Iraqi EFL Research Articles

Analysis of Punctuation and Spelling Errors Associated with Academic Writing among Iraqi EFL Learners

The present study aims to analyse and find punctuation and spelling errors EFL learners face in their academic writing as part of English proficiency tests. A quantitative method was adopted to implement the research objective. 117 written samples were collected and analysed. The participants were 82 females and 35 males. The average age is 23 to 37 years. The results showed different kinds of errors and challenges. The present study concerns limited errors and challenges: punctuation and spelling errors. The findings show a large prevalence of punctuation and spelling errors among Iraqi EFL learners. The most common errors using punctuation marks were using capital letters (54.72%), commas (25. 71%), and periods (19.58%). In terms of spelling errors, omission recorded the highest percentage of errors (40.9%), followed by substitution (30.5%), transposition (15.0), and insertion (13.6%).

The Impact of Using Say Something Strategy on Iraqi EFL University Students' Achievement in Reading Comprehension

Reading is the most important skill among the four skills in learning English and being able to comprehend various English texts as expected. Yet, the experience has not seemed to be realized. The goal of the "Say Something Strategy" is to assist students in understanding what they are reading by predicting, questioning, clarifying, connecting, or commenting. Telling students to "say something" about the reading, or offering them specific things to say, keeps them engaged with the content. In this study, the Say Something strategy is an appropriate strategy to progress accomplishment for improving students' reading comprehension success. The study's sample comprises of second-year university students from the English Department, the College of Art, and Tikrit University during the academic year 2022–2023. It has been randomly chosen and has been divided into two groups, the experimental group with (33) students taught by Say Something Strategy and the control group with (33) students without Say Something Strategy, both groups completed the same reading comprehension test. An accomplishment exam was developed, validated, and administered to the two groups involved. The essential data has been collected and statistically analyzed. Because of the implementation of the Say Something Strategy, the obtained results show that there are statistically significant differences in the success of the two groups of students in favor of the experimental group.

The Effect of Online Platform Videos on Iraqi EFL Learners' Achievements in Writing Skill at the University Level

Mastering the English language skills specifically the writing one is not an easy task in spite of theories and models about language learning that have been conducted through centuries. However, the present study is an attempt to shed light on the effect of online platform videos on Iraqi EFL learners' achievements in the second class in writing skill during the second academic semester of 2023-2024. The study targeted (20) subjects, (10) males and (10) females who study writing skill as an academic subject in the second class at the Department of English, College Arts, University of Mosul. The experimental lessons covered (30) hours during (10) weeks for undergraduate students. The adopted tools of data collection are pre-and-post tests and a questionnaire. Additionally, the cooperative learning model proposed by Kagan and Kagan (2009) is adopted. The results of the study show that students who were exposed to the experiment made progress in writing skill after implementing video-based lessons.

A Study of the Causes and the Effect of Writing Anxiety Components on Iraqi EFL Students’ Attitudes

Anxiety is identified as a main issue that may highly lead to the feelings of nervousness, worry, tension, and apprehension. The purpose of the study is to measure the impact of the three components of writing anxiety (somatic, avoidance behavior, and cognitive) on Iraqi EFL learners’ attitudes and also attempts to determine the component causing the highest anxiety rates. Besides, the study also aims to detect the key elements that provoke anxiety. Two questionnaire tools, listed under the quantitative approach, were adopted in this study: The Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory developed by Cheng and Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory developed by Rezaei and Jafari. Hundred Iraqi undergraduate students, 50 males and 50 females, were assigned to take part in this study at “Al-Nisour University College.” The finding demonstrated that the participants are affected by all the three aforesaid components. However, the component “avoidance behavior anxiety” had a higher effect rate on the participants’ attitudes compared to the two components, dubbed “cognitive and somatic” that showed otherwise. Added to this, the findings also revealed a significant difference between genders wherein female learners showed a higher rate of anxiety than their male counterparts. This points out that female students may highly have an inclination to evade the situations demanding writing. Linguistic difficulties, fear of teacher’s negative comments, insufficient writing practice and self-confidence were respectively detected as the highest influential elements behind arousing anxiety. The current study highlighted the causes of writing anxiety and the effect of its components on Iraqi EFL learners and might contribute to paving the way to new teaching methods or techniques to mitigate the effect of these writing anxiety components and boost self-confidence in Iraqi EFL.

