Language Teaching Process Research Articles

Levels of methodological competence in foreign language teaching

The notions “methodological competence” and “methodological competency” are differentiated in the scientific literature but their use in the methodological works is not always appropriate according to their essence. There is no gradation of these terms to different levels depending on knowledge, skills and abilities in teaching if to speak about people having different scientific and methodological potential. Therefore, it brings to the necessary to determine the level of methodological competence/competency of pedagogues who teach foreign languages in preschool, secondary, higher educational institutions and scholars-didacts and methodists. Due to the limited number of pages of a scholar paper only the problem of “methodological competence” differentiation is highlighted in the presented work. Purpose is to determine the levels of methodological competence of foreign language teachers with different scientific and methodological potential. Methods. Literature review on the topic of the research, comparative analysis of different definitions of methodological competence, generalization of the scholars-didacts and methodists’ experience. Results. This study analyses the notion “methodological competence” and determines its definition. Three levels of methodological competence have been developed and substantiated. The precise distinction between three levels has been defined and described taking into account the content of seven links of the teaching process introduced by us in the work. The first level of methodical competence correlates with the first level of language and speech competences (Martynova, Bodnar, 2022), as well as with the ability of calendar and lesson planning; the second correlates with the second level of language and speech competences, as well as with the ability to plana foreign language teaching process during the academic year and semesters, with the subsequent composing professional educational programs and syllabus; the third correlates with the third level of language and speech competences, as well as with the ability to plan foreign language self-study process, both in language and communicative and speech aspects, to the possibility of students creating their own speech products in a foreign language. Conclusion. It has been concluded that three established levels of methodological competence will clarify the essence of this concept, detail its components and become objective characteristics of educators’ methodological knowledge and skills.

An observational look at classroom practices in the Turkish language teaching process

The aim of this study is to determine the practices of middle school 8th grade Turkish teachers towards comprehension (reading) teaching in the process of learning-teaching Turkish lessons and how long they allocate for these practices. The model of the research is the case study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The participants of the study consist of five Turkish teachers who gave eighth grade Turkish lessons in the 2019-2020 academic year and participated in the study voluntarily. In the study, an "Observation Form" developed by the researcher was used as the data collection tools. Literature review was used in the development of measurement tools, expert opinion was obtained, and the level of harmony between coders was examined. Descriptive statistical techniques (frequency, percentage, average, etc.) were used to analyze the data. In the study, each of the teachers wrote five to the poem text "Kaldırımlar" (Sidewalks) in the theme "Individual and Society", the informative text "Gündelik Hayatımızda E-Hastalıklar" (E-Diseases in Our Daily Life) in the "Science and Technology" theme and the narrative text "Göç Destanı" (Epic of Migration) under the theme "Our National Culture" lesson time (600 minutes) had been allocated. Accordingly, 75 lesson hours (3000 minutes) of five Turkish teachers were observed in total. As a result, it was seen that 8th grade Turkish lesson teachers, whose teaching process was observed in our study, used only the texts and activities related to the texts while applying comprehension (reading) strategies in the Turkish lesson learning-teaching process.

Does developing research skills increase academic motivation among foreign language learners?

Abstract Academic motivation is one of the most significant affective factors in the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL). Moreover, research skills can be vital in foreign language learning and teaching processes. However, the number of studies on academic motivation, research skills, and the relationship between the two seems too limited to draw a conclusion. The current study aims to explore whether or how academic research skills and academic motivation are related. In this experimental study, an information test for measuring their knowledge of EFL research and the Academic Motivation Scale were administered to 16 participants before and after the instruction process. The results showed that developing foreign language research skills increases intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation among language learners. It was recommended that issues relating to research skills should be integrated into language course programs.

