Language Learning Skills Research Articles

The effect of extensive reading on EFL learners writing performance

Extensive Reading (ER) is considered as a good learning technique to enhance every skill in language learning. It is considered to assist the improvement of other skills of language learners especially English as a Foreign Language (EFL) leaners. This study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of ER on EFL learners’ writing performance and to identify the EFL learners’ attitude towards the effects of ER on writing performance. The study recruited a group of 59 non-English majors at a Bhinneka PGRI University. The participants were divided into two groups, i.e., experimental group and control group. The participants in the experimental group were assigned extensive reading materials as their homework to support their learning of writing meanwhile the participants in the control group were guided to write without the support of extensive reading materials. To check the differences of the participants’ writing ability before and after the intervention, pre-test and post-test were employed. A questionnaire was also delivered to the experimental group after the treatment. The results from the tests revealed that ER supported EFL learners in their writing performance. The experimental group had more significant enhancement. The results obtained from the questionnaire also indicated that the EFL learners had positive attitudes towards the use of extensive reading materials provided in their writing learning process.

Difficulties in Speaking English among the EFL students in Iraqi Kurdistan Region

Speaking is a measure of linguistic ability and a fluent speaker is considered as a skilled language learner. In Kurdistan Region of Iraq -KRI, English is taught as a foreign language from elementary to university. However, Kurdish students, even university students, have challenges with speaking English and show their attitudes to speaking as one of the complex skills in language learning. This paper revealed that most learners have personal, linguistic, social, and environmental speaking challegnes. Lack of confidence, insufficient vocabulary, reluctance, nervousness while speaking, fear of making errors, lack of an appropriate setting to practice English, and lack of instructor enthusiasm were major problems of Kurdish students. This study looked at students' speech problems and their reasons. The researchers collected data from 12 second-year students in the National Institute of Technology, in sulaimaniyah city, as an example by adopting a semi-structured interview. The data were collected and analyzed in two significant categories: difficulties and reasons, with three subgroups. The research focused on psychological, social, environmental, interpersonal, and linguistic issues as challaenges of speaking difficulty, instructor and instruction, core curriculum, misuse of mother tongue, insufficient education, and classroom culture as causes of speaking inadequacy. The researchers recommend the development of a positive atmosphere, promoting knowledge acquisition, modifying teaching approaches, and rewriting courses.

Listening as productive skills: Reinventing classroom tasks

The article revisits the role played by listening skills in second language learning by challenging the perception of listening as a receptive skill. It argues that listening can be made productive by incorporating drama in classroom tasks to bring out more productive features of learning. To instantiate the implementation of drama, a listening activity is proposed with a framework. The article opens a new dialogue in scholarly characterisation of language skills through re-visualising what learners can perform during listening tasks as well as how this performance can stretch our conventional thinking about the nature of language practice.

A Study on the Use of Technological Assistance in Learning Language Skills

A Study on the Use of Technological Assistance in Learning Language Skills

Adult beliefs about cognitive development vary across experience and expertise: A focus group study.

The purpose of this study was to explore North American adult beliefs and perspectives on how young children develop early cognitive, language, and word learning skills, and how these beliefs vary depending on experience and expertise. While there is a body of literature that uses questionnaires to assess beliefs about how children develop, traditional rating scales (e.g., Likert scales) may miss the nuances of how people think about child development. Thus, we ran six in-person focus groups, differing in parenthood status and expertise, to learn how various adults talk and reason about cognitive development. Questions throughout the focus group sessions were aimed at determining the quality and origins of participants’ beliefs. Four main patterns emerged: developmental psychologists who were also parents were the most certain in their statements, parents used more anecdotes than non-parents, non-parents were more likely to talk about development as controllable compared to parents, and participants in all groups frequently referred to environment-based influences on development. Together, the results suggest that many adults are uncertain about how children develop and that there are differences in how parents and non-parents reason about development. These findings have implications for how we interpret past survey results and motivate future studies about how experience with children changes adult beliefs and reasoning about child development.

