associated transcripts, analysed according to the principles of ethnomethodological conversation analysis. Results show that written texts that are part of the activity are given local meaning via various interactional practices that include public reading, co-reading and other embodied practices. We show how these dynamics of re-textualisation provide evidence for developing interactional practices over the course of the five tasks that are part of the activity.

The Effect of Explicit Teaching of Lexical Inferencing Strategies on the Vocabulary Learning Among Iranian Field-Dependent and Independent EFL Learners

It is claimed that lack of vocabulary knowledge is one of the most challenging issues for foreign language learners. Moreover, both language learners and teachers are after the most viable method of vocabulary learning and teaching. Along the same lines, this study focused on the effect of explicit teaching of lexical inferencing strategies on the vocabulary learning of Iranian foreign language learners with different cognitive styles. To this end, three groups of learners, namely, field dependent, field independent, and a control group of English language learners were formed. Field dependent and field independent language learners received explicit teaching of lexical inferencing strategies while the control group just received the conventional method of vocabulary teaching. The performances of the three groups of the study on a vocabulary posttest were analyzed using one way ANOVA. The results of statistical analysis indicated that both field dependent and field independent language learners outperformed the control group in terms of vocabulary learning. However, no significant difference was found between field dependent and field independent learners in terms of vocabulary learning when they received explicit instruction of inferencing strategies. This led to the conclusion that explicit teaching of lexical inferencing strategies has a positive effect on Iranian foreign language learners with different cognitive orientations.

Academic English Socialization Through Individual Networks of Practice

This article introduces the notion of individual network of practice (INoP) as a viable construct for analyzing academic (discourse) socialization in second language (L2) contexts. The authors provide an overview of social practice theories that have informed the development of INoP—community of practice (CoP; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and social network theory (Milroy, 1987)—and review relevant literature on academic discourse socialization and more general L2 learning studies that have used either CoP or social network as theoretical frameworks. Next, they illustrate how INoP was applied in a study that examined the academic English socialization of Mexican students at a Canadian university. Findings from the INoP analysis of three participants provide evidence of its rich potential for examining academic (discourse) socialization processes in other contexts and possibly using complementary forms of data analysis involving the analysis of interactional data. The authors suggest future applications of INoP in TESOL to help refine and validate this construct. Investigating the INoPs of other groups of English language learners in English-medium institutions will help scholars, educators, and students better understand the often unseen but vital social processes that mediate learning and consider ways of maximizing the potential of social networks and practices for their own educational purposes.

The Relationship Between Mathematics and Language: Academic Implications for Children With Specific Language Impairment and English Language Learners

The present study examined the relationship between mathematics and language to better understand the nature of the deficit and the academic implications associated with specific language impairment (SLI) and academic implications for English language learners (ELLs). School-age children (N = 61; 20 SLI, 20 ELL, 21 native monolingual English [NE]) were assessed using a norm-referenced mathematics instrument and 3 experimental computer-based mathematics games that varied in language demands. Group means were compared with analyses of variance. The ELL group was less accurate than the NE group only when tasks were language heavy. In contrast, the group with SLI was less accurate than the groups with NE and ELLs on language-heavy tasks and some language-light tasks. Specifically, the group with SLI was less accurate on tasks that involved comparing numerical symbols and using visual working memory for patterns. However, there were no group differences between children with SLI and peers without SLI on language-light mathematics tasks that involved visual working memory for numerical symbols. Mathematical difficulties of children who are ELLs appear to be related to the language demands of mathematics tasks. In contrast, children with SLI appear to have difficulty with mathematics tasks because of linguistic as well as nonlinguistic processing constraints.

Narrative abilities in subgroups of English language learners and monolingual peers

Aims and objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the narrative ability of two subgroups of English Language Learners (ELLs) relative to a group of English monolingual (EL1) peers. Specifically, we investigated whether the three groups of children differed on measures of narrative macrostructure and microstructure. Methodology: Two groups of ELLs were identified on the basis of parent report of the language most often heard and spoken at home (ELL English language users, ELL minority language users). A group of monolingual English children served as a comparison group ( n = 25 per language group). The children averaged 56 months of age. All children completed a narrative retell task. Data and analysis: The retell task was scored in relation to macrostructure (narrative information) and microstructure (number of utterances, mean length of utterance, number of different words, grammaticality). ANCOVAs, partialling out age and memory, revealed distinct performance profiles for the two ELL groups. Findings: There were no group differences on the number of utterances or story grammar. However, the performance of the ELL minority language group was significantly different from that of the EL1 and the ELL English language group on all microstructure measures (number of different words, sentence length, and grammaticality). Overall, the performance of the ELL English language users was indistinguishable from the EL1 group. Originality: The study highlights the heterogeneity in an ELL kindergarten sample with respect to English narrative ability, based on the extent to which English was heard and spoken at home. Implications: The findings highlight the need to gather detailed linguistic information about the home language environments of ELL children when involving them in language- or literacy-related tasks. An important implication of this information is the potential to lead to more nuanced expectations or teaching methods for subgroups of ELL children.

Effect of Language Context on Ratings of Shy and Unsociable Behaviors in English Language Learner Children

The primary goal of this study was to explore the effect of language context on the socially withdrawn behaviors of school-age-children who are English language learners (ELLs) from middle- to high-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. This is one of the 1st studies to address the frequently confused concepts of shyness and unsociability as independent constructs within the ELL population. The authors of this study also investigated the feasibility of an experimental parent and child questionnaire that examines shyness and unsociability across native-language and English-speaking contexts. Children and mothers (34 of whom were ELLs and 37 of whom were native English speakers) were administered an experimental questionnaire examining the children's shy and unsociable behavior in native-language and English-speaking contexts. Children and mothers in the ELL group reported significantly higher ratings of shy behavior in English-speaking versus native-language contexts, whereas unsociable ratings did not differ across language contexts. Shyness and unsociability are distinguishable behaviors in ELL children, and researchers should consider these constructs when examining withdrawal. In addition, examining ELL children's behavior across language contexts provides a valuable method for investigating language-influenced behavioral problems. This study demonstrates the need for service providers to evaluate behavior across subtype and language context before pathologizing withdrawal in ELL children.