Language Learning Skills Research Articles

‘Dance with shackles on’: Navigating critical thinking in English language classrooms during COVID-19 and beyond

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has significant social, educational and psychological impacts. While teachers are key agents to promote CT at the curriculum level, little is known about how English language teachers engage with CT in the wake of COVID-19. Drawing on teacher interviews and classroom observations, the study found that the participating teachers navigated the various affordances and constraints of COVID-19 and implemented CT instruction primarily by integrating CT skills in language learning and assessment, emphasizing skepticism, fostering reflection and hope, and legitimating students’ voice in the online environment. It suggests that teachers should be conscious of the affordance and constraints of online teaching and attend to students’ emotions and life experiences at the curriculum time to transform students into critical thinkers who can agentively, responsibly and positively engage with their situated reality.

Exploring The Phonological Words And Syllable Analysis

This article discusses phonology and syllables in the context of language. Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies the sounds in language and the way they are organized, whereas syllables are the basic units in spoken language that form the basic structure of words. In this article, we explore the phonological words and syllable analysis, and the importance of understanding these concepts. In the phonological world, sounds in a language are categorized based on phonological characteristics such as voicing, place and manner of pronunciation, and others. This helps us understand how sounds are organized and combined in language to form meaningful meanings. In addition, the study of phonological worlds helps identify similarities and differences between languages ??and understand the basic structure of sounds in a given language. The syllable, as the core unit in spoken language, consists of the onset, nucleus, and coda. Syllable analysis helps us understand patterns and rules in the formation of words as well as the rhythm and phonotactics of language. In syllable analysis, we separate words into syllables and study the common syllable structures in that language. An understanding of syllables also has practical implications in language learning, speech therapy, and teaching language skills. Phonological and syllable analysis methods involve identifying the sounds of a language, analyzing syllable structures, and a comparative approach to comparison with other languages. Understanding these concepts is important in gaining a broader understanding of sound systems in language and how they affect human communication. Thus, this article illustrates the importance of phonological and syllable studies in understanding language structure, highlights the analytical methods used, and demonstrates implications and practical application of this knowledge in the context of language learning, speech therapy, and teaching language skills.

The Characteristics of Selected Topics and Content Innovation of Core Textbooks for English Teacher Training—Taking the New Century Teacher Training English Textbook Series as an Example

Teacher education is related to the future talent training of the country and has far-reaching significance. Teacher-training students majoring in English not only need to learn English well but also need to learn how to teach English. Therefore, teacher-training English majors should emphasize the cultivation of English subjects and teaching ability, which should not be limited to either language learning or teaching skills. At present, all levels and types of education attach great importance to the role of teaching materials, and education for future teachers is no exception. It can be said that the quality and level of teaching materials are directly related to teachers’ teaching and students’ learning, and directly related to the quality and specifications of talent training. The article takes the series of textbooks—“English for Teachers in the New Century”—published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press as an example. From the perspective of the characteristics of the selected topics and content innovation, it discusses the feathers of “teacher training” and “political thinking” of the core curriculum textbooks for English teacher training. Also, some scientific suggestions will be made to help teachers penetrate the concept of teacher education while cultivating students’ language abilities.

New Voices for a New World: a Review of Learner-Centered Methods of Learning English

English is becoming the lingua franca in an increasingly globalized world. Professionals with a sound knowledge of the language coupled with the ability to communicate in English are on high demand. English is increasingly being rewarded as the global language; it is also known as the window to the world. To make the grade in terms of the basic skills of English language, effective and technical learning is extremely important. To be above board, effective learning of English language depends on the methods of language learning and teaching. There are numerous methods that are the pathways to learn English proficiently. Learner-centered methods are always preferred by the different levels of learners of English language. Trainers or the pedagogues should use learner- centered methods based on the levels of the learners' competence in the training sessions. This paper focuses on the different learner-centered methods of learning English along with their principles, prospects, goals, and procedures that help the learners to succeed in terms of becoming competent in effective listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Multimodal Writing in The Spanish Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool to Empower and Heal from The Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper explores the multimodal compositions of seven students in an intermediate Spanish class which took place during the Summer of 2021. The class met virtually by zoom due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited face-to-face interactions. The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound effect on people's lives around the world, causing not only physical health issues but also mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression among others. Multimodal writing is a tool to empower students and help them heal from the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, multimodality allows students to produce texts that reflect their experiences, identity, and voices through the various modes of communication available on the internet. Even though writing has become an important language skill due to technology and all the social platforms, some scholars don’t give the same importance to writing than to other skills in language learning (Valdez et al., 1992). Multimodal texts combine two or more modes of communication, such as written language, spoken language, visual, audio among others (The New London Group, 1994). As Edwards-Groves (2011) strongly stated “A contemporary focus on writing highlights how technology use also enables new possibilities for creativity – new creativities – in multimodal text construction and meaning making (p. 51).

