Investigate EFL Learners Research Articles

EFL Learners’ Perceptions of Integrating Computer-Based Feedback into Writing Classrooms: Evidence From Saudi Arabia

Recently, the integration of computer-based feedback (CBF) systems, as assistive tools for instructors, into EFL writing contexts has attracted researchers’ attention. However, EFL learners’ perceptions toward such tools’ application remain under-investigated. Therefore, this study investigates EFL learners’ perceptions toward integrating CBF into writing classrooms in the Saudi higher education level. We adopted a quasi-experimental research design with a mixed-method approach for data collection and purposive sampling as sampling technique. We administered pre-questionnaires to two groups of Saudi male EFL undergraduate students undertaking an English program ( n = 40). The experimental group’s participants developed four multiple draft essays after receiving automated feedback on each essay (i.e., the treatment), after which post-questionnaires were administered to measure shift in their perceptions. The findings suggest that majority of participants held positive views on this tool, and some of their views positively changed at a statistically significant level after practice. However, we identified few student concerns regarding these systems. Thus, although integrating such tools into writing classes provides learners with positive experiences and encourages their engagement in learning, instructors must ensure the students’ access to functional devices and appropriate Internet connections.

Cohesive Devices Used in Argumentative Essays by Undergraduate EFL Learners

Cohesive devices are crucial points recognized as essential features of a good essay, yet employing them in an essay appropriately becomes problematic for learners. This study analyzes qualitatively cohesive devices to investigate EFL learners. It aims at examining how EFL learners apply cohesive devices in argumentative essays, the frequencies of cohesive devices errors in their writings, and the possible causes of EFL learners to produce cohesive devices. Twenty-five learners of the Department of International Relations, at a university in Ponorogo, were requested to produce argumentative essays that consisted of five paragraphs. Twenty-five essays had been identified with the number of errors of grammatical cohesion. Those errors were then analyzed to determine the possible causes affecting the learners’ errors. The find revealed that the number of grammatical cohesion utilized by EFL learners reached 2172, while 168 obtained errors. There was a heavy reliance on cohesive item use. The intralingual transfer mostly influenced the errors produced than the interlingual transfer. The intralingual errors percentage represented 96,9%; interlingual transfer errors reached 3.03%. It occurred due to the learners’ inability to employ the grammar rule. Hence, lecturer should employ the strategies for learners’ writing ability development, such as implementing collaborative learning, delivering the feedback, exposing learners to exercise, and applying a learning management system to result higher level of cohesion.

Acceptance and Use of Smartphones: AR-enhanced EFL Reading Practices

The increasing technological practices in educational settings have boosted up a wide variety of mobile tools use. One of the most recent tools is Augmented Reality (AR). As this newest technology whets many educators’ appetite in various fields, EFL learning has taken its place among the recent research related with AR enhanced practices. Although AR is a novel and promising tool for educational objectives, little is known about EFL learners' perceptions towards AR-enhanced reading practices and the effect of these practices on EFL learners’ smartphone acceptance levels in EFL learning. Herewith, the aim of this study is to investigate EFL learners’ perceptions regarding AR-enhanced reading practices and these practices' effect on EFL learners’ smartphone acceptance levels in EFL learning. A total of 32 second year vocational school students studying in the department of culinary at a state university participated in this study. This present study adopted a quasi-experimental mixed methods research design. The participants were introduced reading passages in the target language enhanced with AR technologies to increase the comprehension of these texts. Survey of Acceptance and Use of Smartphone Applications for English Language Learning was used to gather quantitative data and a semi-structured focus-group interview was conducted to understand their perceptions on using AR and acceptance of smartphones in EFL learning. The results of this study revealed that these EFL learners have positive attitudes towards using smartphones in their English reading practices and have moderate levels of smartphone acceptance in EFL learning. They found these practices motivating and helpful for understanding the reading passages. Taken together, this study will contribute to the EFL education and technology-enhanced language learning research field.

An Investigation into Indonesian EFL University Students’ Speaking Anxiety

The general purpose of the study was to investigate EFL learners‟ speaking anxiety and its associated factors. More specifically, the study was purposed to examine the constructs of a speaking anxiety and to explore the model for predicting speaking anxiety based on gender, proficiency and class type. Therefore, explanatory factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used. The result indicated that there are two factors in learners‟ speaking anxiety, but they are difficult to name as a result of overlapping variables in each component. With regards to a multiple linear regression test, the finding shows that proficiency variable is the most significant factor for predicting the variation in speaking anxiety.

An Investigation into Indonesian EFL University Students’ Speaking Anxiety

The general purpose of the study was to investigate EFL learners‟ speaking anxiety and its associated factors. More specifically, the study was purposed to examine the constructs of a speaking anxiety and to explore the model for predicting speaking anxiety based on gender, proficiency and class type. Therefore, explanatory factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used. The result indicated that there are two factors in learners‟ speaking anxiety, but they are difficult to name as a result of overlapping variables in each component. With regards to a multiple linear regression test, the finding shows that proficiency variable is the most significant factor for predicting the variation in speaking anxiety.

