Implications For Effective Teaching Research Articles

Pre-service Teachers' Perspectives on Discourse Analysis and Its Implications for English Language Teaching

This study aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service English teachers regarding discourse analysis (DA) and its potential impact on English Language Teaching (ELT). The participants of the study included 198 second-year pre-service teachers (126 females and 72 males) studying at a Turkish state university. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive research design. Data were collected through written reflections, and qualitative content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results of the study revealed that pre-service English teachers expressed positive perceptions towards DA, recognizing its potential contributions to their professional development and future teaching careers. Participants reported that the course helped them to understand the importance of language use in different contexts and situations, and provided them with practical tools for analyzing and teaching language. The findings suggest that ELT programs can consider incorporating DA into their curriculum to help pre-service teachers develop a deep understanding of language use and its implications for effective teaching. By doing this, teacher education programs may support the growth of proficient language teachers and ultimately raise the standard of language instruction

Teachers’ language attitudes towards the use of a nonstandard variety in the classroom in Grades 1–3: A case of isiBhaca in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa is a democratic country, and as such, it is crucial that every individual’s linguistic rights be protected. Also of paramount importance is that the South African government should revisit the issue of granting official status to some languages to the exclusion of others, such as isiBhaca, and consider the issue of a ‘language variation’. The educational setting has experienced challenges over attitudes towards language varieties. Teachers’ attitudes towards using a nonstandard variety of language or dialect in the education space have implications for effective teaching and learning. Therefore, this paper aims to establish the attitudes held by teachers towards the use of isiBhaca (a nonstandard variety of isiXhosa) in the education space in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal. Using the qualitative research method, data were gathered from 22 purposively selected teachers in six schools in Umzimkhulu. Interviews were used to collect data, and the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The study found that teachers view integrating isiBhaca into the classroom as having immense benefits. The results further revealed that teachers felt that isiBhaca should initially be taught in the lower primary school grades (Grades 1–3) and up to the tertiary education level. The findings imply that learners’ academic performance in Umzimkhulu is affected by the use of isiXhosa as a medium of instruction in schools. This is why teachers who were participants in this study believe that isiBhaca is a language of the people of Umzimkhulu, and thus their learners should be given a chance to be taught in isiBhaca.This study contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the attitudes and experiences of teachers in communities where non-standard languages are used in South Africa and how teachers cope in such multilingual classrooms. In the case of isiBhaca, teachers felt that it should be adopted as a language adequate to be used in learners’ education, even though it is a non-official language. Thus, teachers’ attitudes and views should not be ignored when discussing teaching and learning pedagogies.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNICATION STYLE AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING

The quality of teaching and learning heavily depend on the quality of communication taking place in the classroom. Improving communication is essential for approaching excellence in teaching and one of the discernable paths on the way to the goal is through the study of teachers’ communication style as one of its key variables. The present paper is aimed at discerning approaches to the study of communication style, analyzing their theoretical propositions and empirical contribution, as well as their relevance for effective teaching research. Effective communication is a core concern in developing teaching competence, hence the study of one of its key variables is seen as a priority. The research methods applied presuppose the analysis of the comunication style construct, comparison of various research traditions of the problem and synthesis of research findings with implications for effective teaching. Analysis of literature revealed several schools of thought: 1. grounded in the behaviourist traditions; 2. oriented towards behaviourist and personality theories, including social dimensions; 3. relying on personality theories; 4. grounded on theories of activity and interaction. Communication style influences such dimensions of the teaching-learning process as learning gains, affect for the teacher, instructional content and the course, learning environment, participation of students, their motivation, trust in the teacher, credibility, positive relations between teacher and learners just to mention a few.

Teachers for rural schools – a challenge for South Africa

Poverty is rife in many African countries and this has serious implications for the provision of quality education. Rural schools face severe challenges that are unique to their environment. A lack of parental interest in children’s education, insufficient funding from the state, a lack of resources, underqualified teachers, and multi-grade teaching are some of the barriers to effective education. These challenges can be attributed to numerous sources, from within school structures and from the external environment, including local communities and education authorities. After 25 years of democracy, educational standards and learner performance in rural schooling has shown little improvement. This study illustrates the complexity and inter-connectedness of the problems faced by teachers in South African rural schools. Using qualitative research within the interpretivist paradigm, this article explores the perceptions and experiences of teachers in rural schools located in White River in the Mpumalanga province. This grounded-theory research focuses on effective teaching and learning. The findings reveal that most rural schools do not have water, sanitation, or electricity, and classrooms are in a terrible state. These issues have serious implications for effective teaching and learning. Keywords: deployment; education level; education quality; recruitment; rural schools

More enjoyment, less anxiety and boredom: How achievement emotions relate to academic self-concept and teachers' diagnostic skills

Students' achievement emotions are critical in their academic development. Therefore, teachers need to create an emotionally positive learning environment. In the light of this, the present study investigated the connection between students' enjoyment, anxiety, boredom and, in the first case, students' academic self-concept and, in the second, teachers' diagnostic skills. The third part of our study examined whether this link would be moderated by students' academic self-concept. Our sample comprised N = 1803 eighth-grade students who reported their achievement emotions and evaluated the diagnostic skills of both their German and mathematics teachers. Hierarchical models indicated that students experience more enjoyment and less anxiety and boredom if teachers exhibit better diagnostic skills. The role of teachers' diagnostic skills in relation to students' emotions was in part moderated by the students' self-concept. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for effective teaching.