The Effect of Semantic Mapping Strategy on EFL Preparatory School Students' Higher Thinking Skills

Literary text usually begins with a writer’s need to convey his or her personal vision to reader. Even when a writer uses factual material, historical documents newspaper stories, personal experience his or her primary purpose is not just to convey information but to give a unique view of experience, one that has significance beyond the moment. Literature is the news that stays news. To convey his or her view of experience, invents characters, and creates dialogue. In order to solve this problem, the teacher should have creative activity, and semantic mapping strategy can be an alternative way as a learning and make students enjoy and easy to write. The present study aims at; 1) finding out whether there is any significant difference between students' achievement at the recognition level on one hand, and their achievement at the production level, on the other hand. 2) Finding out EFL preparatory school students' ability to identify figurative language, recognize and be aware of other cultures, and higher thinking skills. A sample of (60) students has been randomly selected from Iraqi EFL fourth year preparatory school students who study ‘Literature Focus’ at Al-Manahil school for boys in the city of Tikrit during the academic year 2023/2024. The sample represents (25.60%) percent of its original population and is divided into two equal groups, i.e. the experimental and control groups. Both groups have been equalized in their age, the parents’ educational attainments, and their scores in English language subjects in the previous year of the academic year (2022-2023). An achievement test of six question is constructed, validated, its reliability is obtained, it is items have been analysed and then applied to the two involved groups of the study. The results show that SMS is more effective than using the conventional method for organizing, clarifying, or simplifying complex information.

The Effect of Question Answer Relationship Strategy on Iraqi EFL Intermediate Pupils’ Reading Comprehension

The Question Answer Relationship strategy is useful for teaching pupils how to understand and reply of several forms of the questions. Understanding that some questions have “Right There” solutions in the text, that others require the reader to “Think and Search,” and that others can only be answered “On My Own” helps pupils recognize the importance of thinking about the topic before finding the answer. The aims of the current study are finding out the effect of Question Answer Relationship strategy on Iraqi EFL intermediate pupil’s achievement and finding out the effect of Question Answer Relationship strategy on developing Iraqi EFL intermediate pupil’s reading comprehension. The aims of the study are supposed to be achieved through verifying the following hypothesis: There are no statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group which is taught by question answer relationship strategy and the control group who is taught by prescribed method in pupil’s post achievement test . The second hypothesis states that there is no statistical significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group in pre and post reading comprehension test. The sample of the current study consists of (60) pupils from the second grade at Karam AL Rahman Intermediate School for Boys is chosen at random to be the sample of the study. The sample is split into two groups: one for the experiment and the other is for the control. Both groups are similar in terms of their age, parent’s educational level and previous year’s English language scores. The experiment lasted for ten weeks ,the researcher taught the two groups during the academic year 2022-2023. To analyze the obtained data, different statistical means have been used T-test, Weighted mean to measure the pupils’ achievement. After the statistically treatment of the data.

The Relationship between the Actual Implementation of the "English for Iraq" Curriculum and Teachers' Intentions, and Perceptions in Iraqi EFL Preparatory Schools

