Language Trainers Research Articles

Language Strategies Deployed by the Learners of English Major Undergraduates: an Exploration of Its Status

In the first changing world of technology, communication takes a new shape every time. For this reason, bringing change to teaching effective communication is almost a herculean task for language trainers, especially for those who teach English as a second language. However, while exposed to the various learning activities, the learners of English deploy some strategies to learn English on their part. These strategies are unknown to them and therefore remain unstructured for teachers and students alike. The results showed that cognitive strategy among the direct and metacognitive strategy among the indirect is used most. Furthermore, females were reported deploying strategies more than their male counterparts with a statistical significance (p<0.05). Finally, the correlation between direct and indirect strategies was reported as moderately positive but significant (p<0.01).

Education in the New Normal: The Plight of Junior High School English Language Trainers

The purpose of this study was to document the problems, coping strategies, and key learnings of the junior high school language instructors. To analyze the lived experiences of junior high school language teachers during the “new normal,” this study used a phenomenology analysis, making it qualitative research. Ten junior high school English teachers from Panabo City Division who are either teaching or have experience with language education were the participants. These renowned teachers have first-hand experience training children for various competitions in the contemporary period. The tool utilized after a verified Interview Guide Questions (IGQ) was an in-depth interview. It was decided to use reflexive thematic analysis to produce the study’s findings. Furthermore, the findings revealed the various themes about the lived experiences of the study participants: difficulty in conducting online coaching, issues navigating online platforms, inadequate monetary support, intermittent internet connectivity, constrained training period, and multitasking with overlapping tasks. Secondly, their coping mechanisms are patience toward students’ capacity, effective time management, preparing resources beforehand, soliciting peer support, and participating in skills enhancement webinars. Lastly, the meaningful insights generated from the study infuse students with inspiration, maintain open communication, engage experts collaboratively, and decrease the excessive paperwork load of the teachers who are language trainers at the same time.

Artificial Intelligence – An Ally or a Foe of Foreign Language Teaching?

Abstract The rise of technological advancements and the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in many domains of activity nowadays have triggered a paradigm shift in the educational field which seems to be facing multiple challenges in order to adapt to the newly emerged needs of a highly digitalized society. Online education has become a “revolution en masse” (Nikon, 2023) providing a fertile ground for a seamless blend between Artificial Intelligence and language studying. Foreign language trainers have become aware of the benefits of this transformational process and have been trying to take advantage of the new opportunities by implementing them into the educational process and tailoring them to the real needs of the learners. While AI has been constantly acclaimed for its potential to improve learning outcomes, there are voices who contend against its use, stating that the negative implications outweigh by far the benefits. This papers aims at analysing the advantages and disadvantages of an AI-powered teaching-learning process and at highlighting specific applicability when it comes to foreign languages.

Investigation of Burnout Levels and Reasons of Teachers Teaching Languages (Language Trainers) to Foreign Primary School Students

the Integration of Syrian Children into the Turkish Education System (PIKTES). The study was conducted with mixed method. Quantitative data were collected through personal information form and Maslack Burnout Inventory (MBI), while qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Nonparametric tests were used to analyze quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The sample of the study consists of 301 Turkish language instructors from different cities and branches, who were determined by simple random sampling method, one of the probability sampling methods. According to the findings of the research, as a result of quantitative data analysis, it was determined that Turkish Language Teachers were moderately exhausted in the emotional exhaustion sub-dimension, highly exhausted in the depersonalization sub-dimension and low in the personal accomplishment sub-dimension. It was found that the burnout levels of Turkish language instructors differed significantly in the sub-dimensions of the scale according to their views on age, branch and workload, but did not differ significantly according to the number of students. As a result of the qualitative analyses, Turkish language instructors stated that the fact that they were working under the labor law within the scope of PIKTES negatively affected them emotionally and that there were cases where they received negative reactions from their colleagues and supervisors. It was concluded that working with foreign national students negatively affected them physically and emotionally and that PIKTES had a negative impact on their motivation due to working conditions.

