Language Teaching In Schools Research Articles

English Language Teaching- A Theoretical Perspective

Language, the divine gift of God, is man’s finest asset. Language distinguishes human beings from animals. Language is an instrument of thought to the philosopher. By using language, people communicate themselves and sharing their ideas, feelings and sorrows.Language is a form of behaviourto the sociologist and form of activity to the psychologist. Webster (1984)is of the view that, “Language is audible; articulate human speech is produced by the action of the tongue and adjacent vocal organs”. Jespersen(1966) defines language as “a set of human habits, the purpose of which is to give expression to thoughts and feelings”. It is inferred that language is purely human, a vehicle of thoughts, expression or communication of ideas and feelings.In the Encyclopedia Britannica language is defined as “a system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, communicate”. This makes it clear that language is a human quality, a social activity and means of communication of ideas, feelings and thought. Englishas a foreign language started life in India due to its association with the British colonizer. In the closing years of twentieth century, English began to emerge as the global language and the Indian classroom was transformed because of the change in the environment of the learner.The present paper tries exploring English language teaching in school and college curriculum employing methods of language teaching and Audio visual aids in terms of teaching of English

LEARNING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA: OVERVIEW, PROBLEMS AND THE WAY FORWARD

<p>Indigenous languages face extinction in the near future despite the important role they play in communication, cultural preservation, and identity of indigenous people. The threat is the direct consequence of colonialism and colonial practices and is currently exacerbated by globalization. Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples guarantees rights to these peoples to revitalize, use, develop, and transmit to future generations their languages, oral traditions, writing systems, and literatures. Further, it provides that states shall take effective measures to protect this right, including through interpretation in political, legal, and administrative proceedings. Consequently, Kenya’s language-in-education policy dating from the colonial period has been supportive of the teaching of indigenous languages in schools. For example, in the more recent curriculum reforms of 2017, Kenya set out to offer indigenous languages both as a medium of instruction and as a subject right from pre-primary to lower secondary levels of education as spelled out in the Basic Education Curriculum Framework. However, weak enforcement of the language policy coupled with a myriad of implementation challenges have been major drawbacks to the success of indigenous language instruction in schools. Hence the discussions about the importance of the use of indigenous languages in schools are still hotly debated. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to present an overview of and problems of learning indigenous languages in public primary schools in Kenya. Finally, relevant suggestions have been put forward to overcome the problems.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0073/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Language and communication education at school and other language education between linguistic feeling and linguistic intelligence

Abstract The author reflects on the specific ambivalence between linguistic feeling and linguistic intelligence, which many native language users encounter from the beginning of school language education. A similar duality of the relationship to the mother (native) language can also be felt by any adult individual who is interested in the valid language norm and its current fulfillment in the national communication space, and therefore formulates his or her comments on real “language life” or raises questions addressed to experts in language issues. The author tries to suggest ways to a solution both in educational practice and at the level of language education and language counselling for the wider public. Her approach is based on the current situation in the Czech Republic compared to some features in the Slovak environment.

Arabic Teachers: Professional Competence and Reflective Teaching

This article discusses the professional competence of Arabic language teachers in several schools in the Central Kalimantan region which have not been met according to the standards set by the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of the Republic of Indonesia Number 16 of 2007 concerning Academic Qualification Standards and Teacher Competency. Research using qualitative method. Through the results of the research, three Arabic teachers were found with inappropriate educational backgrounds. However, in the learning reflection process, the three Arabic teachers carried out various reflection activities, such as learning evaluation, classroom action research, self-study, self-observation, and student responses, attending training, implementing innovations, recording the learning process, analyzing needs. students, and address the needs of students by needs analysis. From the results of this study, the researcher recommends that Arabic teachers reflect regularly to improve the quality of learning and meet established professional competency standards.

