Level Of Language Proficiency Research Articles

Speech etiquette situation of apology in classes of Russian as a foreign language (on the example of Asya Petrova's story «Sorry, Fool»)

The paper proposes to pay attention to the study of speech situation of apology by foreign students on the example of modern fiction text analysis. Since reading as a kind of speech activity is connected with the cognitive function of the language, the proper selection of texts in the classes of Russian as a foreign language contributes to the application of the factual information contained in them in practice, as well as increasing linguocountryological competence of students. The research updates the role of speech etiquette in the aspect of linguo-country studies and raises the problem of finding relevant and communicatively valuable material for teaching, the selection of such texts that would be available for intercultural discussion. Choosing the story Sorry, Fool by the childrens writer Asya Petrova, the authors describe the advantage of modern childrens literature over other sources and aim to create productive intercultural communication in the classroom. Analyzing the situation of an apology at advanced levels of language proficiency, the authors consider an apology as a communicatively defined event that takes into account contemporary realities and extra-linguistic factors. A system of exercises and questions, including the traditional complex of text tasks: pre-textual, by-textual and post-textual exercises aimed at the formation of the behavior culture and the development of oral speech, is proposed for the formation of students communicative skills. The research resulted in the testing of the presented work in practical classes with foreign students on topics related to speech etiquette and human speech culture. The authors note that the affective reading on the example of Asya Petrovas story Sorry, Fool proved to be effective in practice, contributed to the creation of a situation of success in the organization of international communication and allowed to implement the participants intentional promotion of the principles and values of their culture in the class.

Peer- and Self-Assessment in Primary School English Language Classrooms

Peer- and self-assessment could benefit the pupils in learning English language as a second language due to the aspects of essential whole group and individual reflections within the practice. This paper intends to investigate the practices of peer- and self-assessment among the national primary school English language teachers in a district in Selangor, Malaysia via a mixed methods approach. A survey was administered on 244 teachers, followed by interview and classroom observation on eight subset participants. From the survey, approximately 93% of the respondents had an emerging practice of peer- and self-assessment in their English language classrooms, which happened 50% of the time. The interview and observation findings show that the teachers needed extra time to train the pupils for the practice of peer- and self-assessment, mostly on written work, but also applicable during reading and speaking lessons. Pupils could apply self-assessment by knowing their levels and what to be done, sometimes based on worksheets and checklists. Sometimes, peer- and self-assessment were difficult and confusing among the pupils with lower English language proficiency levels. In the classroom, the pupils needed more time to receive guidance and training from the teachers in order to practise peer- and self-assessment, despite not fully in English. This implies that the teachers were attempting to enact peer- and self-assessment among the pupils, albeit rather deviating from the target language at times.

Online Learning is a City without Police: Influence of Proficiency on Libyan EFL Learners’ Perceptions

With the spread of COVID-19 and the replacement of face-to-face classes with emergency online learning, many studies have investigated English as a Foreign Language learners’ perceptions regarding their experiences of emergency online learning. However, the influence of EFL learners’ proficiency levels on their perceptions is still a neglected area. Conducting in-depth interviews with a group of Libyan EFL learners (n=18) by employing the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, this study investigated their metaphorical perceptions regarding emergency online learning across the three proficiency levels of Basic, Independent, and Proficient Users according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Considering the large number of EFL learners around the world and the felt literature gap, this study investigated the relationship between EFL learners’ proficiency levels and perceptions. The three main features of online learning reflected in the participants’ metaphors were (i) lack of the teacher’s physical presence, (ii) lack of peers’ physical presence and (iii) lack of nonverbal communication cues. Furthermore, this study reveals a significant relationship between the learners’ language proficiency levels and perceptions. For instance, Basic Users perceived the lack of a teacher’s presence by metaphors of ‘unsafety’ and ‘fear’, while Independent and Proficient Users respectively perceived it by metaphors of ‘freedom’ and ‘power’. Accordingly, the learners reported different class behaviors and learning strategies in response to these features