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

Lingvotrenager as a means of electronic linguodidactics: experience in the development and implementation of the video tutorial cycle "A Walk in the Primorsky Territory" in the learning process of RCT

The subject of the study is the linguodidactic and linguometodic potential of the interactive simulator as a means of electronic linguodidactics in the practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language. In the course of the research, a set of methods is used: methodological modeling, questionnaires, expert evaluation, etc. The main method of research is the method of pedagogical experiment. During the experiment, a model of the educational process was built using a language trainer as a means of electronic linguodidactics. The pedagogical experiment was conducted in three stages and was aimed at studying the features of the educational process when teaching Russian as a foreign language using electronic linguodidactics. The data for the analysis were collected by questioning the students who took part in the experiment. The relevance of the study of electronic linguodidactics in the teaching of RCT lies in the fact that in the conditions of a pandemic and a mass transition to distance learning, the needs of students in intensive foreign language acquisition continue to grow. This requires RCT teachers to create and use electronic educational resources in language teaching and their multidisciplinary development. In addition, the idea of syncretism of educational technologies seems relevant. The study made it possible to formulate the theoretical foundations of the linguometodic simulator in the most complete way and to confirm its practical significance in teaching RCT. The theoretical and practical significance of the research lies in deepening and expanding scientific and methodological ideas about the place and role of an interactive language trainer in the environment of electronic means of teaching RCT, as well as in presenting opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the formation of language skills and speech skills in teaching RCT. The main conclusion of this study is the position on the relevance of the use of electronic linguodidactics in the teaching of RCT, in particular an interactive language trainer.

Ação Crítico-Formativa no Contexto de Formação de Formadores de Língua Portuguesa

ABSTRACT: We live in a society in which habits, customs, values and beliefs have been modified as a result of globalization and the information and communication technologies that have entered and occupied public and private spaces, in an intense and meaningful way. Education, in turn, even with some pertinent advances, still presents fragmented teaching in Brazilian classrooms, a traditional model that is out of context in the everyday life of students. When considering that it is in and through language that human beings interact, this article aims to present a critical-formative action developed with Portuguese language trainers, from the Education Department of the State of Acre, in the discussion of concepts of discursive genres, didactic sequence and multi-stages, as a possibility of transformation of the subjects involved. Methodologically, we are anchored in the Critical Collaboration Research (PCCol) in which all involved act, in a critical, collaborative and reflective way, in the activities developed, in order to intervene and transform the existing reality. The results found verified the need for revision in: a) concepts considered internalized and, b) in the role of the trainer as someone who needs to articulate theory and practice in a more collaborative, critical and effective way with the teachers.

Language Laboratory: A Colossal Apparatus for Catapulting English Skills: An Empirical Study

To call a spade a spade, language laboratory is one of the important tools to hone the four basic skills ‘Listening’, ‘Speaking’, ‘Reading’, ‘Writing’ (LSRW) of English language. The audio-visual mechanism of a language laboratory along with software's play a pivotal role to develop the skills of the language learners. Language laboratories are not only paramount for the pupils those who are pursuing engineering courses but also for the common learners of English language. To talk turkey to come out with triumphant in the job market, business world, the necessity of effective and professional communication in English is at the crest. This paper enlightens the effectiveness of language laboratory, and its application by the language trainers to enhance the skills of the learners of English language for effective communication in the professional field. This paper also zeroes in on the modern tools used in a language laboratory, kinds of language laboratories, amenities of a language laboratory, and the usages of virtual language laboratories for the language learners those who are pursuing language courses through distance mode of education and the future of the language laboratory for developing the basic skills of English language. The methodologies of language laboratory have been emerging continuously and the new trends, tools of the modern language laboratories shall help the learners to be proficient in terms of grammar, kinesics, vocalics, haptics, proxemics, business communication and technical writing along with the four basic skills of English language to a tee.

An investigation of English language trainers' perception and practice of action research: the case of graduate preparation, training and department, Basra, Iraq

