Language Teaching Research Articles

A mixed-methods investigation into complex components of multilingual international students' self-regulated learning in English as a foreign language context: A social cognitive perspective

Self-regulated learning serves as a fundamental framework for understanding the cognitive, motivational, and emotional dimensions of learning. Recently, a growing body of studies on such cognitive processes appears in multilingual populations. Applying a mixed-methods approach, this study examined the key components of the self-regulated learning process among 233 multilingual international students in China, specifically within the context of English as a Foreign Language learning. Qualitative data was analyzed through Pearson's correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and path analysis, while semi-structured interviews were conducted to further confirm the results of the qualitative data analysis. 15 students were purposefully selected through purposive sampling to participate in follow-up interviews. Within the framework of social cognitive theory, the findings revealed that metacognition, motivation, self-efficacy, and feedback loops are the primary components of self-regulated learning. Additionally, path analysis confirmed that the four factors are positive predictors of self-regulated learning proficiency of multilingual international students in China. The interview outcomes further validated the integral role of these primary components in the self-regulated learning process within the context of multilingual study. This study underscores the significance of incorporating translanguaging backgrounds into teaching strategies and language policy. Findings may offer some insights for multilingual international students, language teachers, and language policymakers in the field of Chinese language instruction.

Estrategias instruccionales efectivas para desarrollar habilidades de escucha en adolescentes con TDAH

Introduction: Natural interactions and understandable linguistic input are essential to build attractive conditions for acquiring the English language. Effective exposure to language, both oral and written, is essential to understanding and producing a language. However, developing listening comprehension skills can be challenging for students with ADHD due to difficulties in attention, behavior, and cognition, as well as the unique characteristics of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Objectives: In this regard, this research aims to document effective instructional strategies to improve listening skills among high school students with ADHD. Methodology: To this end, an exploratory-deductive qualitative research design was applied through an extensive review of the literature. Data were collected from 60 academic sources and analyzed using a neurolinguistic and pedagogical approach using a constant comparative coding method. Results: The results suggest that, to guide students with ADHD in developing English listening competencies, language instructors must build a learning environment that includes simplified inputs and content, clear instructions, multisensory conditions, and student-centered instruction based on individual needs. Conclusions: Simple, linguistically rich, engaging, and multisensory environments facilitate learning for students with ADHD and can have an impact on their overall academic performance and language development. Study Area general: Education. Specific area of study: English as a Foreign Language. Type of study: Literature review.

Language Education and Teaching

Language Education and Teaching

Unlocking English Grammar: Insights from Fes High Schools in Morocco

The instruction of grammar is a critical element of the curriculum that all English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors must integrate into their courses. Grammatical education presents a significant challenge within the English curriculum due to the frequent struggles both students and instructors face with its rules. Nevertheless, it is essential for students to possess a comprehensive understanding of grammar, as a strong grasp of the language they use is crucial for enhancing their communication abilities. Teachers provide grammar instruction specifically to improve their students' writing skills, and for a long time, grammar education has been regarded as a fundamental prerequisite for the appropriate use of language. This paper examines the most frequently employed methods for grammar instruction. The investigation aims to identify the most common errors committed by ESL students through interviews with educators, analysis of survey results, and observations of classroom activities. The primary goal is to help students overcome these challenges while also enhancing their understanding of the errors they have made.

Investigating the effects of reverse dubbing tasks on English speaking proficiency and English learning motivation

Reverse dubbing represents the process of creating and presenting a video clip that translates the original first-language (L1) spoken dialogues to second/foreign language. This study investigated its effects on English speaking proficiency and English learning motivation (ELM). Two intact classes of English as a foreign language (EFL) college students were randomly assigned to either the reverse dubbing (RD) group or the comparison group. In the course of an academic semester, the RD group completed two RD tasks, for each of which they, in groups, (1) selected a Mandarin L1 video clip, (2) translated the subtitles to English, (3) rehearsed the translated subtitles, (4) created a new soundtrack, (5) combined the video clip with the new soundtrack to produce the dubbed video clip, and (6) played the dubbed video clip in class and then performed the live dubbing again. ANCOVAs and qualitative examinations performed on the numerical data and interview transcripts unveiled that reverse dubbing constituted a significant contributor to the development of English speaking proficiency and led to a statistically significant increase in the level of intrinsic motivation for the participating students. In light of these findings, implications are proposed for the theory and practice of technology-enhanced language teaching and learning.