Investigating EFL Learners’ Ability to Analyse Poetic Language: A Pedagogical Corpus Stylistic Approach

Pedagogical stylistics refers to the application of the tools of stylistics in the teaching of the English language as a foreign or a second language. Teaching and learning poetry is challenging. Thus, pedagogical corpus stylistics (Henceforth, PCS) approach has been introduced to Iraqi undergraduate foreign language learners (EFL) to guide them to analyze poetic language. The study aims to make students interact with authentic examples of poetic language and answer questions about it. The main objective of the study is to examine whether PCS tools enable the learners to provide linguistic evidence from the poetic texts they are exposed to. This in turn ensures objective poetic analyses. Moreover, it aims to enable EFL Iraqi students to discover salient norms related to the Standard English language. The study reveals that the pedagogical corpus stylistic approach helps the students to discover language patterns using corpus tools with the help of the teacher’s guidance at the beginning but this eventually leads to independent learning and discoveries about poetic language.

Comparing English Language Learners’ Perceptions of How Reliable Computer-Based, Teacher-Based, and Peer Feedback Is: A Case Study

The literature emphasises the role of feedback (FB) in writing development, leading to explorations of different types of FB to provide, such as teacher-based FB (TBF), peer feedback (PF) and computer-based feedback (CBF). This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate EFL learners’ perceptions of the reliability of TBF, PF and CBF. The participants (n = 40) were Saudi male EFL students in a BA English programme at a Saudi university. The study employed an experimental group (n = 21) and a control group (n = 19). For data collection, pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were administered. The intervention exposed the participants to giving and receiving PF and introduced them to CBF. Following training in providing PF and using the automated system, the participants went through four cycles of writing during which they developed four essays; with each essay, PF and CBF were employed to produce multiple drafts. The main findings indicated that TBF was perceived to be the most reliable type of FB, and that CBF was considered more reliable than PF. Additionally, our findings suggest that the more students are exposed to CBF, the more likely they are to accept it. Pedagogical implications arising from these findings are also discussed.

Investigating EFL Learners’ Perceptions of Critical Thinking Learning Affordances: Voices From Chinese University English Majors

Affordances are action possibilities provided by the environment. This study investigated university EFL learners’ perceptions of the critical thinking learning affordances in their course learning environment. The participants were a cohort of 156 fourth-year English majors from a Chinese university where the English department was under a curriculum reform to promote students’ language learning and critical thinking development. The instrument of this study was the Learning Environment Affordance Survey_Critical Thinking (LEAS_CT) with a set of multiple-choice questions. The data analysis methods used in the study included descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, and MANOVA tests. The results showed that the English majors had strongly positive perceptions of the critical thinking learning affordances, which included four types: Rich Resources, Interactive Negotiation, Quality Task, and Community Culture. The results also revealed that high-achieving students had significantly better perceptions of the critical thinking learning affordances than lower-achieving students. Responses to the multiple-choice questions indicated that the English majors considered content-rich materials, teacher-facilitation, and small-group/peer learning benefited them most in terms of critical thinking development. Factors that influenced their perceptions of learning affordances and implications concerning integrating critical thinking into the tertiary EFL curriculum were discussed.

EFL 학습자의 외국어 불안에 대한 인식과 태도 연구

The current study aims at investigating EFL learners’ perception of and attitude toward foreign language anxiety (FLA) using Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, Generalized Belief Measure, Generalized Attitude Measure, and an open-ended questionnaire survey. For this study, 277 college students participated, and they were divided into two groups based on their TOEIC scores: 138 high- and 139 low-level learners. The findings of the study were as follows: 1) there was a significant negative relationship between their language achievement and FLA, which signifies that FLA is one of the major factors for L2 development; 2) the participants were slightly aware of the existence of FLA in foreign language learning settings, and low-level learners revealed more severe perception on the existence of FLA; 3) they revealed slightly positive attitude toward FLA, and no differences were found in the two proficiency-level groups; and 4) the participants reported about whether they feel FLA both positively and negatively with some persuasive reasons. Further discussion related to the results is addressed. (Chungnam National University)