The main objective of this study was to investigate English language trainers perception and practice of action research with reference to the Graduate preparation, training, and development department in Basra. The qualitative method was used to conduct the study. The subjects of the study were 21, out of which 6 were English Language trainers, 4 were Research and Publication Committee (RPC) members, the Head of the department, and 10 were purposively selected English majoring trainees. Two data collection tools were used, namely, interviews and focus group discussions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six trainers, four RPC members, and a head to examine the perception of English Language trainers about action research, to analyze the extent to which perception affects their practice of action research, and to probe other non-perceptual factors that affect English Language trainers practice of action research. Whereas, focus group discussions were held with English-majoring trainees to assess how trainers assist trainees in action research on practicum courses. To that end, the findings reveal that First, English language trainers saw the value of action research in improving their teaching practice, resolving students' academic and non-academic difficulties, developing teamwork and mutual support among teacher educators, providing opportunities for them to enhance their academic writing skills, and evolving their personal and professional lives. Second, the less in the practice of action research by the trainers was not attributed to their perception but to other external factors such as the laissez-faire administration of the Department, lack of emphasis by the RPC, trainers’ dual role as teachers and researchers, lack of resources like time, budget, and materials, lack of initiation, and recognition by the trainers themselves. Third, English language trainers’ provision of professional advice to trainees on action research was not satisfactory. They did not properly assist their trainees in the action research that trainees conduct during the final practicum course as a requirement for graduation. It was said that the lack of incentives for research advisors was to blame for the trainers' lack of motivation, encouragement, and hard work.

Standardization of English language spellings used in textism: A viewpoint of undergraduate learners in Pakistan

The purpose of this quantitative research is to explore the perspective of students in Pakistan if they prefer the English language standard spellings to be changed in accordance with the texting spelling structures for properly matching pronunciation with spellings. A sample size of 100 students was randomly selected from among the undergraduates of colleges in Lahore; 50 male students and 50 females. Using a questionnaire, students were asked about their opinion if a particular set of spellings used in texting becomes formally accepted; which spellings they would prefer if given a choice; if learning and mastering the English language be improved with this advancement; and if they find the same spelling and pronunciation mismatch in their own language too. The texting word forms included words from the category of short forms and vowel deletion. Using SPSS, the responses were evaluated and the hypotheses were tested. The results show that students hold the same firmness as the other language trainers and researchers i.e. the preservation and correct practice of standard English language, and that SMS slang does not interfere with the standard norms of English language.

Verbal behaviour as an indicator of personnel wellbeing

The article examines one of the possible applications of speech activity theory and the text psychological structure as the product of this activity to the research of personnel wellbeing. Very often, an employee’s wellbeing status is inaccessible to management. The idea is that the verbal behaviour psychological pattern can be used as an indicator of employee wellbeing status perception. The authors’ aim was to develop a text analysis model to be used for revealing the peculiarities of wellbeing perception status; to determine the most diagnostic parameters of the model; and to apply them to the personnel wellbeing assessment. The authors’ conclusions are based on analyzing numerous personnel speech samples, which show how the model functions as an instrument for measuring the real quality of wellbeing status perception and how diagnostic the proposed model parameters are. The research of speech samples, which belong to university foreign language trainers from Russia and Kazakhstan, allows us to describe a typical teacher who is not satisfied with career opportunities available, the level of salary and constant management pressure. The results of the study can be applied to practical human resource management and the development of new ways of motivating and training employees in any professional field.

THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION

This article aims to tackle the significant shifts in academic and administrative communication in higher education in view of the necessity to adapt to changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will, additionally, suggest a list of benefits and drawbacks as seen from the perspective of language trainers caught in the overbearing landslide brought upon by the unprecedented conditions. While being fully aware that this paper will join an already extensive plethora of international academic studies on the subject, we, the authors, consider it is relevant nevertheless, since it is only by sharing common experiences and successful and not so successful stories that we can find solutions, learn from each other and at the same time reconquer the feeling of community that the pandemic has affected to a large extent.

Language Training and Language Training Practices in The Call Center Industry

Language training practices, in terms of management of training communication, are common to all call centers. Call center policies, requirements as well as activities are implemented and regularly observed. This descriptive research, which used qualitative analysis, investigated the language training practices employed by language trainers in developing the language skills of call center agents and the call center agents’ perception of the effectiveness of language training provided by the call center. Data were drawn from interviews with language trainers and call center agents. Results revealed that language trainers had the same practices in their respective companies during the language training in terms of language training assessment, monitoring, and coaching. However, in terms of components or key areas in the criteria used for the training processes, and the manner of implementation of the activities or intervention conducted varies from one call center to another. Accent neutralization was taught and practiced to eliminate regional accents while using scripted language is for formats and call branding for first- timers. The findings of this study also showed that language training provided by call centers was perceived differently by call center agents. Call center agents found the training good enough for the job, while others did not. Findings of the study also revealed that the training was more focused on products and less on language aspects. Agents believed that not all knowledge and skills learned were applied in the actual job. Call centers may consider focusing the training on language, specifically on areas/aspects that agents found to have a deficiency.

