Non-native English Language Speakers Research Articles

Filipino Neophyte ESL Teachers amidst Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Inquiry

This phenomenological study investigated the lived experiences of Filipino neophyte ESL teachers amidst Covid-19 pandemic. Data were collected from seven (7) ESL teachers who already have three (3) months to one (1) year teaching experience in handling non-native speakers of English language. Based from the thematic analysis, the experiences of the identified participants were anxiety as initial reaction, fear of committing grammatical and pronunciation errors, difficulty of motivating students, students’ lack of knowledge on the target language, difficulty on students’ pronunciation and grammar, improves teachers; communicative competence and evaluating students’ four macro skills. Moreover, the different teaching strategies used were using reinforcement, various teaching methodologies, utilizing interactive materials, building rapport, tracking students’ performance and scaffolding. The findings of this study are valuable in the field of language teaching and applied linguistics to understand the various strategies that can be employed to address the needs of non-native speakers of English language. Further, this can be used by future ESL teachers in improving their pedagogical competence in handling ESL synchronous classes.

PELATIHAN TOEFL-LIKE DENGAN MEDIA E-LEARNING BAGI PESERTA DIDIK DI SMAN 5 MADIUN

TOEFL which stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language is a test used to measure the English proficiency of those who are non-native English language speakers. This test is usually becoming one of the requirements to enrol on domestic and foreign universities and apply to the state-owned enterprise (BUMN) and to some other companies. SMAN 5 Madiun has not given any TOEFL introduction lessons to its students. This program aimed at providing the participants with the ability to solve every question in TOEFL. This society service program was done through e-learning due to the covid-19 pandemic's unable us to have offline meetings. The methods used in this program are demonstration, exercising, and lecturing. The evaluation done by comparing the result of pre and post-tests showed that there is a significant increase in participants’ ability to solve the TOEFL questions.

The discourse of persuasion: An analysis of students' communicative tasks

This discourse analysis aimed to investigate the different propaganda techniques used by students in their communicative tasks. This study utilized qualitative method with discourse analysis as an approach to identify and understand the discourse of persuasion manifested by students in their speaking performance. The researcher analysed the linguistic corpora using the theory of Gambril on propaganda techniques. Data revealed that students exhibited different propaganda techniques such as transfer, testimonial, glittering generalities and bandwagon. These communicative tasks in the language classroom focusing on the discourse of persuasion allow the non-native Speakers of English language to acquire communicative competence on the use of the target language. Having exposed to various communicative activities provides students an opportunity to explore the different use of language specifically in persuading other people. The activities provided by the teacher enable students to evaluate what specific area of language they have to improve and practice in order for them to acquire the target language with native like proficiency and sophistication.

Practical Issues in Education and Adoption of IFRS: Evidence from Russia

This paper examines how the recognition and spread of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have affected accounting practices and accounting education in Russia. We use evidence from Russia as a case study to provide a historical perspective on the changes in its accounting system and analyze the translation and communication difficulties in accounting practices and education. By conducting Russian accounting textbooks’ content analysis, we highlight IFRS translation issues in order to investigate the positional statement of the problems regarding the challenges with IFRS education. We also discover the current difficulties in teaching IFRS-based accounting to non-English speakers. Our findings outline the interrelation between the educational approach and practical applications of the existing knowledge on financial reporting. Finally, this research addresses the nature of the challenges that emerge due to the linguistic translations of the IFRS. We consider this paper will be of particular interest for non-native English-language speakers, including academics, practitioners, and standard setters.