Test–retest Reliability of Acceptable Noise Level in Kannada-speaking Children with Normal Hearing Sensitivity

Introduction: Understanding speech accurately in the presence of noise is crucial for the development of learning speech, language, and educational skills in children. There are various audiological procedures available to check the ability of speech perception in the presence of noise. Acceptable noise level (ANL) measures the individual’s ability to tolerate the amount of background noise while listening to speech. Though, ANL has been shown to be clinically effective measure in children and adults its test- retest reliability in children is not well understood. Hence the present study was carried out to establish ANL using Kannada stimuli in native Kannada speaking children with normal hearing sensitivity and to check the test-retest reliability of the measure in them. Method: The study included a total of 61 native Kannada speaking children within the age range of 9-12years. Most Comfortable Level (MCL) and Background Noise Level (BNL) were established using standard procedures. The ANL was obtained by subtracting the BNL value with MCL for each participant. Results: The results revealed that there exists unacceptable reliability in MCL, BNL and ANL measures in native Kannada speaking children with normal hearing sensitivity using Kannada speech stimulus. This indicates that the ANL needs to be interpreted with caution in Children. Conclusion: The current study findings highlight on the importance of exploring these measures in children of various age groups to understand the developmental trend and age of maturation of ANL measure.

Effect of Web 2.0 Gamification Tools on Listening Comprehension Skills in a Second Foreign Language German Course

The purpose of this study is to investigate how gamification using Web 2.0 tools affects secondary school students’ listening comprehension skills on a German second language course. The sub-purposes are to investigate the study’s outputs, such as course interest and academic motivation. The design of the study was action research, which is one of the recognized methods of qualitative research. The participants of the study were 34 ninth-grade high school students (15 males, 19 females) aged 14 or 15 years old enrolled to a state-project school. Focus group interviews, both student and teachers’ reflective journals, and an academic achievement test were utilized to assess the participant students’ listening comprehension skills, and formed the data collection tools used to obtain detailed information about the research process. According to the findings of the study, the use of Web 2.0 tools enabled by way of the gamification method helped capture the students’ attention and strengthen the steps taken to improve their language learning skills. Although the students’ learning styles varied, one point of commonality was their use of gamification.

USE OF MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN ENGLISH LESSONS

This article discusses effective methods and technologies of teaching English in educational institutions, as well as measures for their implementation in practice. The purpose of teaching a foreign language is the formation of intercultural communication on the subject and the use of new information technologies in teaching a foreign language. Teaching a foreign language with the help of information and communication technologies is an effective system that helps improve the skills of independent language learning. The integrated use of new technologies and technical means when teaching English in the classroom simplifies many of the complex functions of a teacher, contributes to the emergence of new approaches to this skill, and opens up access to the best world practice.

Speech Acts Analysis of “Spiderman No Way Home” Movie as A Medium of Learning Material

A movie is one of the beneficial teaching media. Its main function is for entertainment, but it is a good resource for language learning as well. The dialog in the movie provides material for learning language skills and language structure which can be learned for any element of language. In this research, the writer investigated the language structure focused on speech acts. The study aims to identify the types of speech acts delivered by the main actor in the Spider-man movie, which was used a learning material, along with their frequency. This research was conducted in descriptive qualitative method. The analysis of speech acts used Searle’s theory which divided speech acts into five classifications, commissive, declarative, directive, expressive, and representative. After analyzing, the writer found all types of speech acts in the conversations. Although, the amount utterances of each type are various. Directive (46%) is frequently used in the dialogue followed by expressive (30%) commissive (12%), declarative (6%), and representative (6%). Therefore, expressions such as command, order, request, thank, apology, etc., which are parts of the directive and expressive type, often appear in conversation, especially in action movies. Keywords: Speech act, learning material, movie