Hybrid professional identities: exploring non-native English-speaking teachers’ lived experiences through the Cyborg Manifesto

ABSTRACT Drawing on Donna Haraway’s ‘Cyborg Manifesto’ and employing a hermeneutic phenomenological narrative enquiry approach, this article examines the complex professional identities of ‘non-native English-speaking (English) teachers (NNESTs) from immigrant backgrounds who speak English as an additional language in the Australian education system. Challenging the traditional binary division between native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and NNESTs, this research reveals that NNESTs’ identities are fluid and multifaceted, akin to cyborgs, shaped by socio-historical discourses and influenced by determinants such as reflexivity, agency, and hybridity. NNESTs disrupt the established hierarchy in English language teaching, promoting inclusivity through their hybrid professional practices, driving pedagogical innovation, and contributing to the globalisation of education. Like cyborgs, they challenge traditional power structures and native speaker constructs, fostering a more equitable educational environment. This article endorses the recognition of ‘hybrid professional becoming’ in policy, practice, and teacher education, promising the development of intercultural teacher capabilities and inclusive, innovative, and equitable educational practices that enrich students’ English language learning experiences and reshape the field in alignment with Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto.

‘Round outside and square inside’: language teachers’ emotion regulation strategies in crosscultural teaching contexts

ABSTRACT With the expansion of transnational language learning and teaching, chances have increased for language teachers to work in crosscultural teaching contexts and regulate their emotions in the face of crosscultural emotional challenges. This study investigated the emotion regulation strategies employed by language teachers in crosscultural teaching contexts. Through a qualitative multi-case study with six Chinese as a second language (CSL) teachers in China, data collected from semi-structured interviews, class observations, and teacher reflective journals revealed seven emotion regulation strategies of three categories: restraining and pretending of surface acting; reframing, reconcentrating, and repositioning of deep acting; releasing and relieving of genuine expressing. These three categories reflected language teachers’ three experiences to cultural differences: deliberate minimisation, reflective acceptance, and communicative adaptation. The identified emotion regulation strategies also revealed two paradoxes existing in teacher-student interactions in crosscultural language teaching, which can be summarised as the Chinese idiom ‘round outside and square inside’. The study also proposed practical implications for language teachers’ emotion regulation and offered suggestions for institutions concerning teacher emotion in crosscultural teaching contexts.

Modeling the contribution of self‐efficacy, collective efficacy, and autonomy to professional creativity of Chinese EFL teachers

AbstractIn the modern educational landscape, teacher creativity has a vital role, especially in language education. Teacher creativity plays a crucial role in today's world, and some studies have explored the factors influencing creativity among language teachers. The present research explored the impact of psychological factors, self‐efficacy, collective efficacy, and autonomy on the professional creativity of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. These interconnected concepts provide a holistic perspective on motivation and performance, impacting both individuals and groups. In a study involving 542 English teachers from diverse backgrounds (varying in gender, age, and teaching experience) within Chinese educational settings, researchers administered four distinct scales: teacher creativity, self‐efficacy, collective efficacy, and autonomy. The responses were then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The analysis revealed a significant relationship between Chinese EFL teachers’ self‐efficacy, collective efficacy, and autonomy, and their creativity. Specifically, regression analysis indicated that higher levels of self‐efficacy and collective efficacy were statistically associated with better creativity among teachers (p < 0.05). The model further showed that 52% of the differences in teachers’ professional creativity can be described by their self‐efficacy, while approximately 37% of the variance is attributed to collective efficacy. Additionally, autonomy accounts for approximately 61% of the variance in teachers’ professional creativity. The results from the SEM analysis corroborate the existing literature, affirming that self‐efficacy, collective efficacy, and autonomy significantly influence professional creativity among Chinese EFL teachers. These psychological factors play a crucial role in enhancing individual teacher creativity. Educational administrators can leverage these insights to design focused professional development programs that strengthen teachers’ self‐efficacy and collective efficacy. Additionally, granting teachers greater autonomy in curriculum design and implementation fosters an environment where creative teaching strategies are more likely to flourish.