Piloting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Needs Assessment to Explore Patron Perceptions at a University Health Science Library

Objective:
 A pilot diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) needs assessment was conducted at a health sciences library. The objectives were to 1) quantitatively assess patrons’ attitudes towards the existing DEI climate in the library and 2) qualitatively identify contextual factors influencing patrons’ perceptions.
 Population:
 The assessment was led by a DEI Team at the University of Florida’s Health Science Center Libraries (HSCL). HSCL serves the university’s six health science colleges from two sites, Gainesville and Jacksonville. HSCL Gainesville was selected as the study location, due to higher annual footfall within the physical library.
 Methods:
 Two “HappyOrNot” customer satisfaction machines were placed by library exits. Twelve DEI-related questions were displayed on the machines, one question per week, for the duration of 12 weeks total. Additionally, a box for open-ended comments was placed by each machine.
 Findings:
 The total number of responses was 3,445, with 7 written comments. Overall, respondents felt happiest with the library’s welcoming and home-like environment. The library was perceived by many as a physically safe space. Most also felt that the library demonstrates a commitment to DEI and that they are treated fairly, equitably, and with respect by library staff. Areas of concern were a perceived lack of respect from other library visitors, as well as library services for patrons with disabilities and non-native English language speakers.
 Conclusions:
 The project enabled the HSCL to gather important information concerning patrons’ perceptions of the library’s DEI climate and their associated needs. The HappyOrNot machines provided a straightforward and convenient method for patron feedback, resulting in an impressive number of responses. However, limitations of the pilot included the inability to obtain participants’ demographic information, as well as the anecdotal evidence indicating that some respondents did not read the questions. Future plans therefore involve a follow-up online survey with detailed demographic questions.

Assessment of the Diversity and Inclusion Culture in a Physician Assistant Program.

Physician assistant (PA) programs aim to foster a collaborative culture that enables stakeholders to feel included, empowered, and valued. The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural climate of diversity and inclusion in one PA program to identify areas of strength and to serve as a baseline needs assessment for future program initiatives. The study used a cross-sectional, descriptive approach for PA survey data (N = 85) to assess perceptions of diversity and inclusion of PA program students, faculty, and staff. The respondents largely agreed that the program created an inclusive learning environment (92%), the curriculum positively affected their understanding of diversity and cultural responsiveness (84.6%), and the program had an adequate amount of inclusivity for all program stakeholders (87%). Some faculty members (25%) and students (6.2%) disagreed that faculty were open to diverse political beliefs, and 35% of the respondents believed that more emphasis could be put on religious diversity. A few students (7.7%) perceived faculty as not supportive of non-native English language speakers; students of color (11.5%) were more likely than White students (5.1%) to have this perception. This study largely met the goal to create a professional environment of mutual respect and, ultimately, a climate of inclusiveness. It also identified opportunities for new initiatives to meet the needs of all program stakeholders. Follow-up research that distinguishes faculty from students and a multicenter study to explore perspectives based on demographic differences would be timely and useful.

Online community development through social interaction — K-Pop stan twitter as a community of practice

ABSTRACT Fandom practices are often considered meaningless and unnecessary. However, the use of social media carries the potential for positive as well as negative impact on the users. Using the fraemwork of Community of Practice, the latest theory addressing community formation and interaction, as its theoretical framework, the study explores the Twitter-based online fandom community (called stan twitter) of Korean Pop-Music (K-Pop) as a working Community of Practice (CoP). This community is a hub of non-native English language speakers, who actively communicate on this platform. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews and participant observations to collect data, and analyzes it using qualitative coding. The study finds that the members of K-Pop Stan Twitter form interpersonal bonds, communicate regularly, and create a close-knit community where everyone contributes in their own capacity. The study suggests that the platform in question does possess the characteristics to be considered a working CoP, with the addition of another element that makes it unique: power hierarchy among the participants of the community, which is usually the least noticed aspect in research on online platforms. Moreover, it carries implications for inculcation of various positive qualities in the users.

Don't Joke About Me: Student Identities and Perceptions of Instructor Humor in College Science Courses.

Humor is a popular tool used by instructors to engage students. However, some instructor jokes may be perceived as less funny and more offensive by particular groups of students. Previous studies have shown that student gender impacts student perception of instructor humor; however, to our knowledge no studies have explored whether there are differences in how other identity groups interpret instructor humor. In this study, we surveyed 1,637 students across 25 different college science courses at a research-intensive institution in the Southwest United States. Students evaluated a set of topics that science instructors might joke about in class as to whether they were funny and offensive. Using binary logistic regression, we analyzed whether students of different identities, including race/ethnicity, political affiliation, LGBTQ+ status, religious affiliation, and native language, differentially perceived joke topics to be funny and offensive if told by an instructor in class. We identified that topics which tended to be perceived by students as funny rather than offensive were generally less likely to be perceived as funny to non-native English language speakers compared with native English speakers. We also found that students were more likely to be offended by jokes about their own identity group. This work identifies potentially humorous topics that instructors should avoid because they could be offensive to groups of students. This study also highlights topics that tend to be perceived as funny to most students, which indicates that instructors who joke about such topics may be universally benefitting college science students.