Teaching Language Skills to Young Learners through Activities: A Case Study of Primary Schools in Gujrat

Interactive teaching is central to learning language skills at all grades. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Activity Based Teaching on leaning of the four major skills. To achieve this purpose, pre-test post-test control group design was used with a random sample of 34 male students selected from the list of primary schools located in the district Gujrat. A pre-test was conducted before the treatment of 5 weeks and a post-test was administered within a week after the treatment with the control and experiment group. To find out the significance of the difference between the scores of the tests, t-test for independent samples was run. The test indicated a significant difference in the performance of the experiment group. The study has important significance for the teachers, syllabus designers, and the materials developers. It is recommended in light of the findings that interactive teaching interspersed with activities should replace the lecture-based teaching of language skills, especially with 5th graders.

A systematic review of empirical studies on computer-assisted language learning

The aim of this study was to examine the current trends and main findings of the empirical computer-assisted foreign language learning studies. The database, Web of Science, was reviewed and a total of 36 studies between 2000 and 2020 were analysed. The systematic analysis was performed with the content analysis method. The content of the reviewed articles was analysed in the following categories: The technological trends, the technological context used, variables, duration of the studies, data collection tools, data analysis strategies, skills/factors analysed, underlying theories, and countries of the studies, target languages, participants, and years of the studies. Along with other insights this review found, the most common technological trend was educational software, while the technological contexts used varied greatly. Key variables from mostly small studies (less than 100 participants generally tertiary students), focused on technological contexts, language learning skills (typically vocabulary and speaking) and participants’ attitudes. Underlying theories of these studies varied greatly, Technology Acceptance Model and Cognitive Load Theory being common. This review study can serve as a guide for practitioners who plan designing computer-assisted language learning and teaching activities.

TAṢMĪM TA’LĪM AL-LUGAH AL-‘ARABIYYAH AL-MUTTAJIH ILA MAHĀRĀT AL-TAFKĪR AL-ULYA FI ḌAUI AL-MADKHAL AL-LUGAWI AL-KULLI FI MADRASAH AL-MUTAWASSIṬAH AL-ISLAMIYYAH AL-HUKUMIYAH 2 MAGETAN JAWA AL-SYARQIYYAH

This research based on the phenomenon of the implementation of higher order thinking skills in Arabic language learning which is characterized by memorizing linguistic knowledge and recognizing language symbols, in fact it can grow if students are facilitated to understanding and reasoning the knowledge as a basis for applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Therefore developing the Arabic language teaching design based on high order thinking skill with a learning model that can accommodate the learning of language skills is indispensable. This research use the research and development method, and the datas collection method is observation, questionnare, test and documentation. The results of the study are innovation of developing Arabic teaching design based on high order thinking skill with whole language model which includes several stages material analysis, basic competency analysis, indicators analysis, formulating learning objectives, developing model, strategies and learning activities, developing learning materials, tools, assessments, linking the principles of HOTS. The study result indicate that the Arabic teaching design meets the effective criteria seen from the N-Gain score 0,72 with a good criteria, as for the average of all validation instruments 92,54% with a very good category, and the average of observation of 74,2% were practical.

Undergraduate students’ exploration of Instagram and TikTok in learning language skills contents: A leverage to digital literacy

The literacy needed to live efficiently and functionally in a knowledge-driven society goes beyond the ability to read, write and calculate to a more encompassing literacy such as digital literacy. Two social media platforms, Instagram and TikTok, lend themselves to digital literacies and practices needed to learn language skills and content with ease and fun. The study investigated undergraduate students’ knowledge of and competence in using Instagram and TikTok as learning spaces for learning language skills and content. The study also examined the influence of age and gender on undergraduate students’ competence to use Instagram and TikTok to learn language skills and content. Two major language departments in a university in Nigeria were involved in the study. Three hundred and fifty-two students constituted the sample for the study; 110 from Linguistics/Languages Department and 242 from English and Literary studies. Data were collected using a close-ended-self-constructed questionnaire and a checklist. The data were analysed using inferential statistics. The study revealed that undergraduate students possess adequate knowledge of Instagram and TikTok as learning spaces and are competent to harness the features of Instagram and TikTok to learn language skills and language content. The study also shows that age and gender influence undergraduate students’ competence in using Instagram and TikTok. The study recommended that undergraduate students should harness the potential of Instagram and TikTok on activities that will enhance their linguistic repertoire.