‘They just say so!’ Second language teaching and the acquisition of certainties

Siegel claimed that teachers are obliged to provide grounds whenever demanded, as a result of which they must be able to subject to scrutiny whatever they teach. In this paper, however, and taking as a reference Wittgenstein’s On Certainty, it is shown that such a demand cannot work for second language teachers because their main task consists in transmitting ungrounded certainties. To clarify this point, I begin by presenting Wittgenstein’s conception of ‘certainty’, and explaining why I think he was right to provide examples of teachers who refuse to answer their students’ doubts concerning certainties. Thereafter, I analyze two kinds of grounds – i.e. historical and practical – with which a second language teacher might reply to the students’ queries about the certainties that he aims to transmit to them. This will enable me to reveal the consequences of such replies and, by extension, the scenario that would result from allowing students to decide whether they accept whatever is taught to them. In this way, I will show not only that Siegel’s demand is unfeasible, but also why second language teaching provides a clear example that the acquisition of certainties constitutes a final goal in education.

Language teaching in the 21st century: incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogies for social and cognitive justice in education

Language teaching in the 21st century: incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogies for social and cognitive justice in education

Current Policies and Pedagogies of English Language Teacher Education: Unveiling Social Challenges

Current Policies and Pedagogies of English Language Teacher Education: Unveiling Social Challenges

A Decolonial Approach in English Language Teaching as a Lingua Franca:

Language is a social practice and, therefore, is embedded within social, cultural, political, and economic relations. According to Benesch (2001), language is a site of struggle, a range of discourses competing for legitimacy in specific social contexts where power is unevenly distributed. Due to its transnational and transcultural scope, English is increasingly understood as a Lingua Franca that challenges the ideology of the supposed superiority of the native speaker, as well as the concept of the nation-state and the interrelations between language, territory, and culture. Furthermore, since the establishment of the Modernity/Coloniality group (CASTRO-GOMEZ; GROSFOGUEL, 2007), theories of decoloniality have been widely discussed in various academic fields, including Applied Linguistics and English teaching and learning. For this reason, Souza and Duboc (2021) argue in favor of a more performative decolonial praxis in order to identify, interrogate, and disrupt coloniality in different spheres of contemporary social relations, including language teaching and learning. In this sense, this article aims to reflect upon the role of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in teacher education as a key concept for promoting a decolonial approach to English language teaching from the Global South.

Investigating the Impact of Educational Aspirations, Study Habits, Parental Involvement, and Institutional Environment on Saudi EFL Learners’ Language Proficiency

The study assesses the impact of educational aspirations, study habits, parental involvement, and institutional environment on Saudi EFL learners’ language proficiency. It also examines if the demographic profiles of Saudi EFL learners differently shaped their worldviews and responses. As the study focuses on how certain independent variables (educational aspirations, study habits, parental involvement, and institutional environment) impacted the dependent variable (language proficiency), a descriptive quantitative approach was employed to collect data from respondents using a self-designed questionnaire with partial adoption of modified items. A simple random sample method was used to select 131 respondents (10% of the population) from the undergraduate population at the College of Science & Humanities and College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. The findings revealed that educational aspirations followed by institutional environment, study habits, and parental engagement affected the language proficiency of Saudi EFL learners. One way ANOVA analysis showed that year/level of study causes significant differences in the means of the study respondents. However, no statistically significant difference was observed in the means of the responses based on the professional profiles of their parents. The findings of the study hold significance for both language instructors and policymakers for effective teaching and policy making.