Acquisition of Definiteness And Indefiniteness by Behdini Kurdish Learners of English

The acquisition of English grammatical articles by non-native speakers of English language has been the main concern of a wide range of research, especially in languages whose grammatical article system functions differently from the English grammatical article system. Behdini is a variety whose grammatical article system is different from that English grammatical parameter. Thus, the acquisition of L2 English articles among L1 Behdini speakers is investigated in this study along proposals based on the Interpretability Hypothesis (Hawkins & Hattori, 2006; Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Hawkins & Casillas, 2008), and the Full Transfer Full Access (FT/FA) hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994, 1996).

Acquisition of Definiteness And Indefiniteness by Behdini Kurdish Learners of English

The acquisition of English grammatical articles by non-native speakers of English language has been the main concern of a wide range of research, especially in languages whose grammatical article system functions differently from the English grammatical article system. Behdini is a variety whose grammatical article system is different from that English grammatical parameter. Thus, the acquisition of L2 English articles among L1 Behdini speakers is investigated in this study along proposals based on the Interpretability Hypothesis (Hawkins & Hattori, 2006; Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Hawkins & Casillas, 2008), and the Full Transfer Full Access (FT/FA) hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse, 1994, 1996). The researcher developed a Judgement Elicitation Task (JET)   based on the following research question: Will Behdini learners’ English language proficiency level play a role in participants’ judgements? Will these learners be able to acquire English definite, indefinite, and zero articles systematically? In other words, is any development expected in Behdini learners’ acquisition of English articles? 40 Behdini L2 English learners took part in the Judgement Elicitation Task . English learners took an English language proficiency test based on which they were roughly grouped into three sub-groups: elementary (11 participants), intermediate (22 participants), and advanced (7 participants). All participants took two tests: an acceptability judgment test including 46  items (34 pure test items + 12 filler gaps) and a proficiency test with 40  items. The results of the study show that there is a transfer from L1 into the L2ers’ English interlanguage due to the finding that most participants, disregarding their proficiency level, failed to reject the ungrammatical sentences in almost all the categories. The study finds support for the FT/FA proposal, where first language transfer, second language input and access to universal grammar features are argued to have impacts on Learners of English article acquisition among L1 Behdini learners. The result  also show that learners of  English  fluctuate in their choice of articles, which is interpreted by the predictions made by the Fluctuation Theory. Uninterpretable features also, proved to be difficult to acquire by Behdini learners, a point that  can be interpreted the base form of the Interpretability Hypothesis.&nbsp

Teaching Programming to Non-Programmers at Undergraduate Level

This paper focuses on solving the problems faced by non-IT (Information Technology) background students at undergraduate level in learning programming language who are at the same time non-native English language speakers. In this regard a step by step methodology has been proposed here which try to take into account the difficulties faced by this particular niche of programmers and counteract them with possible solutions. Following this approach may help lower the problems faced by the non-IT background students to some extent and fulfill their aim in being professional or conversational or end- user programmers according to their career choices

A Study of the Speech Act of Complaining

The present study aims to examine the speech act of complaining performed by consumers of a particular organisation by investigating the pragmatics strategies employed by the consumers in complaining. The behaviours of Malaysian non-native English speakers when making online complaints directed to an organisation is expected to have different approaches and preferences compared to complaints produced by native speakers of English. A case study approach was used in this qualitative study to investigate the preference of Malaysian non-native speakers of English language when making online complaints with respect to the components of the speech act set of complaining by analysing 50 online complaints, posted by 50 customers via www.complaintsboard.com. The results indicated that the component of complaining is found to be the most frequent in online complaints. Besides, it was also found that the complaints made by non-native speakers did not appear in isolation but accompanied by other components of speech act like criticism, justification, request for explanation, warning and threat and sarcasm. In addition, Malaysian non-native English speakers employed complaint strategy that lies under the third level of severity of complaint which means they produced the complaint by expressing it explicitly.