Language work and affect in adult language education

AbstractThis article considers the connection of language work and affect in the exemplary site of a private language education company as part of a larger discourse‐ethnography in Vienna, Austria. Using the lens of affect, I analyse the experience, management, and performance of affect as part of language trainers’ language work. I theorise on the connection of affect, ideology, and emotional labour to make sense of the tensions that language workers face over their neoliberal selfhood and their precarious and elite forms of employment. These findings show the pervasive role of affect in organizing language work, its costs and effects, and the ways in which affect is tied to ‘feeling rules’ through which language workers (have to) perform emotional labour by managing their own and others’ feelings and performances. The article expands current sociolinguistic engagements with affect as mediated modes of meaning‐making in the production networks of the new economy.

Attitude and Motivation affects English Language Proficiency of Engineering students: A Preliminary Survey through Adapted Attitude/Motivation Test Battery

Language proficiency is one domain everybody on earth wants to conquer. Administering language proficiency into oneself is not a cakewalk. There is a dire need to explore and better understand how factors like attitude and motivation affect the language proficiency of engineering students. Motivation is an integral part of almost everything we do in day to day life. It becomes an essential component when we are working towards imbibing some skills into ourselves as a trait. Lack of motivation will never lead us to make ourselves a skilled person. Attitude too is also a stepping stone towards being skilled. Today’s engineers are defined by their effective skills and not based on their grade cards. This research tries to find to what extent engineering students’ English language proficiency gets affected by the attitudes and motivation they carry towards English as a language. R. C Gardener’s Attitude/Motivation Test battery Questionnaire was adapted for conducting the quantitative survey. This study is also focused on enhancing the theoretical knowledge about how the factors like motivation and attitude towards the English language can affect the language proficiency of students. The respondents included freshman engineering students. The analysis shows that majority of the students do have a positive inclination and attitude towards the English language. The attitude and motivation can get affected by the course content, pedagogy, and assessment of the course at the university level. The relationship between the language trainers and students has a stake in affecting the levels of motivation and attitude of the students towards the English language. Students are highly motivated towards the English language to have shown a 100% inclination towards improvement during the semester. One on one interviews with the student and classroom observations have shown high motivation and positive attitude towards the English language has a tremendous effect on the proficiency levels of the students. English language proficiency enhances the competency of engineering students. Conducive and a healthy environment with a well-designed course can foster students’ English language skills. The effectiveness of the language can not only help them in in-classroom assessment but also fare better during their on-campus placement interviews.

НАВЧАННЯ ТА ОЦІНЮВАННЯ АНГЛІЙСЬКОГО ІНТЕГРОВАНОГО АУДІЮВАННЯ Й ПИСЬМА У СТАРШІЙ ШКОЛІ: ЛІНГВОДИДАКТИЧНІ ПЕРЕВАГИ Й ТРУДНОЩІ

As a life-long skill, writing plays a crucial role in post-secondary education and career. The nature and instruction of writing, however, have considerably changed over the last decade by shifting the focus onto integrated or source-based writing. On the one hand, combining writing and other skills – listening, for instance – enhances both skills; on the other hand, practicing writing together with listening develops critical thinking and rhetoric in learners. With its emphasis on knowledge transformation instead of knowledge transmission, source-based writing has captured the attention of researchers and language trainers in many educational settings, including secondary school. In the Ukrainian context, source-based writing in L2 education has been neglected on both theoretical and practical levels; as a result, it is excluded from most tertiary and secondary school writing courses as well as assessment. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to consider cognitive characteristics as well as pedagogical advantages and challenges of integrated listening and writing in an English classroom at upper secondary school. The research has revealed pedagogical values of integrated writing which include improved task authenticity, fair assessment, and the fact that integrated writing is not affected by the topic effect. The challenges are related to cognitive complexity of the integrated writing process and difficulties in interpreting the scores in the assessment process. The paper concludes that despite challenges, integrated listening and writing possesses strong pedagogical values as it enhances learners’ literacy, rhetoric as well as critical and creative thinking

A Survey on the Intervention of Social Media in Second Language (English) Acquisition