Language Learning Engagement Among Malaysian Undergraduates During MCO 1.0

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the education practice in Malaysia. Online mode has become the new teaching and learning norm in Malaysia. This study applied the L2 language learning engagement to investigate the language engagement and motivation among the undergraduates in online language learning during the pandemic. The study was conducted in one of the local universities, the University of Malaysia Sabah as the research site. A survey by using questionnaire and interview session were administered to collect data for the study. The research sample of the study comprised of 42 respondents and five interviewees and they were the second-year undergraduates. The research findings of the study showed i) the synchronised online classroom learning is the main platform for the undergraduates to practise their listening skill; ii) all the undergraduates practised their speaking skill in language learning through online mode; iii) the reading material for the undergraduate students to practise their reading skill is related to the language lessons and preparation of course work and iv) the undergraduates write in the language they learnt when preparing for their course work and texting their language lecturers. The study also highlighted the telcos played the most importance role in making the online teaching and learning successful.

A CLIL Curriculum Design for Future Professionals of Hospitality and Tourism Management

This paper outlines a description of research carried out at a public university in Colombia where students of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program took four general English levels in 2017 as a requirement to graduate. According to the data collected, these levels were not enough to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to interact in English. This need, determined through questionnaires, and a CNA report were the starting point of this research study, whose main objective was to enrich students’ language learning skills and knowledge through a CLIL curriculum. This participatory action research is framed within a qualitative study. After designing, implementing, and piloting one unit, including four lessons, we determined that not only students’ language learning skills can be improved but also their confidence, participation, solidarity, and awareness of their and others’ learning process through the activities designed and strategies proposed by this approach.

Analysis Effect of Role-Playing Method Assisted by Audio Visual Media on Speaking Skills in Indonesian Language Learning for Elementary School Students

This study aims to analyze the effect of the role-playing method assisted by audio-visual media on speaking skills in Indonesian language learning at SDN Cibuntu 01. The method used in this research is quantitative as a kind of quasi-experimental research design with One Group Pretest-Posttest Design which only involves one group for initial treatment, treatment, and end of treatment. The research instrument was a speaking skill test consisting of 5 rules with 25 descriptors to measure students' speaking ability which experts had approved. The data analysis technique used in this study was the normality test using the Liliefors test and the homogeneity test using the Fisher test. Then, the hypothesis was tested using the t-test. Data processing was done with the help of SPSS 25 software with a significant level of 5% or =0.05. Based on the results of this study, it was obtained that the tcount > ttable was 2.802 > 1.701. As these results show, H₀ is rejected and H₁ is recognized. Therefore, the role-playing method assisted by audio-visual media affects speaking skills in Indonesian language learning for grade 3 students at SDN Cibuntu 01. The implication for learning Indonesian is that selecting the proper method can affect students' speaking skills. There are differences in speaking skills between Indonesian language learning and those taught before and after using the role-playing method with the aid of audio-visual media. It is seen from the confidence in playing the character; the voice volume becomes louder, the body movements are more flexible, understanding the story content well, pronunciation and proper intonation.

An English Writing Grammar Error Correction Technology Based on Similarity Algorithm

Students are the focus of English writing instruction, which emphasizes their initiative and creativity in the classroom, fosters the development of their self-directed learning and comprehensive language skills, raises their overall English level and mastery ability, and cultivates well-rounded English learners. It is to get yourself out of the dilemma of Chinese English. This study proposes an automatic error correction method for English writing grammar based on a similarity algorithm, which is applied to students during the English writing process. To address the issue of grammatical errors, this study proposes an ontology and grammar rules based on the English writing corpus. Our experimental results demonstrate that our highlighting algorithm can effectively correct grammatical errors in written English, demonstrating the algorithm’s efficacy.

INVESTIGATING THE FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS IN SPEAKING PERFORMANCE (A CASE STUDY IN ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF WIRALODRA UNIVERSITY)

Speaking is considered the most challenging skill in language learning, especially in an academic speaking context. It is uncommon for the students to find the problems and need more effort to have a good speaking performance. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the factors affecting students’ problems in speaking performance. This research investigates performance conditions and affective factors mentioned by Tuan & Mai (2015). This research was attended by 20 students of the 4th semester in the English Education Department of Wiralodra University. The instrument of this research used a questionnaire and interview. Twenty students participated in the questionnaire, and six out of twenty students participated in the interview. The data was analyzed by using dichotomous questions analysis. The results revealed that performance conditions and affective factors affect the students’ problems in speaking performance. The results indicate that planning was the major frequency in performance conditions, followed by support, the standard of performance, and time pressure. At the same time, self-confidence and anxiety became the major categories of affective factors and were followed by the motivation category. The writer suggests further research to investigate another factor affecting students’ problems in speaking performance with different focuses in terms of participants' scale, students’ level, and kind of speaking performance.