Pengaruh Metode Ceramah Terhadap Keterampilan Menyimak pada Pembelajaran Bahasa Indonesia Siswa Kelas X Merdeka A SMA Negeri 14 Jeneponto

This study aims to determine the effect of the Lecture Method on Listening Skills in Indonesian Language Learning for Class X Merdeka A Students of SMA Negeri 14 Jeneponto. The research was conducted at SMAN 14 Jeneponto in the even semester of 2022/2023 academic year. This research is a type of experimental research and data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. The population of this study were students of class X consisting of 3 classes. The sample of this research was class X Merdeka A, totaling 32 students who were divided into two groups, 16 students as the experimental group and 16 students as the control group. The sample was selected by simple random sampling technique. This type of research is quasi-experimental with a pretest posttest control group design. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. In this study, the experimental group and control group tested the hypothesis of learning outcomes using paired sample test analysis because the data were normally distributed and homogeneous. The hypothesis was tested with the SPSS version 25.0 for windows program using paired sample test analysis with testing: accept H0 if the significance obtained is greater than >0.05 and H0 is rejected if the significance obtained is less than <0.05. The results of this study can be known based on hypothesis testing, where the two groups show that the sig. is 0.000 <0.05 means that H0 is rejected and H1 is accepted, which means that there is an influence of the lecture method on listening skills. Therefore, the conclusion of this study is that there is an effect of using the lecture method on students' listening skills.

Improving Poetry Writing Skills Through Concept Sentence Learning Models in Students

The purpose of this study was to improve poetry writing skills in Indonesian language learning for SD Negeri 03 Jatisari students through the concept sentence learning model. This research involved fifth grade students with a total of 14 students. The research took place in two cycles. Acquisition of value from pre-cycle to cycle I increased by 7.6%. Even though the average score obtained in cycle I did not meet the KKM because it received a score of 74.3, this was already good because it had increased from 66.7 to 74.3. From cycle I to cycle II there was an increase in value of 5.8% with a total value in cycle II of 80.1 and the percentage of completeness was 83.7%, which means it was successful. In cycle II, the average student has met and exceeded the set KKM. The conclusion of this study is that the poetry writing skills of SD Negeri 03 Jatisari students can be improved through the application of the concept sentence learning model. The findings in this study are First, students are not familiar with group work activities because so far students have not worked much in groups. Second, students are not familiar with the Concept Sentence learning model. Third, students are still not very enthusiastic about working with groups because maybe they are not in the same group as the friends they want. Fourth, in terms of reading poetry in front of the class, group representatives still looked shy and also when the teacher asked student representatives to conclude today's lesson, none of the students wanted to and in the end the teacher had to appoint.

On the Educational Theory and Application of Mobile-assisted Language Learning and Independent Learning in College English Teaching

Globally, educational psychology and theory have advanced the knowledge of various ways college students learn and retain information. Low academic performance in college education is directly attributed to learning disabilities. Using the underlying mechanism of mobile-assisted language learning, the present study explored how self-monitoring impacted self-management, as well as beliefs about language learning skills. The present study hypothesized that college students' beliefs about the problems associated with mobile phones to learn a language serve as a moderator in the relationship between self-management and beliefs about how their language skills are improving. Furthermore, this study investigated the role of self-management as a mediator in the relationship between self-monitoring and beliefs about mobile-assisted language skills. The data was gathered from 329 college students in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The PLS-based SEM results highlighted a direct relationship between self-monitoring and self-management, during mobile-assisted language learning in college English teaching. The findings also confirmed the underlying role of college students' beliefs on the issues associated with using mobile phones to learn a second language. Importantly, the findings highlighted the implications of the widely expanding mobile-assisted language learning in the education industry.