Üst Dil Farkındalığı & Dilbilimsel Uzatım İlişkisi, Türkçe Öğreticilerine Notlar

Abstract. Pleonasm has been defined as a hypernym (umbrella term) in Western linguistics, mainly as an unnecessary language element, with expressions that can be translated as 'linguistic redundancy and extension or linguistic redundancy'. It is used to describe any element, component, or situation that contains semantic or functional repetition in the discourse that is not necessary for its function in any element belonging to any field of linguistics. Such an increase in the number of elements does not affect or change the intended meaning of the discourse and does not provide information that was not presented before. At the same time, the phenomenon in question serves some literary, phraseological, or pragmatic purposes, that is, it is used to create linguistic, poetic, and literary effects. However, the phenomenon in question may have some effects that make it difficult to understand the discourse in foreign language/second language learning. In developing metalanguage awareness, it is essential to present these elements to learners in the foreign/second language teaching process, intuiting and direct teaching. In developing metalanguage awareness, it is important to present these elements to learners in the foreign/second language teaching process, intuiting and direct teaching. The study was designed with a case study, which is a qualitative research design, and the data obtained in the research were subjected to content analysis and descriptive analysis. The problem of the study is to examine whether the learners of Turkish as a foreign language can identify examples of linguistic redundancy and extension in the discourse through their productive language skills, examine why these uses occur, and offer some suggestions to the instructors at the point of developing metalanguage awareness.

Need Analysis for Identifying ESP Materials for Nursing Science Study Program STIK Bina Husada Palembang

Material development is one of the important factors that determine the success of the language teaching and learning process. Teaching materials are a key component in language programs. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is generally interpreted as an approach to learning English based on the goals/needs of the learner. In this study, the researcher used a descriptive method. The participants of this study were 7th semester students of the Nursing Science Study Program at STIK Bina Husasa Palembang, there were 58 students who had filled out a complete questionnaire, consisting of 11 males and 47 females. The instrument used is a questionnaire, The result showed student’s personal reasons for studying English was to be able to communicate in English fluently. 28% of the students answered to know and understand the grammar accurately, and 17% stated for working purposes. Further, majority of the students wanted to master their speaking skill at the end the program, followed by reading and speaking skills. 9% of the students wanted to master the listening skill and 9% of the students wanted to master all English aspects. The data generated from student questionnaires and interviews with the head of the nursing study program at STIK Bina Husada Palembang have explained several issues that need to be considered because the results of the answers offered offer significant suggestions for the development of English materials at STIK Bina Husada Palembang.

LANGUAGE TEACHING IN VIEW OF POSTMODERN PARADIGM

The postmodern paradigm has developed very broadly. It has not only become a discussion in the field of philosophy but also influenced almost all fields of science, especially the socio-cultural sciences, including language teaching. This study aims to review how postmodernism affects language teaching and what effects it has on the language teaching and learning process, be it teaching a second or foreign language or teaching a first language. This is an analytic study using a literature review approach from written sources to describe the results and draw research conclusions. The results show that postmodernism has influenced language teaching, especially with the emergence of criticism of existing teaching methods and the raising of the critical question of whether teaching languages should use existing teaching methods or whether language teaching does not need to follow these methods. Criticism then gives birth to an understanding method of pedagogy that is based on communicative language teaching (CLT). Postmodern philosophy suggests that language teaching can be done with a combination of several existing methods or can also add new methods or techniques.

L’enseignement/apprentissage des langues étrangères sous l’éclairage de la théorie des systèmes complexes et dynamiques. Exemple de philologie française à l’Université de Wrocław

The paper presents the distinctive features of dynamic and complex systems, stressing their affinities with the foreign language teaching and learning process. Afterwards, we describe the initial conditions of the first-year-students learning French at the French department of the University of Wrocław, showing to what extent those conditions constitute a challenge for a connected complex system, namely the process of teaching French. Finally, we try to answer the question: “Are we ready, at the university, to teach Foreign Languages in accordance with the theory of complexity?”.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The article focuses on applying intercultural awareness in English language teaching for university students. Teaching a foreign language cannot be separated from teaching about other cultures. The use of English as a tool for intercultural communication plays an important role in acquiring knowledge on other countries and their culture. In such aspect teaching English cannot be separated from teaching about other cultures. Effective ways of acquiring intercultural competence are solving practical problems, dealing with case studies and using authentic materials. Most case studies require students to answer open-ended questions or develop a solution to an open-ended problem with potential solutions. Good training can help understand intercultural differences in the areas like decision making, communication style, management style, leadership and meetings. The acquired skills will allow them to interact in an appropriate way when working with people who have different cultural backgrounds. The role of the teacher is to facilitate and monitor their work and possibly correct mistakes made by students. Effective communication requires more than mastering grammar and vocabulary of a language. It is the process that requires also knowledge of culture. Culture becomes an important part of the language teaching process. Having knowledge in intercultural competence is the key to successful professional activity for future specialists.