EFL Learners' Readiness for and Satisfaction with E-learning in Turkey during the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning is a new, and therefore, a challenging experience for most university students in Turkey. Determining whether these students are ready for or satisfied with distance learning practices is essential for the stakeholders of higher education to design and implement it efficiently. This quantitative study aimed at investigating EFL learners’ readiness for and satisfaction with web-based English courses in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. It further aimed to examine the role of e-learning readiness on e-learning satisfaction. Data were collected through questionnaires from 169 EFL students taking online English courses at the A1 level in an intensive English programme in a state university in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed that the study sample had an above-average level of readiness for and satisfaction with the English courses they took in virtual environments. Furthermore, e-learning readiness was found to be associated with e-learning satisfaction, and readiness for e-learning successfully predicted satisfaction with it. Important implications for school leaders and instructors are suggested based on the findings.
 Keywords: e-learning readiness, e-learning satisfaction, web-based English courses

Self-repair in EFL learners’ speech in two contrasting institutional school settings in China: An activity theory informed analysis

This article uses activity theory to consider how L2 learners' self-repair behaviour takes shape in their situated learning contexts. It compares and investigates EFL learners from two secondary schools in China that differed in their L2 pedagogical systems and overall educational cultures: a mainstream public school and a private school that provides an international curriculum. Data from classroom interactions, lesson observations and interviews with teachers and students were triangulated. Analysis of data reveals that tension or affordance could arise out of the interaction within or between different constituents of an activity system of a school setting. This exerts further mediating influences on L2 learners' self-repair behaviour, including the frequencies, underlying problems, strategies used and changes incurred. This paper concludes by suggesting that EFL practitioners should be more mindful of students’ self-repair features in order to reflect on possible sources of tension that can stem from different elements of an activity system, to consider potential forms of conflict resolution, and to create an environment that is conducive for the creation of affordances for learning. Further research using activity theoretical reconceptualization and the concept of expansive learning is called for.

EFL Learners’ Perceptions Regarding the Use of Busuu Application in Language Learning: Evaluating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

After the exceptional circumstances the whole world has experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students have become digital natives who seek learning that overcomes the barriers of place and time. This mixed-methods study aimed at investigating EFL learners' perceptions regarding the application of Busuu in language learning, by applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The participants were 58 first secondary stage students in a Saudi private school. An online survey and a semi-structured interview were used to collect data. The results revealed that EFL learners have a positive attitude towards Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). 
 Additionally, according to the TAM, the participants found the language application Busuu useful and easy to use. They also thought of Busuu as a valuable resource for language learning, which increases their motivation to be autonomous learners. However, in addition to the TAM components, the results also showed that affordance and joyfulness could be strong indicators of learners' acceptance of a particular technology. 
 Moreover, the results revealed that mobile applications might be more helpful for beginner learners than advanced ones. On the other hand, the findings also showed that Busuu might distract learners from doing their homework. Besides, the regular use of Busuu might be harmful to their eyes due to the small mobile screen size. For further research, the recommendation includes a large sample size in addition to a long-term study of EFL learners' perception towards Busuu in normal classroom circumstances. 

Gender Influence on the Pronunciation of Stress by Iraqi and Kurdish EFL Learners

Stress is one of the main linguistic aspects that deals with greater effort on a syllable or syllables in a word and making them more prominent than other unstressed syllables. This phonetic and phonological feature is probably present in most languages of the world. The present study presents lexical stress patterns influence on Iraqi Arabic and Kurdish EFL learners’ pronunciation. The study aims at investigating EFL learners’ pronunciation of English lexical stress by three different language groups, to show the effect of first language on the pronunciation of English words concerning Iraqi Arabic and Kurdish EFL learners, clarifying the influence of gender on their performance. The current study hypothesizes the following for the current aim to be achieved: . there is no difference in gender in the performance of all language groups. Lastly, the validity of the data is analyzed acoustically by using Praat software program to verify the auditory analysis and to make certain that stress assignment is precise. Among the conclusions arrived at in the present study is that the total performance of Kurdish participants is better than the Iraqi Arabic performance, but there is no significant difference between them.

EFL Learners’ Preferences and Emotions about Oral Corrective Feedback at Secondary Education in Turkey: Are There Gender and Grade-level Differences?

Oral corrective feedback has attracted the attention of EFL teachers and researchers in recent decades. The current study aims to investigate EFL learners’ preferences and emotions about oral corrective feedback with a specific focus on gender and grade level at secondary education in Turkey. Quantitative research methods were used to reveal the findings. 664 EFL learners participated in the study at two different state high schools in Ankara, Turkey. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to investigate the OCF preferences of EFL high school learners. It was revealed that more than half of the high school EFL learners worried about making mistakes in the classroom; however, the majority of the learners agreed on the necessity of receiving OCF and they had positive feelings for being given immediate feedback by their teachers. Regardless of gender and grade level, EFL learners had a higher preference for ‘self-correction’. Females preferred ‘metalinguistic clues’ as the first choice and ‘peer correction’ as the last choice among the OCF types whereas males prefer ‘peer correction’ as the first, but ‘metalinguistic clues’ as the last choice. Among the grade levels, 10th-grade level learners have more concerns about making mistakes and these learners prefer ‘clarification request’ and ‘repetition of error’ a lot more than the 9th-grade level learners.