Multi-dimensional adjustment of Eurasian self-initiated expatriates in Korea

PurposeThis qualitative study has two aims. The first is to explore the cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions of Eurasian self-initiated expatriates’ (SIEs) work and non-work adjustments in Korea. The second is to understand how the Confucian-oriented Korean culture influences Eurasian SIEs' work and non-work domains, in particular their organisational practices and relations with locals.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted through a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with 27 Eurasian SIEs working in Korea. The interviews were conducted face-to-face with open-ended questions.FindingsEurasian SIEs in Korea express different cognitive, affective, and behavioural life and work adjustment processes that affect their future careers. A high level of language proficiency and knowledge of cultural and social expectations does not guarantee work and life adjustment success. Due to the heavy presence of Korean culture in work and living environments, SIEs face challenges in joining social and work networks and balancing work and life domains, which slows down adjustment. Results indicate that SIEs adjusted well regarding cognitive and behavioural dimensions in work and non-work domains. However, affective adjustment is difficult to achieve, even for SIEs who have lived in the country for many years, and many have the intention to leave if there were other options.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by focussing on the multidimensionality of SIEs' work and life adjustments, with cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. SIEs have been in a complicated process of adaptation and integration for a long time. This study attempts to contribute to SIE literature by analysing the elements of Confucianism-oriented Korean culture and organisational practices prevalent in SIEs' multidimensional adjustment and career challenges.

HANNA: Human-friendly provisioning and configuration of smart devices

Today, there are billions of connected IoT devices and their number continues to grow as they contribute to the digitalization of infrastructures. However, the deployment process of these smart wireless devices when delivered to customer premises is slow and error prone as each of them needs to be provisioned with authentication credentials to access the corporate network. In this paper, we propose HANNA, a human-friendly provisioning and configuration framework for smart devices, that extends the zero-touch paradigm to large IoT deployments by introducing voice assisted configuration in combination with large scale ad-hoc communications to overcome the initial installation effort of IoT deployments. The most prominent role in HANNA is played by the assisting device, which includes a voice assistant capable of correctly understanding a minimum number of keywords required for initial provisioning and configuration of the devices. The device’s role is to interact with the user and ensure that all provisioning details are received. These are then converted into appropriate machine instructions for further use by the mass provisioning mechanism. We provide an example prototype implementation of HANNA and evaluate the performance of the assisting device in the human-to-machine communication phase and the performance of the selected communication technique in the machine-to-machine communication phase. Our results show the potential of existing speech-to-text engines for this application area and also reveal shortcomings with respect to the robustness of the engines in office-like working environments as well as with respect to user’s gender and language proficiency level. Additionally we show that the proposed machine-to-machine provisioning approach is always faster compared to manual provisioning for cases with more than ten devices.

결혼이주여성의 온라인 생활문화 쓰기 수업 사례 연구

Objectives The purpose of this study is to perform a case study of real-time online writing class for female immigrants through marriage in order to investigate the class patterns from the female immigrants perspective and to examine their cultural understanding and response by exploring the characteristics of online writing class on the topics of life and culture.
 Methods As research participants, 11 female immigrants through marriage who had been taking the basic Korean language class at ** Multicultural Family Support Center in Gyeonggi-do were recruited. After 14 sessions of class, in-depth interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured questionnaire, and the data were analyzed with an analytic induction method.
 Results First, the advantages of the real-time online writing class for female immigrants through marriage included location flexibility, time saving, and learning and taking care of children at the same time. On the other hand, difficulty in asking questions and keeping focused was answered as a disadvantage. Second, as for the characteristics of the real-time online class with the topics of life and culture, it provided grammatical knowledge using familiar topics of life and culture. Learning about life and culture in neighboring countries and gaining knowledge on a range of cultures piqued the students’ intellectual curiosity. Third, for the understanding of culture in the research subjects, they took a flexible attitude toward culture in the process of actively researching and sharing data from outside textbooks by thinking outside the standard ideas of other cultures. They showed a difference in the level of language proficiency and understanding of culture. Due to the limitations of the virtual platform, however, the direct experience was not available for the students.
 Conclusions In the real-time online writing class, life and culture topics were familiar to the female immigrants. Therefore, a range of grammatical and linguistic applications was provided, and at the same time, the students were able to broaden their understanding of multicultural culture.

Exploring multilingual education in Morocco: official documents and teachers’ perceptions

ABSTRACT The Moroccan Ministry of Education has recently implemented a multilingual programme, called ‘language alternation’ (LA). The programme aims at improving students’ foreign language (FL) proficiency level and promoting plurilingualism by using French, English, and Spanish, for the teaching of math, physics and life and earth sciences at the secondary level, instead of the official language, Arabic. The study sought to understand this new tendency in Moroccan education by examining official educational documents and exploring teachers’ perceptions using Grounded Theory (GT), which is a hypothesis-generating methodology. The findings showed a gap between the conceptualised language recommendations in the official documents and the implementation of these recommendations in Moroccan schools. In addition, it seems that the new enacted educational policy has brought about challenges for both students and teachers. The interviewed teachers were concerned about their students’ initial FL proficiency, the negative effect of the new policy on students’ content learning, the lack of trainings in the methodology of the new medium of instruction (MOI) policy and limited agency of teachers in the conceptualisation and implementation of the new policy.