Scientist, enlightener, innovator... (to the 100th anniversary of the birth of N. M. Shansky)

The paper concerns the centenary of M. N. Shansky’s birth and provides a brief overview of those aspects of the scholar’s scientific and creative activity which he was involved in as an initiator of traditions and an innovator. For instance, he authored the first higher education textbook "Phraseology of Modern Russian". Moreover, the structure and content of the textbook "Lexicology of Modern Russian" became models for the authors of other vocabulary textbooks for many decades. The popular science genre of "history of words" targeted at teachers and schoolchildren was developed in N. M. Shansky’s papers and books. The popularisation of the genre in the pages of the "Russian Language at School" journal (N. M. Shansky was its editor-in-chief for over 40 years) made the "history of words" an integral part of the Russian language teaching process. N. M. Shansky played a significant role in the development of Russian phraseology and phraseography. He not only created an expanded, in comparison with V. V. Vinogradov’s, typology of phraseological units of the Russian language, but also authored and co-authored many phraseological dictionaries, including the first etymological dictionary of Russian phraseological units. N. M. Shansky also occupied a special place in the history of Russian lexicography: he authored and co-authored a host of Russian language dictionaries, including the multi-volume "Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language", and several typologically new dictionaries. Moreover, as the author of the lexicography section in a textbook on lexicology, he laid the foundations for the tradition of typologic al characterisation of Russian dictionaries. The content of his essays about dictionaries is also valuable. I prove this thesis in more detail using N. M. Shansky’s essay on the "Shakhmatov’s" academic dictionary of the Russian language. This paper attempts not only to comprehensively characterise the legacy of N. M. Shansky as a lexicologist, phraseologist, lexicographer, and methodologist, but also to emphasise his innovation and the invaluable contribution he made to the development of national science and education.

Willingness of Syrians Who Are Learning Turkish as Second/Foreign Language in Terms of Communicating in Arabic and Turkish

Affective variables in the second/foreign language learning process affect success and proficiency in the target language. Being willing, one of these variables, draws attention as a factor affecting both academic and social success. The importance given to “communication” by the reference frames, programs and guidelines offered for language learning necessitates turning it into a skill. Skill can be developed to the extent of willingness. In this context, determining whether or not Turkish learners as a second/foreign language are willing to communicate or at what level they are willing will eliminate the problems by revealing the deficiencies and obstacles in communication skills. Moreover, it is of vital importance for the revision and reorganization of the language teaching process and practices. The aim of the study is to determine the level of willingness to communicate in Arabic and Turkish among Syrians learning Turkish in Turkey. A quantitative descriptive approach was adopted in the research. Among the non-random sampling methods, convenience sampling was preferred. The data were collected from 102 Syrian students, 35 females and 67 males, who were studying at university and registered with the Aydın Governorship Provincial Directorate of Migration Management. The Willingness to Communicate Inside and Outside the Classroom Scales developed in six-point Likert type, adapted by Al-Murtadha (2020) from McCroskey and Baer (1985) and Cao and Philp (2006), were used. Parametric methods were used in statistical analysis. The dependent groups t-test method was used to compare two different scale scores in a single group, and the independent groups t-test method was used to compare a single score in two different groups. As a result of the analysis; it has been determined that students’ willingness to communicate is especially high in their mother tongue, Arabic. It was determined that there was a significant difference in favor of Arabic inside and outside the classroom. There was no statistically significant difference between men and women for Turkish and Arabic.

Public food service communication field in the Chinese students’ linguistic consciousness: ethnocultural barriers and obstacles

The authors identify, classify and methodologically interpret communicative barriers and interferences arising for Chinese students in the sphere of catering, which is a fundamentally important culturally marked area of social and everyday communication. The relevance of this study is due to the significance and complexity of this social everyday sphere for the consciousness of foreign students, who face significant communicative barriers and obstacles that require methodological interpretation and consideration in the content of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The aims of this work are to identify and methodo- logically interpret communicative barriers of Chinese students in everyday communication (on the material of catering sphere), and to establish their correlations with the phenomena of lexical asymmetry. The main methods used in the research: mathematical processing of the obtained data, questionnaires, component analysis of vocabulary and comparison. The research material includes the results of the questionnaire aimed at identifying the barriers and obstacles encountered by Chinese students in the field of catering. It was determined that barriers and interference related to catering communication occurred for more than 75% of the students. Quantitative and meaningful processing of the questionnaire materials demonstrated that barriers and interference appeared in three main aspects: ethnographic, ethno- psychological, and ethnolinguistic. Methodologically oriented interpretation of communicative barriers is based on their correlation with the facts of the language. The integrative approach to the word taking into account its linguistic and extra-linguistic content determined which components of its structure translate ethnographic, ethnopsychological and ethnolinguistic differences of Russian and Chinese linguistic cultures that create communicative barriers. That is why the process of Russian language teaching considers conceptual, proper-lexical, semantic, connotative, background and contextual lacunas. Considering asymmetrical phenomena in the content of vocabulary teaching allows reducing the level of ethnographic, ethnopsychological and ethnolinguistic barriers and hindrances that arise for Chinese students in the sphere of catering. The prospects of the research include creation of the training dictionary “Gastronomic Culture Code in Language Vocabulary,” aimed at the Chinese students studying Russian.