Finnish Compulsory School English and Swedish Teachers’ Classroom Assessment Practices

The study explores Finnish compulsory school language teachers’ formative and summative assessment practices. It aims at finding out what formative and summative assessment modes and tools the teachers use and what kind of evidence they collect for students’ final grades. The data were gathered through questionnaires administered in national evaluations of learning outcomes. The results indicate that teachers use multiple tools, i.e., scores, information on a task’s objective, oral feedback, and model performances. They listen to students paired discussions and talk with students about their progress. Students also assess their own skills. Teachers’ feedback on exams was information on a task’s objective, oral feedback, and model performances. When deciding on final grades, teachers use as evidence written tests and students’ working in lessons. However, there were some differences between languages and syllabi. Teachers gave the final grades based on students’ language proficiency at a given moment stressing the curricula’s content areas related to language proficiency. At the same time, teachers indicated to be basing their grades on averages in all the different content areas. The study has implications for teachers’ assessment literary training and for exploring more in detail the factors impacting students’ final grades.

A Comparative Glance At Teaching Practice of Mother Tongue Teacher Candidates in Türkiye and United Kingdom

This research aimed to determine how prospective secondary school language teachers conduct their teaching practicum in the United Kingdom and Türkiye. The study was designed using a multiple-case holistic design. Accordingly, data for the research were collected through document analysis and interviews. Data related to the teaching practicum in the Turkish Language Teaching program at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University Faculty of Education in Türkiye were obtained through document analysis. Data regarding the teaching practicum in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education program for secondary English teaching at the University of Reading Faculty of Education in the United Kingdom were obtained through document analysis and interviews with faculty members at the institution. It is evident that while the instructional content of teaching practicums in both nations exhibits substantial similarities, a notable disparity emerges with regard to the temporal extent of the practicum experience afforded to prospective secondary school language educators. As a result, the process of teaching practicums for secondary school language teacher candidates differs between Türkiye and the UK in terms of practicum hours, school diversity, and assessment methods.

The Interactional Organisation of Co-Teaching in Language Educational Settings: The Case of Mandarin Language Teaching in Scotland

ABSTRACT Co-teaching is a common feature of language education in schools. It usually involves two adults holding different sets of expertise and working jointly with the same group of learners. Despite the prevalence of co-teaching in language educational settings, little is known as to how co-teaching is organised and negotiated in classroom talk. Drawing on Membership Categorisation Analysis, this paper aims to shed light on the interactional organisation of co-teaching in language educational settings. To do so, we differentiate the institutional label of “classroom teacher” from the practical social identity of “teacher-hood” and investigate who, in a co-teaching setting, performs “teacher-hood” (or in other words, who is “doing being” the teacher). We take the case of a Chinese student volunteer who teaches Mandarin alongside a classroom teacher in a Scottish primary school and present a series of ethnographic vignettes where the teacher and the student volunteer find multiple and creative ways of negotiating “teacher-hood.”

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EMOTIONAL LABOR AND BURNOUT LEVELS OF EFL TEACHERS AT UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY SCHOOLS

This study investigated the relationship between the emotional labor and burnout levels of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in languagepreparatory schools at Turkish universities. Data were collected from 179 EFL teachers from both state and foundation universities, using Turkish adaptations of the Emotional Labor Scale covering surface acting,deep acting andnaturally felt emotions, andthe Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment.Thefindings revealed that the most commonly experienced dimensions of emotional labor and burnout were naturallyfelt emotions and emotional exhaustion, respectively.Surface acting showed a positive correlation withemotional exhaustion and depersonalization, whereas displaying genuine emotions had a negative correlation with burnout.Furthermore, surface acting and naturally felt emotions emerged assignificant predictors of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, while displaying natural emotions was a significant predictor of reduced personal accomplishment. These findings suggest that masking emotions fosters exhaustion and alienation from students,while the display of internalized and genuine emotionsincreases the sense of personal accomplishment and alleviates burnout. Therefore, we suggestthat institutions and administrators should support the emotional well-being of EFL teachersby encouraging their display of preferred feelings instead of imposing display rules on them.