Analysis of Writing Motivation for Medical University EFL Learners in China

This research aims to investigate EFL learners’ writing motivation in a medical university. Although writing plays a critical role in English learning, it has often been neglected by students, they only take writing as a tortured task which has been related to the score in final tests. In a medical university, most students are afraid of writing and lack motivation to write in English because of the heavy load and pressure from their medical tasks. Therefore, this study describes students’ writing motivation through the class observation, questionnaire, and interview, and finds what factors affect students’ writing motivation. Based on the analysis results, combined with features of students from a medical university, the researcher comes up with strategies to improve learners’ writing motivation.

Investigating EFL learners’ humorous interactions with an intelligent personal assistant

ABSTRACT Intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), which are voice-activated agents enabling human–computer interaction, have recently been reported to be pedagogically useful agents in language learning. IPAs use various forms of humor to better communicate with users and to compensate for any performance limitations. In order to understand the IPAs’ sense of humor and their language teaching potential, this study investigated language learners’ reactions to IPA’s humor responses. Forty-two English language learners, whose language levels varied from intermediate to upper-intermediate, engaged in humorous interactions with one particular IPA (i.e. Google Assistant), which was installed on their mobile devices, by using 15 funny prompts. The learners were then asked to rate the IPA’s responses in terms of how funny they were and to share their perceptions of the potential use of IPA in language learning processes. The results indicated that the learners rated most IPA responses as quite humorous and found the IPA’s overall sense of humor to be higher than average. Further, learners reported that IPAs could be highly useful agents to improve both their overall English and their discrete language skills. Overall, this study shows that IPAs with some sense of humor have a lot to offer to language learners.

AN EVALUATION OF ENGLISH PROGRAM: A DEEP ANALYSIS OF EFL LEARNERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENGLISH PROGRAM

This study investigated EFL learners’ attitude towards English program conducted by the language institute in an engineering college in Palembang. The program consisted of 36 regular meeting where participants learn English for their field and TOEFL test. This evaluation was conducted at the end of the program to advance the English program in the college to meet their learners’ of English. As a part of evaluation, this study evaluated six aspects in program namely teaching materials, teaching methodology, course fee, course design, facilities and service provided in the program. The participants of this study were 87.9% learners who took English course in the institute. A questionnaire consisting 15 items was given to the participants at the end of the program. This study revealed that most participants had positive attitude towards the English program provided by the language institute. Clearly, they were satisfied with the English program in the college. Keywords: EFL learners, evaluation, attitude

Phonetic symbols vs keywords in perceptual training: the learners’ views

Abstract The potential of high-variability phonetic training (HVPT) to help FL learners improve their pronunciation is well documented. However, research exploring learners’ perceptions of the approach adopted after having experienced training is scarce. Likewise, the choice of labels adopted for training is not self-evident and has not been studied empirically. This study investigates EFL learners’ perceptions towards HVPT and the use of phonetic symbols vs keywords as labels for perceptual training. Seventy-one EFL learners followed four HVPT sessions using two types of labels (symbols and keywords). The results of Likert-type items and open questions in a questionnaire completed after training suggest that learners considered HVPT useful and that they would be willing to adopt it as part of their routine. The participants’ perceptions were positive towards both labels, although the group trained with symbols generally showed more positive attitudes towards training and were willing to continue using it more often.

Investigating EFL learners’ speaking achievement taught by modified role play at English speaking class

This study seeks to find out the effect of modified role play on students’ speaking achievement. There were 28 students involved in the research. The sample consisted of two classes which one group was taken to be experimental and the other to be a control group. The data obtained through the test were analyzed by using statistical analysis. The data were collected using pre and post-test. The pretest was administered at the start of the treatment, and again after 3 meetings of modified Role Play. In conducting the research, the researcher used a speaking test rubric to evaluate the students’ speaking performance which covered five components of speaking, such as fluency, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehensibility. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and the post-test scores of modified the role-play and compared to the original role play. The findings indicated that the students in the modified role-play had performed better in the post-test compared to the pre-test oral communication skills classes.

Critical Thinking Instruction

This study sought to investigate EFL learners` attitudes towards critical thinking (CT) instruction. To this end, based on the result of an Oxford Placement Test, thirty intermediate EFL learners were selected from among 90 participants to take part in this study at a language institute. A repeated measure design was utilized by the researchers based on which the same group of participants took part in the control and experimental phases of the study. At the end of the experiment, the participating EFL learners answered an open-ended researcher-made questionnaire the items of which were based on existing literature in order to explore the participants` views and attitudes towards the type of instruction offered to promote their CT skills. It was found that more than two-third of the participants were interested in using CT skills at class. The findings have some implications for course designers, material developers, and teachers to introduce and foster CT skills in classrooms for students.