This study investigates the intentions, perceptions, and actual implementation of an innovative English curriculum among preparatory school EFL teachers in Iraq. The research recognizes the growing importance of English globally and Iraq's efforts to enhance English language education and implement an appropriate innovative curriculum. However, the implementation of a new curriculum poses significant challenges related to teachers' knowledge, intention, and academic culture. The study focuses on understanding the relationship between curriculum intentions, teachers' perceptions, and the actual implementation of the curriculum. The study also explores how teachers' intention, culture, and other factors influence the implementation of the curriculum. Data were collected through a combination of vignettes, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews with a random sample of 10 male teachers from 10 preparatory schools in Babylon Governorate during the 2023-2024 school years. The results indicated that teachers are enthusiastic about the new curriculum, but its effective implementation faces many challenges. Teachers recognize the potential of the curriculum, but suffer from insufficient materials and overcrowded classrooms that hinder optimal teaching and learning. The study emphasizes that in order to successfully implement the curriculum, through continuous professional development and strong support systems, there must be ongoing professional development and strong support systems, ongoing training programs can help teachers adapt to the new curriculum, and the provision of resources, teaching aids, and manageable class size can create a more conducive learning environment, leading to better learning outcomes.

Investigating Teachers' and Students’ Evaluation of the Textbook English for Iraq for First and Second Grades of High School Based on Litz's Checklist

The present study investigates Iraqi teachers’ and students’ evaluation of the textbook English for Iraq for first and second grades of high school based on Litz's checklist using a descriptive qualitative method. The sample of this study was 2textbook books entitled “English for Iraq for 1st Intermediate” and “English for Iraq for 2nd Intermediate”. The research data was collected from the Evaluation checklist of experts consisting of 5 Points in evaluation textbooks. The results of the evaluation of the two books have mostly met the standards of a decent book based on the criteria of Litz in terms of objectives, layout&design, methodology, skills, elements of language. This study also intended to examine EFL teachers’ and students’ points of view on these two textbooks. The participants were 70 first and second-grade intermediate school students and 30 EFL teachers who chose from various intermediate schools in Wasit province. The researcher designed two questionnaires to evaluate these textbooks. The examinations uncovered that EFL teachers were to some extent happy with the “English for Iraq textbook series”; Not with standing, EFL students were fairly impartial. The evaluation also indicated that the English for Iraq textbook meets the CLT educational plan's points and targets in introducing the exercises and activities through legitimate texts (fiction and nonfiction) that are connected with genuine circumstances. The findings of this work may hold any importance with Iraqi EFL teachers, materials designers, and the partners engaged with the materials readiness Departments of the Iraqi Ministry of General Education.

On the Relationship between Iraqi EFL Teachers' Organizational Commitment and Their Leadership Style: A Case Study of Missan Province

This study looked into the connection between the leadership styles of Iraqi EFL teachers and their organisational commitment (OC). The Characteristics of Successful Teachers' Questionnaire and the Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS), which has three sub-scales: Affiliation and Pride, Identification, and Satisfactory Exchange, were given to the EFL teachers in order to get the necessary data. The "Spearman Correlation Coefficient" was utilised in this study's correlation approach to explain teacher dedication and leadership style. In the Missan province of Iraq, 147 male and female teachers were given the "Class Leadership Style" and "Organisational Commitment Scale" questionnaires for this reason. The findings showed a strong and positive correlation between teachers' organisational commitment and their leadership style.

Investigating Iraqi EFL Learners’ Social Intelligence and Their Performance in Speaking: A Correlational Study

The ultimate goal of learning a language is to use it when interacting with others regardless of the mode of communication. This use of the language, however, is socially and psychologically affected. In this regard, social intelligence plays a crucial role in creating effective interactions. The problem is that the correlation between social intelligence and speaking skill has received little attention in the field of linguistics concerning the Iraqi context. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the correlation between these variables to better understand how they correlate to each other. It asks to what extent there is a correlation between them and whether some personal variables affect this correlation. To this end, the alternative hypothesis is adopted which claims that there is a statistically significant positive correlation among the variables. For this purpose, the correlation design that draws on the quantitative approach is adopted. Moreover, a sample of 77 EFL third-year students from the University of Mosul for the academic year 2023-2024 was randomly selected. They were males and females coming from ethnic backgrounds, namely, Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. To collect data, two research instruments were used they were: an adopted and adapted social intelligence scale and a speaking test designed by the researcher. The data were statistically treated by a statistician using SPSS. The results of the study show that there is a positive moderate correlation between social intelligence and speaking skill. It is also concluded that personal variables such as gender and ethnicity have no significant influence on the correlation between the variables. Finally, some recommendations were presented based on the conclusions inferred.