Technology-Enhanced Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis Study On English Language Teaching Tools

This meta-analysis study explores the effectiveness of technology-enhanced language learning in the context of English language teaching. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature, various research studies were examined to gain insights into the impact and potential of technology in language learning. The findings highlight that the use of new technologies positively contributes to learners' language learning skills and enhances their overall proficiency. Mobile learning and ICT tools have been identified as effective resources that facilitate English language learning by providing accessible and efficient learning environments. Additionally, the research indicates that technology-supported language learning is as effective as learning with human teachers, indicating the potential of technology to offer personalized and tailored learning experiences. However, it is crucial to provide teachers with proper training and support to confidently integrate technology into their teaching practices. Educational institutions should offer comprehensive training programs and allocate sufficient time for teachers to enhance their technological skills and confidently utilize educational technologies. These findings underscore the importance of technology in enhancing language learning outcomes and emphasize the need for ongoing support and professional development for teachers in integrating technology into language teaching.

A Study of The Relationship between Metacognitive Reading Strategies among Undergraduates

Reading is a fundamental skill in language learning for learners to produce: write and speak the target language. In order to perform successfully in academic and professional settings, learners are required to learn new knowledge by reading and comprehending the written texts extensively and effectively. Nevertheless, poor reading literacy rate, performance and struggling readers are evidently some reading problems among second language learners and to better comprehend learners’ difficulties this study explored learners’ perceptions on their usage of metacognitive reading strategies. 109 undergraduates of a Malaysian university responded to the survey for this quantitative study. The study found that global reading strategies, problem solving strategies and support reading strategies were employed in reading tasks and the relationships between strategies were strong indicating that planning before reading, monitoring reading progress, solving issues and relying on support or help during reading are strategies used in reading tasks. Thus, this suggests that background knowledge or pre-reading activities and guidance are critical for learners to be able to complete reading activities well.

예비 영어 교사들의 인공지능 기반 기계 번역기와사용에 관한 인식연구

Purpose: This present study was to investigate how pre-service English as a foreign language (EFL)teachers perceive AI-based machine translation systems (KEMSs) as a learning/teaching tool. Methods: The 54 EFL learners taking English syntax courses in the department of English Educationparticipated in an online survey which included 20 items quantitatively measured on a Likert scaleand four open questions. The research questions addressed three areas: (1) students’experiences withmachine translation (MT); (2) teachers’perceptions of using MT to teach English; and (3) their plansfor using MT as future English teachers. Results: The main findings are as follows: First, the students in this study actively utilized the MTs,especially in English writing and reading comprehension classes. The study also related that the useof MTs helped them to improve their English language skills. Second, the students mostly consideredthe results of the MTs as reliable, but the teachers revealed that the use of MTs would have a negativeimpact on future students' English learning. Finally, the teacher-participants had plans to actively useMTs in their future classes and were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of using MTs inclassroom settings. Conclusion: This study showed that future English teachers have positive perceptions of using machinetranslations to improve English writing and reading skills in foreign language learning; however, theyalso think their future students will lose the chance to use the language for successful learning. Considering these findings, the present work examined pedagogical implications for pre-service teachersand suggests how to apply information and communication technology (ICT)-based teaching aids inEnglish education.

The Impact of Pandemic on Students’ Social Skills: Teachers’ Reflection towards English Speaking Class

The research aimed to explore negative impact of the pandemic on students` social skills on speaking skill development. The shortcomings of a past pandemic era had impacted the offline English Foreign Learner (EFL) classroom in the new era. Dozen of difficulties and challenges that were faced by the students affected English speaking skills as one of the productive skills in language learning. As the core of English-speaking substances, online learning influenced the students’ social skills development, raising speaking anxiety due to the issue. The research was conducted applying a qualitative narrative method. Data were collected by interviewing three secondary teachers using semi-structured interviews, and the results were analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The finding indicates that the pandemic has increased the students’ anxiety which has become a common factor that has been decreasing the students’ social skills; it is caused by the ineffective teaching procedure, learning media used, and activities that have been implied during the past pandemic era. Furthermore, despite that negative effect, this finding can be further developed to improve teaching methods in other emerging education conditions. In addition, an observation method is suggested to get the actual condition.