CHALLENGES TODAY IN PROCESS IMPROVEMENT LANGUAGE TRAINING IN THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE

Today’s challenges require Ukrainian servicemen and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be fluent in English, since the instructions for using foreign-made weapons, as well as the process of education and training to use these weapons are carried out in English.
 The main goal of this work is to determine promising methods and forms of language training in military structures, both out of the official activities and in the course of independent work.
 Today, the ranks of the Armed Forces face two urgent tasks that need to be solved:
 
 the first task is the urgent acquision of the English language by servicemen and senior staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for training in the use of foreign-made weapons;
 the second task is the improvement and modernization of the English language learning process in Higher Military Educational Institutions in order to increase the level of English language proficiency.
 
 The problem of first training was the insufficient command of the English language by the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the training.
 The solution of the second problem is not as critical in time as the solution of the first problem, therefore, currently, various programs, distance courses are being developed, and innovative teaching methods are being implemented in order to improve the improvement process of English language by students of higher educational institutions and officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. An important issue on the agenda is the introduction of the latest forms and methods of teaching a foreign language and special techniques and methods of teaching.
 Studying a foreign language will provide an opportunity for various branches of the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to freely and professionally conduct a dialogue with representatives of various professions and partner countries from the NATO military-political alliance.

WILLINGNESS TO SPEAK: WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE EFL LEARNERS?

The online learning mode has dramatically altered the manner of the way how communication is conducted in learning at higher education or schools for the past two years. It has led to a considerable change in how learning is carried out, transferring it from an offline to an online setting that permits long distance connection and communication. However, this has an effect on students’ engagement in class as many of them exhibit passive or unresponsive behavior in participating the online learning sessions. This qualitative study aims to explore the influencing factors affect students' willingness to participate in zoom sessions during online classes at English Department, Universitas Jambi. The data was gathered through the online classroom observations and interviews with the six EFL learners, and the data was then analyzed based on the theoretical built-themes of Willingness to Communicate (WTC). The finding reveals that 1) The demotivating factors influence EFL learners’ willingness to speak in zoom class were derived by the situational factor such as difficult task types and models, the unfamiliar topic of class discussion, the lecturers’ personal characteristics, the inconvenienced time or schedule of the class meeting and a trouble Internet connection. While 2) The depressing factors influenced by the psychological component, were comprised by the lack of self-confidence, low level of English language proficiency, L2 learning anxiety and students’ individual personality.

English Learners and Constructed-Response Science Test Items Challenges and Opportunities

ABSTRACT This article reports on two quantitative studies of English learners’ (ELs) interactions with constructed-response items from a Grade 5 state science test. Study 1 investigated the relationships between the constructed-response item-level variables of English Reading Demand, English Writing Demand, and Background Knowledge Demand and the performance of ELs vs. non-ELs on those items. English Writing Demand was the strongest predictor of Differential Item Functioning favoring non-ELs over ELs for constructed-response items. In Study 2, we investigated the student-level variable of English language proficiency level and found that lower English language proficiency was related to greatly increased odds of omitting a response to a constructed-response item, even when controlling for science proficiency. These findings challenge the validity of scores on constructed-response test items as measures of ELs’ science proficiency.

Pedagogical Practices for Dyslexic Learners in Moroccan EFL Classroom

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects not only students’ first-language literacy skills but also foreign language learning. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition as well as poor spelling and decoding abilities. It does not indicate a lack of intelligence or idleness, but rather it is a typical condition that influences the manner the brain processes written and spoken language. In order to ensure that dyslexic students successfully acquire the necessary levels of foreign language proficiency, they need additional support. A total of forty-seven teachers took part anonymously in an online study. A questionnaire was used to provide a descriptive account of the training requirements of EFL teachers who face the challenge of teaching dyslexic students within the mainstream classroom in the six largest universities in Morocco. The findings indicated that foreign language teachers often lack adequate understanding of the nature of dyslexia and the challenges it poses in foreign language learning, and they are unfamiliar with the relevant teaching techniques and methods to support dyslexic students’ language learning processes. However, they expressed their interest in some courses that would help them expand their knowledge and skills and be able to teach dyslexic students more effectively and inclusively.