Effect of the SAVI Learning Model on Arabic Writing Skills

Arabic language education in schools intends to improve students' ability to communicate globally and understand in both oral and written aspects. Language skills consist of four aspects namely, listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. This research was conducted at MTs Arrukhshatul 'Ulum West Bandung with quantitative research. This research method uses a survey method with correlation analysis to see the relationship between the independent variable, namely student learning independence, and the dependent variable, namely student learning outcomes, using the Somatic, Auditory, Visual, and Intellectual (SAVI) learning model on Arabic writing material. This study aims to evaluate and measure the impact and how much significant influence is produced by the use of the SAVI learning model on the Arabic writing skills of 8th grade students at MTs Arrukhshatul 'Ulum West Bandung. This study has a very strong relationship between learning independence and student learning outcomes, or, in other words, student learning independence has a very strong effect on student learning outcomes, with a correlation coefficient value of 0.914. In addition, learning independence has an influence of 83.4% on student learning outcomes and the other 16.6% is influenced by factors outside student learning independence with the regression equation model Y = 19.012 + 0.727X

Investigating the Barriers to EFL Teachers’ Professional Development in Erbil High Schools

The present study entitled, ‘’ Investigating the Barriers to EFL Teachers’ Professional Development in Erbil High Schools”, aims at investigating the barriers to English Language teachers’ professional development in the city Centre of Erbil. To achieve the aims of the study, a questionnaire has been constructed to investigate the barriers to professional development. The tool of the study was exposed to some experts as jury members in the fields of English language, linguistics, and applied linguistics to achieve its validity.The sample of the study is 100 English Language teachers in public high schools. The data was analyzed after being statistically computed by employing SPSS programme to show Percentage, the Mean, and the Standard Deviation of the items of the questionnaire. The findings of this study reveal that there are some outstanding barriers that prevent English Language teachers from participating in professional development activities or training courses. The barriers are: (poor internet infrastructure and teachers’ illiteracy with modern technological tools, the ineffectiveness of teachers’ performance appraisal system, a bad design of professional development programmes, Training venues, financial constraints, teachers’ demotivation, the lack of qualified and professional English language trainers, English language teachers’ excessive workload, administrative routines, personal problems (family problems) and poor economic conditions, teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards the professionalism of their performance, the effects of colleagues. The study also shows that the variables such as gender, age, marital status, qualification, years of teaching, and teaching hours per week have an impact on teachers’ participation in career-development activities. The contribution of this study can help other researchers in conducting further studies to investigate the barriers that influence teachers’ participation in profession-related activities or training courses among public high school English language teachers. It also helps the education decision makers to plan effective professional development programmes

Language of instruction in schools in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

Based on the theory of change, we gather, organize, and synthesize the evidence on the impact of three language of instruction (LOI) choices (teaching in mother tongue [MT] with later transition, teaching in a non-MT language, or teaching in two or more languages at one time) on literacy and biliteracy outcomes. We focus on quantitative and qualitative studies of LOI interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and consider languages that are commonly spoken in the developing world. As such, we include studies that examine transfers from local languages to English, but not those evaluating transfers from local languages to languages that are less spoken in LMICs (e.g., Swedish).

The Use of Duolingo Application to Enhance Junior High School Students’ Speaking ability

The study explored the use of the Duolingo application in junior high school language education to improve speaking ability. The research used a quasi-experimental design, dividing students into two groups: one receiving traditional instruction and the other using Duolingo as a supplementary tool. Data was collected through speaking assessments, student surveys, and classroom observations. The results showed a significant improvement in speaking ability among the Duolingo group compared to the traditional instruction group. The application's interactive features, gamified elements, and accessibility make it an engaging and effective learning experience. Student feedback also indicated increased motivation and interest in language learning. The study highlighted the potential of integrating Duolingo into language education and its implications for curriculum design, technology role in language learning, and addressing diverse learning styles. It provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of using Duolingo as a supplementary tool for enhancing speaking ability in junior high school language education. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impact and scalability of Duolingo in diverse educational settings.