Discourse gender differences between native and non-native speakers of English: Discourse analysis of male and female narrations of recently watched movies

1 IntroductionThe nature of differences between men and women has always interested humankind. Since our birth we have participated in the process of gender identity acquisition through multiple practices such as wearing a certain type of clothes, playing selected toys, and reading recommended books. These 'rituals' inevitably shape our society and enhance gender identity that further guides our life choices. There are choices that we make intentionally in order to meet society expectations. However, it is highly possible that gender identity could also guide some of our activities without our conscious consent. Normally, we do not pay attention to the way we talk, but our communication style might be correlated to our gender identity.During the last several decades the great interest in nature and existence of differences between men and women has increased. Particular attention has been given to the extent to which males and females use language differently (Newman, Groom, Handelman, & Pennebaker 2008:211-236). The difference in discourse gender patterns can lead to mutual misunderstanding in the course of verbal interaction. Thus, it is important to perceive the existence of certain gender patterns and build our discourse correspondingly.2 Language, gender, influences and discourseAs stated by Newman, Groom, Handelman and Pennebaker (2008:211-236), men and women use language differently. Significantly, it is the process of socialization that plays an important role in shaping gender identities (Gee 1992:19; Rossetti 1998). In other words, the use of language is socially biased and highly dependent on the expectations of society (Tannen 1995:138-148). Girls and boys receive different upbringing, often reflected in their roles and communicative styles (Rossetti 1998). Thus, through communication girls attempt to establish intimacy as a basis of friendship, while boys use language to establish their status and hence try to accomplish different discourse goals (Rossetti 1998). Tannen (1995:138-148) highlights that males use a direct and forceful communicative style, while females have a more indirect and intimate style of interaction, which results from the perception of women's role (females are communal, embodying emotional expressiveness and focused on the needs of others) and men's role (males are agentive, requiring action, self-expression, and individuality). The majority of studies have shown the consensus in the fact that males, in comparison to females, tend to use language more for instrumental purposes of conveying information, while women use it for social purposes with verbal communication serving as the end in itself' (Newman et al. 2008:211-236).The view which is followed in this paper defines discourse as practice that determines the use of language in the light of behaviour (Gee 1992:117; Schiffrin, Tannen, & Hamilton 2001: 538). Since gender identity depends on context (Masaitienė 2006: 295), it may be reasonable to expect that there will be gender differences in the discourse of native and non-native English language speakers (i.e. the contexts in which they learned the English language vary). To exemplify, the study of the discourse of native English speakers showed male dominance in the amount of talk (Masaitienė 2006:297), while the study of the discourse of non-native English speakers suggested female speaking time advantage. What is more, male non-native English speakers managed to utter more words per minute in all types of interactions, while female non-native English speakers tended to talk more only in mixed-gender conversations (Dobrica 2014:12). Dobrica (2014:20) and Masaitienė (2006:300-301) conclude that the discourse of both native and non-native English females strives to use collaboration and to build connections through interruptions and cooperative overlaps. Additionally, Dobrica (2014:21) states that native and non-native English speakers vary considerably in terms of exposing their gender identities in the course of communication. …

Analysis of Grammatical Interference and its Social Acceptability in Pakistani Context

Abstract The paper aims to look into the first language grammatical interference in the written texts of the non-native speakers of English language and its social acceptability in the Pakistani context. Pakistan is a country of bilinguals, therefore the influence of one's mother tongue on other languages especially English becomes crucial in this context. The linguistic outcomes based on the grammatical interference show the coining of new words with the combination of different borrowed grammatical features. The paper analyzes the grammatical interference and the factors that facilitate the social acceptability of the affected linguistic outcomes. For the purpose of study, one hundred English text samples of the undergraduate students who are non-native speakers of English language were examined. It has been observed that due to strong language contact of Urdu (first language) with English (second language), the first language grammatical interference does affect the written expressions of the non-native speakers of English language and encourage the coining of new words. This contact-induced process is further reinforced by the immense exposure to technology and the wide use of internet. The study indicates that borrowing grammatical features from one language and converting them in other not only encourage the coining of new words but also show that its social acceptability can lead to the emergence of a new language over the period of time.