Professional training of a foreign language and world literature teacher at the second (master’s) level of higher education: content and structure of the educational program

Professional training of a foreign language and world literature teacher at the second (master’s) level of higher education: content and structure of the educational program

EFL Teachers’ Emotions Toward Online-Merge-Offline Teaching Mode in University

The Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) teaching mode has emerged as a prominent new approach in language education reform with the expansion of online teaching in China. Due to the emotional complexity involved in educational reforms, this study explores the emotions expressed by Chinese EFL teachers in OMO classes, investigates the situational causes, and examines emotion regulation strategies in English Language Teaching. A questionnaire was distributed to 48 Chinese EFL teachers teaching General English (GE) using OMO mode across three normal universities, followed by semi-structured interviews for deeper insights. After collecting and analyzing data from questionnaires and interviews, the findings revealed a spectrum of emotions were experienced by EFL teachers, with positive emotions prevailing, particularly in GE classes. Love, surprise, and joy were prominent across different settings. Situational triggers encompassed classroom dynamics, institutional factors and social influences; reflecting teachers’ beliefs and identities, students’ learning engagement, behavior and academic achievements, colleagues and administrators’ work support and emotional support, policy makers’ reform mandate, and the Confucian heritage cultures. To regulate positive and negative emotions, Chinese EFL teachers primarily employed appraisal, followed by situation modification and selection. This study underscores the importance of emotional awareness for both students’ learning achievement and teachers’ professional development in ELT. It encourages Chinese EFL teachers to recognize the significance of their emotions in teaching effectiveness and offers insights for educators and administrators into supporting teachers’ emotional well-being and professional growth.

A Typology Linguistic Study: Is the Sibolga Coastal Dialect Ergative?

This research explores the existence of ergative language features in the Sibolga Coastal dialect. Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyze data obtained from nine folktale titles in Bunga Rampai Rakyat Tapanuli Tengah (The anthology of central Tapanuli folktales). Of the nine stories, ten clauses were found to show an ergative pattern, where the subject in the first clause acts as the object in the second clause. The findings show that the Sibolga Coastal dialect language has the characteristics of an ergative language in its structure, with a pattern where the subject of the first clause becomes the object of the following clause. These findings indicate a tendency to use ergative language features in the Sibolga Coastal dialect. This research concludes that the Sibolga Coastal dialect uses ergative language features, although in limited quantities. These findings contribute to understanding the syntactic structure of the Sibolga Coastal language and provide new insights into the phenomenon of ergative language in the local context. The implications of this research include supporting the development of linguistic studies and regional language studies and contributing to language teaching and translation in the region. Future research can be expanded to further investigate the features of ergative language in the Sibolga Coastal dialect and the context of its use in daily interactions.

Exploring the perceptions of Chinese pre-service teachers on the integration of generative AI in English language teaching: Benefits, challenges, and educational implications

Exploring the perceptions of Chinese pre-service teachers on the integration of generative AI in English language teaching: Benefits, challenges, and educational implications

Exploring Self-Determination Theory in ELT: A Content Analysis of Research Trends between 2020 and 2024

This study aims to seek recent research trends in the applicability of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to English language teaching (ELT) by reviewing the literature on this new approach to studying learner motivation, which plays a crucial role in language acquisition. The subject of the study is a series of related articles collected between 2020 and 2024, and the data is gathered from fifty selected articles during this period. The method employed for data analysis is content analysis approach, which helps identify themes and common trends throughout the articles’ contents. The findings reveal various trends in applying SDT to foster learner motivation in ELT, including trends in research topics, methods, and noteworthy new themes in the applicability of SDT and its six sub-theories to ELT. These provide insights into the great potential of SDT in ELT research. The paper also has implications for new research ideas of learner motivation with STD.

E-Learning Course Design Based on Cloud-Based Fuzzy Logic Approach for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

E-Learning Course Design Based on Cloud-Based Fuzzy Logic Approach for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

The multisensory approach to vocabulary skills development in young learners teaching

This article is devoted to the issue of the multisensory approach to foreign language teaching and developing vocabulary skills. The use of the multisensory approach at English classes implies acomplex activation of multiple sensory canals, which guarantees the better teaching performance. This article includes a set of tasks designed on the basis of the multisensory approach and also reveals the results of the pilot testing.