The Comparative Impact of Focus on Forms vs. Focus on Form Instructions on the Receptive Skills of Reading and Listening: An Experimental Study of Iraqi Intermediate EFL Learners

This study was an attempt to investigate the effects of the two forms of instruction, namely, FonF and Fonfs on developing listening and reading abilities and skills of Iraqi intermediate EFL learners. The research is by nature a two dimensional study which covers both a macro study on teaching professionalism and micro study of learning development. Before starting the treatment, in order to test the homogeneousness of the students, a PET was piloted among 80 students being at the same language proficiency level of the main participants of this study and showed high reliability and validity indices. Subsequently, the listening and reading sections of IELTS test were administered to the selected participants of the study and then they were divided into three experimental and control groups receiving the treatments in one term of six weeks. The experimental groups were taught through the FonF and Fonfs teaching strategies and the conventional group enjoyed the routine classroom schedule and syllabus. The researchers employed independent samples t test and the results indicated significant difference among the mean rank of the experimental and control groups on the listening post-test (p = 0.049<0.05). Moreover, she used ANOVA and univariate analyses were used and the results indicated that there was a significant difference among the mean rank of the experimental groups on the use of FonF and Fonfs post-test. Therefore, the multiple comparisons exposed that teaching FonF was basically more operational for exercising reading skills and tasks in an EFL classroom than teaching Fonfs for developing listening skills. All in all, teaching either FonF or Fonfs can be to the benefit of Iranian EFL learners since the differences between the numerical values obtained have not been greatly different to reject the treatment effects of Fonfs.

APPLYING OF DESIGN THINKING APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSE

A lot of people comprehend the necessity to acquire foreign languages and particularly foreign languages for their professional needs, but in most cases, their enthusiasm and motivation decrease and sometimes even disappear when hard work on a regular basis starts. The greatest advantages of the Design Thinking approach in teaching foreign languages are the development of foreign languages’ competencies and the making of the learners more motivated. The aim of the paper is to analyze the development outcomes of communicative competencies by applying the Design Thinking approach to teaching foreign languages to Bachelor level law students who acquire legal English and Bachelor level Information Technology students who study German as a second foreign language. The following methods were used while doing the research: survey data analysis of the foreign languages courses’ target audience and the qualitative analysis of the data content. A questionnaire of the students was developed and carried out, the answers were processed. The research experience was analyzed, the conclusions were drawn and the proposals for future work were worked out. The framework of learning was based on the Stanford method: empathizing, defining the problem, ideating, prototyping, and testing. The results of the study proved that the design thinking approach is effective as the learners solve many real-life problems. This encouraged collaboration and activity as they discussed simulated professional and real-life issues. The results also proved that the design thinking approach is recommended for learners with a higher level of foreign language proficiency. The pros and cons of the approach, based on the learners’ results and questionnaires have been summarized.

Grammar Competence and Writing Performance: A Correlational Study in Higher Education

This research paper examined the relationship between grammar competence and writing performance among first year students studying in the second semester at Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra in Morocco. The main concern of this study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between grammar proficiency and writing. The researcher used two tests as instruments for the purpose of verifying the correlation between the two variables; one test was in grammar and the other was in writing. The participants were 37 male and female students at Ibn Tofail University who were chosen on the basis that they are in the same level of English language proficiency. They constituted an intact group. The results of the study indicated that there is a significant relationship between grammar and writing. It is also found that there is 14.7% of relationship between the two variables. These findings help university students to improve their writing skills and also assist teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to design their courses, choose their teaching materials, and teach and assess writing and grammar.

Metody prepodavaniya yaponskogo yazyka v vuzah Kitaya: istoriya voprosa

Japanese is one of the most popular languages and one of the most popular foreign languages in China. Despite the fact that many students have a fairly high level of Japanese language proficiency at the time of admission to the university, effective methods of teaching Japanese in Chinese universities are still an open question. This article discusses the methods of teaching Japanese in Chinese universities and identifies the most effective.

Instrumental motivation and Reading goals: Case study of Spanish L2 learners in Chile

Teaching-learning process involves reading texts to construct knowledge. In this context, a certain pedagogical goal is chosen to guide the reading and the way of interacting with texts. Somehow, this interaction used to be attributed to the intrinsic or internal motivation of the reader. However, instrumental motivation to learn a second language was not considered as an influential factor in reading assignments. Objective: Hence, the aim of this investigation is to explore the relationship between instrumental learning motivation and the reading goals of both the learner and the institution hosting the reading activity. Methodology: A qualitative case study has been applied and data were collected from four courses belonging to a Spanish L2 student exchange program in Chile during the first semester of 2019. Results: The results of Nvivo 12 analysis suggest that students learn Spanish for practical reasons that do not match with specific or complex reading content assigned in class by professors. Conclusion: Didactic material should engage students and be coherent with their language proficiency level to guarantee efficient learning process.