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This paper discusses the key factors associated with Asperger’s syndrome and the implications for effective teaching to enhance student participation and engagement. Firstly, it presents a brief introduction to Asperger’s syndrome and its main characteristics. Secondly, it explores student communication, social interaction, challenging behaviours and learning, and the implications for effective teaching. Thirdly, the importance of and the implications for collaborating with parents, teachers, professionals and individuals living with Asperger’s syndrome are discussed.

Foreign Language Learners’ Motivation and Its Effects on Their Achievement: Implications for Effective Teaching of Students Studying Japanese at Universiti Brunei Darussalam

An increasing number of students at the University of Brunei Darussalam are studying the Japanese language. However, research on the relationship between learners’ motivation and their achievement has not been given sufficient attention in Japanese foreign language education compared to English in Brunei. The present study, which utilized a quantitative survey, attempted to address this information gap. Based on the Brunei university student sample, five main motivational factors were extracted by factor analysis, namely: (1) Interest in Japanese pop culture and traditional culture; (2) Interest in Japanese language orientation; (3) Understanding Japanese people and society orientation; (4) Career use of Japanese language orientation; and (5) Self-satisfaction orientation. Participants differed significantly in their Japanese language learning motivation by gender and age. Male students were more driven to study Japanese language by Factor 1–Interest in Japanese pop culture and traditional culture orientation while females were inspired mostly by Factor 5–Self-satisfaction Orientation. In addition, students placed in the oldest age-group category (24-27) scored significantly higher on Factor 3–Understanding Japanese people and society orientation, than members of the other two age-groups. Based on these findings, nine recommendations were made to improve the teaching and learning of Japanese language at the university. Further mixed-methods research was also recommended to gain additional insights.

Critical Pedagogy in HIV-AIDS Education for a Maya Immigrant Community

In this article the authors discuss how the perspectives of Paulo Freire were instructive in addressing the challenges of HIV-AIDS education in Guatemalan Maya immigrant communities with minimal formal education and literacy. The forging of a community-based, collaborative, educational program offers several implications for effective teaching and learning among marginalized communities.

Rapid Serial Naming Is a Unique Predictor of Spelling in Children

Some previous research has shown strong associations between spelling ability and rapid automatic naming (RAN) after controls for phonological processing and nonsense-word reading ability, consistent with the double-deficit hypothesis in reading and spelling. Previous studies did not, however, control for nonsense-word spelling ability before assessing RAN—spelling associations. In this study, 65 children with poor spelling skills but average reasoning ability completed RAN tasks and spelling, reading, and reasoning tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after controls for chronological age, reasoning ability, and spelling of nonsense words, alphanumeric RAN, but not nonalphanumeric RAN, was still a strong predictor of spelling acquisition. Findings are discussed in terms of single- and double-deficit models of spelling and implications for effective teaching.

Classroom discourse: teaching, learning, and learning disabilities

This study examined teacher–student discourse from a sociocultural perspective in order to ascertain the nature of effective instruction for school-age students with learning disabilities. This discussion examines one teacher's resource room instruction that was part of a larger study of teacher–student discourse. The results suggested two considerations: (1) the importance of teacher self-reflection and the implications for effective teaching and learning, and (2) differential discourse patterns across academic domains. Wood's notion of contingent teaching (1991) provided a guideline for coding teacher–student discourse. The results suggest that feedback combined with cognitive structuring contribute to effective teaching and learning.

Evaluation of Students: Implications for Effective Teaching

lege faculties who are not in favor of evaluating students, that is giving tests and assigning grades. They may consider themselves to be good teachers; students may praise them; and they may be reputed to be good teachers throughout the college. But, unless the achievements of their pupils are evaluated, they can provide no solid evidence that they are in fact good teachers. They may instead be merely good entertainers, or skillful selfadvertisers, or good friends of the students. As teachers however, they may be quite ineffective. For the essential task of the teacher is to facilitate student learning. That is why schools and colleges and universities were established, and why taxes and tuition fees are collected to maintain them.

Evaluation of Students: Implications for Effective Teaching

Evaluation of Students: Implications for Effective Teaching