EFL Learners' Pragmatic Tolerance of Quantity Maxim Violation

The current study embarks on investigating Iraqi EFL learners' pragmatic tolerance of quantity maxim violations. Additionally, it seeks to shed light on Iraqi EFL learners' pragmatic abilities in deriving pragmatic inferences from utterances that contain violations of quantity maxim. The experimental work in the current study utilized two types of sentence judgment tasks. Binary sentence judgment task for investigating learners' pragmatic tolerance, and ternary judgment task for investigating learners' pragmatic competence. The study included two groups of participants. The first group included 50 participants from 2nd-year students, and the second included 50 from 4th-year students at the Department of English for the academic year 2023-2024; both groups judged underinformative scalar implicature utterances. The results with binary task data indicate that Iraqi EFL learners exhibit tolerance toward quantity maxim violations. However, the ternary judgment task results indicate that Iraqi learners are not competent enough to derive a pragmatic inference. Hence, the current study attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of EFL learners' pragmatic abilities to derive implied meanings.

Investigating Iraqi EFL University Students’ Linguistic Proficiency and Literary Awareness : A Comparative Study

Linguistic proficiency refers to students’ ability to use and understand a language in a specific text, while literary awareness relates to students’ specific way of using information and comprehending literature in a particular language. The current study aims to investigate and compare Iraqi EFL university students' level between linguistic proficiency and literary awareness. It also aims at finding whether there is a significant difference between Iraqi EFL university students’ linguistic proficiency and literary awareness at both Tikrit university and Kirkuk University and finding whether there is a significant difference between Iraqi EFL students’ linguistic proficiency and literary awareness at Tikrit and Kirkuk universities according to gender. For achieving the aims and answering the questions, 250 students were randomly chosen from English Department in Colleges of Education at both universities in the second semester of the Academic Year 2022/ 2023 to form the study sample. The tool; that used for collecting data is a questionnaire. The results reveal that there is a significant difference in literary awareness and linguistic proficiency between the students at Tikrit and Kirkuk Universities. The difference is primarily in favor of literary awareness due to students' interest in literary subjects rather than linguistic ones. The gender variable's results indicate that there is no difference in the language proficiency of males and females, there is a difference in literary awareness that favors the female gender. Finally, the study ends with conclusions and some recommendations.

The Effect of Using Mini-Drama on Writing Proficiency among Iraqi EFL Secondary School Pupils

This research aims to investigate the effect of mini-drama to enhance the writing proficiency of Iraqi EFL secondary school pupils. To achieve the aim of the research, the following hypothesis has been put in. There is no statistically significant difference between the mean score of the experimental group, taught using mini-drama to improve writing proficiency, and that of the control group, taught using the traditional way in the posttest. The data has been collected from Iraqi EFL secondary pupils at Al-Qabas secondary school for girls during the academic year (2023-2024), through a pre and post-test. The study is quantitative and experimental design and the results are analyzed through descriptive statistics of the data through the SPSS 22 software program. Finally, the research ends with some conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions for further research.

Exploring the Impact of Learning Activities on Self-efficacy in Academic Writing among Iraqi EFL Learners