Microsoft Office Team 365 for Teaching Indonesian Language in Secondary Schools During COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has led to many changes in Indonesia. One of the strongest changes has been felt in the Indonesian language teaching and learning process. Presenting interactive media is on-demand to maintain students’ engagement in learning. Microsoft Office Team 365 is an application that allows the teacher and the students to interact with each other during distance learning. This study exposes the implementation of Microsoft office Team 365 for teaching the Indonesian language in five secondary schools in Semarang as well as the barriers faced by the teachers and students. The authors found that the Microsoft Office Team 365 features are utilized well to keep the students engaged in the Indonesian language learning process.
 Keywords: Microsoft Office Team 365, Indonesian language learning, COVID-19 pandemic

Contrastive analysis of some errors committed by second language Learners of English at the English department, faculty of education, Sirte University

The main concern of this paper is to focus on the errors committed by second language learners of English at the English department faculty of education. The study is of a descriptive nature. The errors located are classified and then described in order to know the reasons behind them. The approach adopted in this research paper is a contrastive approach. The results of analysis gave a clue about the strategies adopted by Learners when confronted with a writing task. Analyzing the errors located is of vital importance for syllabus and material designers as well as classroom teachers and contributes substantially in improving language learning and teaching processes.

Case Technology in Teaching Professional Foreign Communication to Law Students: Comparative Analysis of Distance and Face-to-Face Learning

Foreign language speaking skills need much practice in order to be improved, which is why it is essential to use different teaching techniques to instruct students effectively. The multiplicity and multitasking of the foreign language teaching process requires the introduction of technology that ensures consistently effective results of professional foreign language learning, i.e., case technology in the algorithmized educational process. The conducted research contributes to the issue of case technology implementation—the algorithm of professional task solutions, aimed at improving students’ English-speaking skills—in teaching professional legal English. The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of case technology in the improvement of ESP speaking skills in the course of distance and face-to-face learning. Comparative analysis of the distance and face-to-face format of case technology implementation in teaching professional foreign communication to law students was carried out in the course of the two-semester study conducted at SPbPU (N 120) in the period from January 2020 to July 2021. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to collect and analyse data for the study. The results of the study showed that, for such assessment criteria as task completion, discourse competence and meaningfulness, the use of case technology in a face-to-face format was more effective than the one carried out on-line. As it can have some pedagogical implications on the improvement of English-speaking skills while teaching professional legal English at university, additional effort should be taken to ensure the effectiveness of case technology in the course of distance learning.

Contextual Influences on English Language Teaching in Libya

There is no doubt that the educational process in any context is affected by the contextual influences that are prevalent within this particular context. Thus, what happens inside the classrooms between teachers and students is often decided by these contextual influences. These influences are to some extent intertwined and affected by the culture of the educational system including elements such as teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching and the classroom expectations of both teachers and students. This paper therefore sheds light on these contextual influences in an attempt to facilitate the process of English language teaching in Libya. This paper provides useful messages and implications for educational policy makers, curriculum reform processes, teacher education programs in Libya and elsewhere.

“I just want them to learn.” The intended role of Teacher’s Book shaped by its writer’s understanding of the local EFL teachers

These past few years, programs of local English as a foreign language (EFL) textbook development were launched to adapt to the newly issued English Curriculum Standards in China. They not only develop Student’s Books but also write Teacher’s Books as an integral part of their work. How to write a Teacher’s Book that exactly meets the non-native speaker (NNS) language teachers’ needs was a long-time concern, but few studies have been conducted to address the concern empirically. The present research with a single case design closely examined how a local Teacher’s Book writer’s understanding of the local EFL teachers shaped the role of the Teacher’s Book by looking into the process of an English language teaching (ELT) materials development program in China. It sought to find answers to what the Teacher’s Book writer knew about the local EFL teachers, and how this understanding influenced his conceptualization of Teacher’s Book development. The findings show that the writer’s understanding of local teachers’ conventional teaching practice, and their content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) play a decisive role in shaping the Teacher’s Book into materials that provide educational affordances to overcome the local EFL teachers’ weaknesses and inject innovation into their conventional practice. These findings have implications for both the international and local ELT materials development programs to compile Teacher’s Book for better local use.