The purpose of this research is to analyze how the learners utilize social media to acquire English language. The strategies they employ during the process of language acquisition are a combination of cognitive and meta-cognitive skills. It is an assumption that the social media like Whats App, Face book, Instagram and Twitter are meant for entertainment; however the present survey predicts that the second (English) language can be acquired through the intervention of social media. As long as the students are in the classroom, they take the instructions from language trainers where learning becomes a procedural practice. Once the students find their personal time at home, they browse social media for various reasons like entertainment, knowledge, information and so on. In the present study, the learners' strategies inside and outside the classroom are surveyed based on the mechanism developed by three language researchers namely, J. Michael O'Malley, Anna Uhl Chamot and Rebecca L Oxford. Their propositions are applied to a sample of 108 first Semester. Engineering graduates of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation. The impact of social media on the students is examined by administering a questionnaire through Google forms. Language learning enhances if the students are allowed to operate their mobile phones in the campus. It is understood from the present investigation that language can be learnt implicitly and involuntarily through self -directed learning skills by using social media. The findings reflect that the receptive and productive language skills of the students are enhanced when they explore social media.

An Interactive Foreign Language Trainer Using Assessment and Feedback Modalities

English has long been set as the “universal language.” Basically most, if not all countries in the world know how to speak English or at least try to use it in their everyday communications for the purpose of globalizing. This study is designed to help the students learn from one or all of the four most commonly used foreign languages in the field of Information Technology namely; Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. Composed of a set of words, phrases, and sentences, the program is intended to quickly teach the students in the form of basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. This study has used the Agile model in system development. Functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, and portability were also considered in determining the level of the system’s acceptability in terms of ISO 25010:2011. This interactive foreign language trainer is built to associate fun with learning, to remedy the lack of perseverance by some in learning a new language, and to make learning the user’s favorite playtime activity. The study allows the user to interact with the program which provides support for their learning. Moreover, this study reveals that integrating feedback modalities in the training and assessment modules of the software strengthens and enhances the memory in learning the language.
 Keywords: Feedback, Assessment, Learning Modalities, Language Trainer, Interactive Technology

Художествени текстове в чуждоезиковото обучение. (Върху Language trainer O. Henry (abridged). Short stories and six tests)

Using literature in English language training provides a large number of advantages for learners such as developing their reading skills, contributing to better understanding of the foreign language, and providing an authentic model of language use. Combining reading with practice tests developed on the basis of the plotline, vocabulary, and grammar exhibited in each story can produce numerous benefits for foreign language learners and it is an effective tool for consolidating knowledge and developing skills to use the foreign language in different situations. The Language Trainer series published by Koala Press implements the idea of combining literary texts with tests designed to consolidate the learners’ knowledge of the specific vocabulary and grammar used in them. A number of books have already been published in this series, among which is O. HENRY (ABRIDGED). SHORT STORIES AND SIX TESTS. It is intended for anyone learning English who wants to improve their knowledge and skills in English.

CASE STUDY in the system of a professionally-oriented foreign language teaching at higher school

Foreign language at higher school reflects the specific of the students’ forthcoming professional activity. Decade-old publications prove the need of including case study in a foreign language teaching, the stages of working with the case are revealed. However, the case study method will promote the language teaching effectiveness, if a student is ready to work with cases. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the possible consistency of the methods of teaching a professionally-oriented foreign language at junior courses of non-linguistic universities, as well as the place of the case study in them from the point of view of the effectiveness of its application. When writing the paper, such theoretical research methods as analysis, synthesis, systematization, generalization, abstraction, design and modeling of the educational process as well as case study application evaluation criteria were used. Such an approach to the generalization of private teaching experience makes it possible to identify pedagogical conditions of case study application efficiency in teaching and learning activities, to specify the strategic and tactical language learning process design with cases in mind and to present the modeling of teaching within one topic. The author agrees that the case study allows assessing the students’ level of foreign language competence formation. At the same time, it is noted that the case study application evaluation should consist of components that track the overall curricular actions of the language trainer from the beginning to the completion of the study of the topic. In this regard, it is necessary to evaluate the quality of the case analysis completed by students, the availability, logic, consistency and literacy of their statement of the case issues, as well as the ability to operate the actual material studied within the topic, students’ readiness for dialogue and the use of compensatory skills to realize their own communicative intention. The proposed criteria and stages of modeling teaching and learning activities can be used in practice.