This study examined Iraqi EFL learners academic writing self-efficacy and learning practices. The research used purposive sampling to recruit 60 undergraduate and graduate students using a mixed method approach. Participants self-efficacy in academic writing is assessed using the validated Self-efficacy in Academic Writting Scale (SEAWS) and Self-efficacy questionnaire, instructors anonymous grading of relevant writing assignments. Participants experiences with learning activities and academic writing self-efficacy are explored in semi structured interviews. Social cognition theory and the model of writing self-efficacy served as the theoretical compass for this investigation. The research collects quantitative data from pre and post experiment surveys on self-efficacy and qualitative data from interviews to provide a complete picture. Data analysis used SPSS Software to analyze learning activities, self-efficacy, and academic writing performance. A statistically significant rise in participants self-efficacy after participating in learning activities was shown by results from pre and post questionnaire analyses (T = -2.37, p = 0.012*). Transcript thematic analysis reveals participant experiences patterns and themes. This research adds to the current body of knowledge by providing new insights into how learning activities affect the academic writing self-efficacy of Iraqi EFL learners.

Dynamic versus static assessment: effects on Iraqi EFL learners’ resilience, burnout, positive orientation, and academic success

Assessment plays a vital role in English language learning as it helps students recognize their weak and strong points. Two main types of assessment are dynamic assessment (DA) and static assessment (SA) that their effects have not been examined on Iraqi EFL students’ resilience, burnout, positive orientation (PO), and language academic achievement yet. Therefore, this research aims to close this gap. To do so, sixty intermediate EFL students were selected and divided into DA and SA groups to do so. The two groups were then given pretests on the four dependent variables. Subsequently, one group was taught ten reading literary texts with 100 new words using DA, whereas the other group was taught identical materials using SA. After the 8-week course, both groups took the post-tests on resilience, burnout, PO, and academic performance. The study’s findings showed that the DA group did better than the SA group on the four post-tests. It can be concluded that using DA with the support of literary texts can produce positive effects in EFL classes. The current study has consequences for researchers, students, English instructors, and other stakeholders.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Wish Strategies Used by Iraqi EFL Learners

The present study aimed to examine the challenges encountered by Iraqi EFL university learners when using 'wish expressions' at both the recognitive and productive levels. This study aimed to offer a theoretical overview of the syntactic constructions of explicit and implicit wish expressions, along with their semantic and pragmatic functions. The study identified a lack of awareness among Iraqi EFL University learners regarding strategies for expressing 'wish'. Many learners in Iraqi EFL universities tend to use explicit expressions rather than implicit ones when communicating. In order to fulfil the objectives of the study and validate its hypotheses, the researcher devised a diagnostic test consisting of two sections: productive and precognitive. The researcher asked the study sample to express their 'wish' in various situations. The recognitive part of the study involved situations where respondents were required to identify illocutionary forces associated with the expression of 'wish'. The study's findings clearly showed that the majority of participants in the sample expressed their wishes explicitly rather than implicitly. The study drew several conclusions. Firstly, the results of the study revealed that wishes can convey both positive and negative desires, like the intention to bless or curse someone. Secondly, the study conclusively validated its hypotheses by demonstrating that the subjects performed better at the production level than at the precognitive level.

The British Council Standards as a Tool for Evaluating Iraqi EFL Teachers

Different ways to evaluate EFL teachers include the British Council Standards criteria. The contentious issue in the questions of the British Council Standards revolves around applying the three domains (Knowledge, Skills, Values, and attitudes) of evaluation for EFL teachers and scrutinizing the British Council Standards to ascertain their suitability for evaluating EFL teachers in Iraq. Typically, evaluation can be done by considering students' achievements or from students' perspectives. Evaluation is a significant challenge due to the large student population in urban and rural schools. The population comprises Baghdad, Wasit, Dhi Qar, Misan, Ninevah, and Kirkuk. The sample is drawn from students attending nine general directorates during the academic year 2023-2024. The total number of participants in the study was 2014 male and female students. This study employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The statistical methods employed to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaires are specifically targeted towards students in EFL preparatory schools. The instrument's reliability is tested using Cronbach's alpha F-test, ANOVA, Two-Sample t-test, and One-Sample t-test. The study found that Iraqi EFL preparatory schoolteachers have successfully implemented and met British Council standards. At the same time, some teachers have applied these requirements to various degrees.