Study on the Application of Multimodal Theory in College English Vocabulary Teaching

English vocabulary is an indispensable part in the whole second language teaching process. Language experts and teachers have been devoting themselves to the exploration of effective English vocabulary teaching models. With the extensive application of information technology in recent years, multimodality has been integrated into the classroom and multi-modal teaching mode has been widely used in teaching. This paper tries to expound the feasibility of integrating multimodal teaching model into vocabulary teaching, and discuss the practical strategies of multi-modal teaching in English vocabulary teaching from the perspective of teaching implementation combined with teaching examples, hoping to provide beneficial enlightenment for the exploration of vocabulary teaching.

STUDY OF LITERARY ELEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE IN PRIMARY GRADES

The article discusses the need to analyze literary elements of children literature in teaching of native language in elementary classes: the level of perception and application of junior schoolchildren’s elementary literary knowledge in native language teaching process is studied and presented.
 Teaching of literary elements in elementary school is mostly practical. When teaching any literary or folklore work, a lot of work and effort is required: a teacher must pay attention to basic literary knowledge based on standards defined by elementary school curriculum.
 The comprehensive study and practical perception of elementary literary knowledge and its assimilation help schoolchildren understand the thematic-ideological basis of works, due to which educational, teaching and cognitive significance of a literary work increases. Literary knowledge effects on child's thinking, worldview, communicative skills, evaluation of phenomena. Literary characters’ actions, relationships, feelings, speech influence on pupils relating to their self-recognition, self-expression. During individual and group activities, friendly relationships are formed among classmates, which impacts on a person’s development and formation of values. The direct way to achieve goal is to use targeted and effective methods.

Flouting Maxim in “The Hundred-Foot Journey Movie”: An Opportunity to Improve Students’ Intercultural Literacy

Facing the advancement of the technology era, there is increasing awareness about integrating intercultural communicative competence in the English language teaching process. Because many people from diverse cultural backgrounds talk in English, students should acquire that competence to compete globally. To produce appropriate conversation, Grice proposes four maxims that should be obeyed, called cooperative principles. However, because of a cross-cultural situation, someone can flout the maxim as part of communication. Therefore, the present study discusses the type and the reason for flouting maxims done by the characters in a movie which is a good learning medium to teach in a classroom. Furthermore, this study wanted to explore the cause of why the movie could be an opportunity for the teacher to increase students’ intercultural literacy through the English teaching and learning process. The data gathered from the movie script and the character’s behavior in a cross-cultural situation will be analyzed through content and thematic analysis. The result showed the figures of the movie flouted the maxim of quantity, quality, relevance, and manner. Humor intention, conviviality, enmity, elaborate explanation, prestige, mocking, and stating opinion were found in the movie as the characters’ motivation why they flout the maxim. The movie had an opportunity to improve students’ intercultural literacy by studying the characters’ communication and behavior. It contained understanding, competence, attitude, participation, and language that could equip students in improving their intercultural literacy.Keywords: Flouting maxim, Intercultural literacy, Movie Study

Motivational Practices in Foreign Language Teaching: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory

Abstract This quantitative-oriented study investigates junior middle school EFL teachers’ beliefs about motivational practices in the language teaching process. Grounded in self-determination theory, the study examined teachers’ beliefs in three basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence and autonomy) and the effect of their teaching experience on these beliefs. Data were obtained from 84 Chinese junior middle school English teachers through a questionnaire. Results suggested that teachers recognized motivational practices for relatedness and competence satisfaction while showing relatively low recognition of a few motivating practices for autonomy satisfaction. Teaching experience was found to have no influence on teachers’ conception of needs-related motivational practices. Findings reveal that traditional activities like collective lesson preparations may have a negative influence on teachers’ beliefs about motivational practices. They also present the necessity for adjustments on educational regulations, and for modern professional training to help teachers understand students’ basic psychological needs, and to encourage new ideas to bolster students’ intrinsic motivation for language learning.