Problems of interaction between scientific and practical pedagogy: the preparatory stage of teaching Russian as a foreign language

The main purpose of the article is to identify problems of interaction in scholarly and practical pedagogy and to propose an information and communication toolkit as a solution. The idea was to use the practical experience of Russian language teachers in Uzbek national schools, who were offered a new textbook that contradicts the conditions of reality. The methodology used was the research of G. N. Volkov, M. A., Danilov, A. N. Dakhin, I. A. Maisel, A. I. Rakitov, the dictionary of concepts by E. Z. Azimov and A. N. Shchukin, as well as the theory of V. V. Kraevsky. According to the analysis of scientific research, pedagogical science includes methodological and special-scientific research, where the first creates guidelines, and the second provides methods and techniques for practical pedagogy. Based on this theory, the author of the article proposes a programme algorithm with the obligatory implementation of digital pedagogical conditions in the educational process. A model of interactive pedagogical site is proposed, in which new adjustments are made to the notion. Examples are given to prove the effectiveness of using a pedagogical site as a means of dialogical communication in forming communicative competence of foreign students at the stage of teaching Russian. The advantages of interactive pedagogical web-site over the main teaching tool – textbook are identified, and it is proved that such web-site should be a part of pedagogical conditions of digital educational environment both in schools and in Russian universities. The revealed results confirm that interactive website, as a type of pedagogical technology, is currently one of the ways to manage education.

EFL Teachers Motivation and Job Satisfaction: A Comparative Study between Private and Public Schools in Erbil

This study examines the motivation and job satisfaction levels of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in public and private schools in Erbil, Kurdistan/Iraq. The aim is to fill the research gap in local studies specifically focused on applied linguistics. Data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. A questionnaire adapted from previous studies was completed by 200 EFL teachers randomly selected from 93 schools in Erbil. Descriptive and inferential tests were conducted using SPSS version 25. Additionally, interviews were conducted with nine participants from both types of schools and analyzed thematically. The findings indicate that EFL teachers are predominantly intrinsically motivated and enter the profession due to their passion for the field. Private school EFL teachers exhibit higher levels of extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. Gender and teaching experience positively affect both motivation and job satisfaction, while age is not significantly associated with motivation but does impact job satisfaction. A positive correlation between motivation and job satisfaction is observed. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of EFL teachers' motivation and job satisfaction in Erbil, with potential implications for educational policies and practices.

Language Teacher Identity and Emotions in a Duoethnographic Narrative: The Perspective of Teacher, Parent, and Teacher Educator

Teacher identity building rather than learning teaching in terms of skills and subsystems has recently been acknowledged as a priority in future teacher preparation. Several teacher identity models have been offered, including the 3A Language Teacher Identity Framework (3ALTIF) (Werbińska, 2017a) in which teacher identity comprises affiliation (teachers’ willingness to teach), attachment (teachers’ beliefs related to their teaching) and autonomy (teachers’ agentive, reflective, and resilient powers). With hindsight, it seems that the 3ALTIF, which drew on other identity models available at the time of its conception, does not address the affective side of language teacher identity explicitly enough and therefore can hardly embrace the uniqueness of this profession. That is why we decided to explore the issue of emotions more deeply and conduct a lengthy duoethnographic narrative to consider the 3ALTIF’s ‘missing’ component for the future ‘improvement’ of the 3ALTIF. Duoethnography was chosen as a qualitative research method thanks to its novelty, its suitability for investigating identity issues and the opportunity it provides for us to explain and express ourselves. In our duoethnographic dialogues we focused on our own emotions from three perspectives: former school language teachers, language teachers as parents, and language teacher educators, all of which are the roles we have played. The findings reveal our experience of emotions that once affected us and also suggest that emotions are not only psychological constructs but have social dimensions as well.

Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attitude Towards Utilization of ELT in Students’ Future Lives

In countries in which there is no formal second language, and English is considered a foreign language and has no place in people’s everyday lives and communications, the utilization of the foreign language taught in schools as the second language is under question. This study has been conducted to indicate English teachers’ attitudes toward the utilization of teaching English as a foreign language in Iranian high schools as well as current language policies. In this study, 66 EFL teachers from Gotvand, Shushtar, and Dezful, Iran, made up the sample of this study. To answer the questions of this study, a validated questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the samples. In this questionnaire, 20 statements formed a Likert scale and the teachers had to show their level of agreement or disagreement with the statement. This paper elaborates on the attitude of EFL teachers with different degrees regarding the utilization of ELT in students’ future lives.