Iraqi EFL University students attitudes towards Self-Regulated Learning on improving Listening skill

The study aim at investigating the Iraqi EFL University students' attitudes towards Self-Regulated Learning on improving Listening skill. Participants of the current study were 80 female and male fourth-year university student in the Department of English Language at the College of Education for Humanities/University of Tikrit. The instrument is a questionnaire the Self-Regulated Learning in Listening Questionnaire. Furthermore, the study's results revealed that the incorporation of training in self-regulation activities yielded a beneficial effect on students' listening abilities. The study proposes that given the substantial impact of self-regulatory strategies, it appears pertinent to conduct a comprehensive examination of the role of self-regulation in the acquisition of a foreign language. This investigation aims to enhance our comprehension of the progression of self-regulation in foreign language learning, as well as explore how language instructors can effectively assist learners in employing self-regulatory strategies to foster positive beliefs regarding their language learning capabilities.

Validation of the Gap-fill as an Overall Measure of English Language Proficiency among Iraqi EFL Learners

The purpose of this study was to validate the Gap-fill among Iraqi EFL university students. To this end, two types of multiple-choice Gap-fill were administered to a sample of EFL students along with a number of other tests as criteria. Correlational analyses revealed moderate to strong correlations between the Gap-fill and the criterion measures. Principal components analysis resulted in a one-factor solution with the Gap-fill highly loading on this single factor. These were interpreted as validity evidence for the. Gap-fill Implication of the study for classroom testing are discussed. Keywords: Gap-fill, reduced redundancy principle, validity, conversational Gap-fill, written Gap-fill

Iraqi EFL University Students' Coping with Multitasking and Performance in Productive Skills: A ‎Correlational Study

اللغة أمر بالغ الأهمية لتطور المجتمع البشري. إنها وسيلة أساسية للتواصل بين الأفراد والجماعات والأمم. في الوقت الحاضر، يتعلم عدد متزايد من الأشخاص اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية أو لغة ثانية، بهدف رئيسي هو تحقيق إتقان اللغة الإنجليزية والتواصل مع الآخرين. تتيح المهارات الإنتاجية للمتعلمين التعبير عن أفكارهم وأفكارهم وآرائهم باللغة الإنجليزية. أنها تمكن المتعلمين من المشاركة في المحادثات، والمشاركة في المناقشات، ونقل رسائلهم بشكل فعال.كما يشير تعدد المهام إلى القدرة على التعامل مع مهام متعددة وإدارتها في وقت واحد.لذلك، تتناول الدراسة الحالية العلاقة بين التعامل مع تعدد المهام والأداء في المهارات الإنتاجية لدى طلاب جامعة العراقيين دارسي اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية. ولهذا الغرض تم اختيار عينة مكونة من 360 طالباً من مختلف الجامعات العراقية (منها بغداد والبصرة والموصل) وكليات التربية – أقسام اللغة الإنجليزية بشكل عشوائي خلال العام الدراسي (2022-2023) كعينة لهذه الدراسة. من اجل تحقيق اهداف الدراسة، تم استخدام ثلاث أدوات لجمع البيانات: استبيان لقياس التعامل مع تعدد المهام، واختبار إنتاجي لتقييم أداء الطلاب في التحدث والكتابة، وتم إجراء التحليل الارتباطي لفحص العلاقة بين التعامل مع تعدد المهام والأداء في المهارات الإنتاجية. تشير النتائج إلى أن طلاب جامعة اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية يمتلكون مستوى جيد في التعامل مع المهام المتعددة. علاوة على ذلك، كشفت الدراسة عن وجود علاقة إيجابية بين التعامل مع تعدد المهام والمهارات الإنتاجية مما يشير إلى أن الطلاب الذين يستخدمون هذه المهام المتعددة يؤدون أداءً أفضل في التحدث والكتابة. وأظهرت النتائج أيضًا أن التعامل مع تعدد المهام يساهم بشكل كبير في تفسير التباين في المهارات الإنتاجية.