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Communicative Language Teaching Methodology in the CALL Environment: A Case Study

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) engages learners in authentic communication to develop their communicative competence. The learners are more involved and the learning more effective, if the teachers provide opportunities that best meet learner needs (Littlewood, 2010). With the increase in the promotion of communicative language teaching approach in the Computer Assisted Language Learning environment (CALL), the importance of designing relevant activities and their execution in the communicative environment remain a challenge. The varied perceptions of teachers and students in the conduction of activities create a gap that affects the appropriacy of the content used in the language learning activities for the non-native speakers of English language. The purpose of the study is to analyze the perceptions of teachers’ and students’ of the communicative language teaching methodology in the Computer Assisted Language Learning environment. The study followed the qualitative methodology in the tradition of a case study. The subjects of the study were fifty students registered in the first semester English Language course of the Computer Science Degree Program at FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. The data was collected from the communicative language activities feedback and a questionnaire survey administered at the end of the course. The results indicate that the overall perceptions of the teachers and students show positive attitude towards the communicative language teaching approach. However, some variation in their perceptions regarding the appropriateness was also reported. The variation can serve as a basis for developing content that meet the specific learner's needs.

Science: a world without borders.

Science: a world without borders.

Non‐native english language speakers benefit most from the use of lecture capture in medical school

Medical education in the United States and Canada continues to evolve. However, many of the changes in pedagogy are being made without appropriate evaluation. Here, we attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of lecture capture technology as a learning tool in Podiatric medical education. In this pilot project, student performance in an inaugural lecture capture-supported biochemistry course was compared to that in the previous academic year. To examine the impact of online lecture podcasts on student performance a within-subjects design was implemented, a two way ANCOVA with repeated measures. The use of lecture capture-supported pedagogy resulted in significantly higher student test scores, than achieved historically using traditional pedagogy. The overall course performance using this lecture capture-supported pedagogy was almost 6% higher than in the previous year. Non-native English language speakers benefitted more significantly from the lecture capture-supported pedagogy than native English language speakers, since their performance improved by 10.0 points. Given that underrepresented minority (URM) students, whose native language is not English, makes up a growing proportion of medical school matriculates, these observations support the use of lecture capture technology in other courses. Furthermore, this technology may also be used as part of an academic enrichment plan to improve performance on the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination, reduce the attrition of URM students and potentially address the predicted minority physician shortage in 2020.

Migrant Students with Limited English Proficiency

This study evaluated the efficacy of the computer-assisted intervention program known as Fast ForWord Language™in a sample of migrant students in Grades 1 through 6 who were native Spanish speakers. Fast ForWord Language™combines intensive training in multiple receptive English language skills with adaptive acoustic waveform lengthening and amplification to purportedly accelerate the English language learning skills of children who are nonnative English language speakers. Students either were randomly assigned to a treatment or no-contact control condition or were matched on grade, English language proficiency, and nonverbal IQ. All students were assessed in five domains before and immediately after the 4- to 8-week intervention: (a) spoken English language proficiency; (b) oral language competency; (c) phonological awareness; (d) basic reading skills; and (e) classroom behavior. Except for performance on a measure of sight-word recognition, on which children in the treatment group achieved a significantly greater gain than those in the control group, changes in test scores from pretest to posttest were equivalent for the two groups. However, when students who were least fluent in spoken English in each group were compared, the children in the treatment group demonstrated superior gains in expressive language, sight-word recognition, and pseudoword decoding. Thus, Fast ForWord Language™had a substantial, albeit limited impact on the oral language skills and reading performance of migrant children in this study. However, due to methodological weaknesses and limited treatment fidelity, the study results must be interpreted cautiously.