Features of the formation of aviation discourse of the future teachers of a foreign language

This article discusses the ways and possibilities of preparing aviation students to study an industry-specific foreign language according to the ICAO language proficiency level scale, which stands for International Civil Aviation Organization and represents a clearly described international set of requirements for knowledge of a foreign language. To improve the real safety of aviation around the world, it is important to develop the international standard for language proficiency requirements. Training on the ICAO language level scale was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2019, after this study was undertaken. This level scale is designed to determine the content in terms of proficiency in aviation terminology and phraseology in English at the so-called levels. The ICAO language level scale identifies six levels that correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which defines six levels of foreign language proficiency: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 (ascending). In this regard, the authors of the article identified the tasks of solving the selection of language materials and structuring them into modules. These tasks and cases are professionally content-oriented and communicative, which could give the opportunity to practise and improve students’ skills and competences.

Writing Knowledge and Writing Performance of Undergraduate Students

This paper describes an investigation about the relationship between students' writing knowledge and second language writing performance. Metacognitive and metalinguistic knowledge contribute significantly to writing performance. As a foreign language, 78 undergraduate students took a writing knowledge class and a writing proficiency test. The knowledge process has a strong influence on writing performance. Except for vocabulary knowledge, other aspects and sub-aspects had no significant effect on writing performance. Vocabulary knowledge had a negative impact on writing performance. In other words, while some aspects and sub-aspects of writing knowledge did not significantly influence writing performance, others did. The pedagogical implication is that all aspects of writing knowledge must be explicitly taught in writing instruction in order to improve students' writing quality. However, there must be a priority of aspect as the core of the material to be taught, with the other aspects and sub-aspects serving as complementary materials. This could result in a moderate relationship finding and a low percentage of contribution. Undergraduate English as a Foreign Language students from various institutions and provinces may have varying levels of language proficiency and writing skills.

A needs analysis for an english for occupational purposes (EOP) accounting course

The teaching of English for occupational purposes relies on the insights that a detailed needs analysis on the student-client population provides. The following paper reports the findings of a Needs Analysis conducted on the occupational purposes of accountants in Golfito county in the southern region of Costa Rica, describes the participant population, and narrates the historical development of this academic project. Some NA theoretical principles have been considered during the design and implementation of questionnaires, interviews, a desk analysis, and a focus group. The main objective has been to identify the communicative target situations that accountants and accounting employees face in their workplaces in this rural area. Therefore, adult learners with diverse English language proficiency levels enriched this NA by answering three questionnaires, providing two interviews, and contributing in a focus group. The main findings include the participants’ needs to explain financial statements in English, boost their L2 accounting vocabulary, and describe Costa Rican tax procedures to their stakeholders, especially those who are foreign business owners. In brief, this paper yields promising insights on their occupational needs that would support the language curriculum design process of a twelve-week EOP accounting course.

Strategies employed for information transfer and relation building in intercultural communication – A cross-cultural study

The aim of the study is to examine strategies used in intercultural encounters by Polish and Turkish students of Foreign Languages (n1=50, n2=50, respectively) who have experienced intercultural communication. Intercultural encounters are viewed as ‘language-in-action’ situations because they provide a rich source of information about linguistic devices used during intercultural exchanges, sources of misunderstanding and miscommunication, and strategies implemented to transfer information or maintain conversational involvement of the interlocutors. This study offers some insights into the frequency and variety of the strategies used in intercultural encounters. It was conducted as a small-scale project, with the Critical Incident Technique and questionnaires administered to collect data. The research participants (C1/C2 levels of proficiency) were supposed to produce written narratives describing the most memorable intercultural encounters and report on intercultural communication strategies. Their narratives were later analysed to identify strategies applied to manage intercultural communication and achieve communicative goals (e.g. maintaining contact and/or conveying necessary information). Research findings show that Proactively seeking clarification and Building intercultural connection or relationship were the most frequent strategies used by these two groups. However, research results also suggest that the choice of strategies depends on such factors as the participants’ level of language proficiency, their cultural background or the quality and quantity of intercultural contacts. Cross-cultural analysis indicates that Turkish students are more socially- and culturally oriented, whereas Polish students display a tendency to focus more on cognitive and linguistic aspects of intercultural encounters. Findings from the study can be of help for educators and trainers involved in researching intercultural communication, strategic involvement and training.