Lukion vieraiden kielten opettajien käytänteitä ja käsityksiä eriyttävästä arvioinnista

This study explores the perceptions and practices of upper secondary school language teachers on differentiated assessment. The data were collected through a closed and open-ended questionnaire (n=48) and individual interviews with four teachers. The results show that the teachers used a variety of assessment methods, with a predominant emphasis on formative assessment. Although the teachers mentioned many differentiated assessment methods, they did not generally differentiate their assessments to a large extent. The teachers also focused mostly on low-achieving students and neglected adversely gifted students. The teachers seemed to follow the practice of having all students demonstrate their learning in the same way and at the same time. Class size was seen as the main barrier to more thorough differentiation. The results of this study suggest that differentiation should be better integrated into assessment and that both pre- and in-service teachers would benefit from training focusing on differentiated assessment.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBSTACLES

The goal of this study was to investigate the needs for and barriers to the ongoing professional development of elementary school English language teachers. Data collection techniques included surveys, interviews, and classroom observations. Surveys of 64 randomly chosen English language teachers in primary schools were used to get the quantitative data. In order to verify the information gathered from the surveys, interviews were done with principals, trainers, and volunteer English language teachers who took part in the surveys, which included surveys, interviews, and classroom observations. Surveys of 64 randomly chosen English language teachers in primary schools were used to get the quantitative data. In order to verify the information gathered from the surveys, interviews were done with principals, trainers, and volunteer English language teachers who took part in the surveys. The data were analyzed using a Quan-qual approach. The statistical analysis of the data was primarily concerned with calculating descriptive statistics, specifically the means and percentages of the survey items. The results revealed that primary school EFL teachers need in-service professional development training to improve their English language proficiency skills and pedagogic knowledge. The interviews with principals and trainers supported the results found in the surveys. Moreover, the teachers encountered obstacles in engaging in a continuous professional advancement scheme.

Language teacher preparation, induction and retention: unpacking two decades of research

ABSTRACT Language teachers come from diverse and multilingual backgrounds. This also generally characterises preparation programmes that have been developed to prepare elementary and secondary school language teachers for increasingly globalised, pluralistic, interconnected classrooms. Despite variations, there is value in attempting to identify common denominators in research related to the preparation of such teachers. This paper surveys 20 years of research published in journals focusing on language learning and teaching. Content analysis and thematic analysis was performed to generate salient categories related to language teacher preparation, induction and retention. Five key themes emerged: reflective practice and its role in preparation programmes and induction; ongoing formal and informal support in the early years of teaching; teachers’ beliefs and their identity; pedagogical and content knowledge; and the sociocultural context of teaching. Despite the focus on journals devoted to language learning and teaching, findings overwhelmingly related to teacher preparation in general. We discuss these findings and then offer suggestions specifically for school L2 language teacher preparation, induction and retention with an emphasis on early career teachers. Such recommendations can guide language teacher preparation programmes as well as the professional trajectory of teachers in the field, ultimately increasing the chances of retention in the long term.

PROTOCOL: Language of instruction in schools in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

To address the evidence gap in making effective language of instruction (LOI) decisions, we propose a systematic review of the role of LOI choices in education programs and policies on literacy outcomes in multilingual educational contexts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Grounded in a multidisciplinary theory of change (ToC) describing what factors link LOI choices and literacy outcomes, we will gather, organize, and synthesize the evidence on the specific role of the three LOI choices described in the ToC (teaching in mother tongue [MT] with later transition, teaching in a non-MT language, or teaching in two or more languages at one time) and its impact on literacy and biliteracy outcomes. We will focus our systematic review and meta-analysis only on quantitative and qualitative intervention studies from LMICs as these have the highest relevance for decision making in multilingual LMIC contexts. We will also only include languages that are relevant and commonly spoken in LMICs. For example, we will likely include studies that examine Arabic to English transfer, but not Arabic to Swedish transfer.