Refocusing on Listening Skills and Note-Taking: Imperative Skills for University Students’ Learning in an L2 Environment

Listening as the foremost language skill remains an indispensable language skill in human communication, language teaching, and learning. Its indispensability lies in its being the pillar upon which other language skills are built (Obiweluozo & Melefa, 2013). Note-taking as a post-listening activity is a very crucial step for remembering what has been captured through listening since information retention lasts shortly. Irrespective of the glaring importance of listening skills and note-taking strategies to language learning, university students from very common observations have continued to neglect these skills, hence the poor performance in other language skills and other learning activities. For this reason, this paper is set to investigate the importance of listening skills for effective language teaching and learning of university students, examine to what extent listening skills have been neglected/overlooked by university students, and explore the positive effects of note-taking strategies on listening skills as well as language learning. The data for this study will be elicited from first-year undergraduates of University of Nigeria, Nsukka using a well-structured questionnaire with 31questionnaire items based on the aspects of listening skills and note-taking strategies. The paper shall be descriptively analysed and findings exposed with proper recommendations.

The Effect of Dictogloss Using Integrative Receptive Language Skills : Focusing on Metacognitive Strategies and Academic Achievement

통합적인 언어 학습을 효과적으로 하기 위해 메타인지 전략을 사용하는 것은 영어교육에서 많은 주목을 받아왔다. 이러한 딕토글로스의 특징에 따라, 본고에서 언어 학습자가 통합적인 수용언어인 듣기와 읽기를 기반으로 한 딕토글로스 활동을 수행할 때 메타인지 전략을 어떻게 활용하며 학업성취에 미치는 영향은 어떠한지 살펴보고자 하였다. 이를 위해서, 듣기에 대한 메타인지전략(MALQ)과 읽기에 대한 메타인지전략(SORS) 사용에 대한 패턴을 분석하기 위해 두 종류의 설문조사지를 활용하였다. 또한, 통합적인 언어기능에 기반한 딕토글로스의 학업성취도에 대한 효과를 분석하기 위해 31명의대학생들을 대상으로 사전시험과 사후시험을 시행하였다. 특히, 31명 학생 중 영어능력을 기준으로 상위, 하위의 두 개 그룹에 속하는 18명(각 그룹당 9명의 학생들)의 메타인지전략과 학업성취도 결과를 비교하여 그룹별로 서로 다른 양상이 나타나는지 검토하였다. 연구 결과 하위그룹에서 학업성취도에 유의한 차이는 나타나지 않았으나 듣기헤 대한 메타인지전략 중 계획-평가 전략에서 유의한 차이가 나타난 것을 확인하였다. 이러한 결과에 기반하여 교육적 함의가 제시되었다.Using metacognitive strategies in integrative language skills for effective language learning has been widely noticed. One of the effective integrative language tasks is dictogloss, which learners can apply various metacognitive strategies to perform the task. Accordingly, the study investigates how language learners facilitate metacognitive strategies and affect academic achievement in dictogloss with integrative receptive skills (i.e., reading and listening). For this purpose, two main frameworks called the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) and Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) are employed to analyze the using pattern of sub-categories of metacognitive strategies. In addition, to evaluate the effect of dictogloss with integrative skills in academic achievement pre-test and post-test are administered with thirty-one university students. Specifically, two groups (nine students for each group) from thirty-one students based on their English proficiency are selected to examine the different patterns of using metacognitive strategies and the results of academic performance. The findings demonstrate that a significant difference is in the low group when using planning-evaluation in listening, while no significant difference reveals in academic achievement. Based on these results, pedagogical implications have been suggested.

Model Development of Children’s Language Skills Based on Digital Literacy

This research generally aims to develop a model of children’s language skills based on digital literacy in Pondok Benowo Indah RT 03 RW 08 Babat Jerawat, Pakal Surabaya. First, to determine the process or stages of learning language skills using narrative stories or fairy tales from a YouTube application that is watched by them and is accompanied by their parents. The two processes or stages of developing language skills are by retelling stories or fairy tales that they see with their parents and writing moral messages in the stories or fairy tales. The method used in this study is quantitative-qualitative (mix method). The data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The data will be analyzed through the following steps: 1) classifying the data, 2) displaying the data, 3) interpreting the data, and 4) drawing a conclusion. The study intends to create and develop a role of language skills for the children who mostly like their devices compared to playing together with their peers outside the home. For parents, this model of language skills can later be applied at home when they are together and interact with their children. For children, this is a diversion from the gadgets they often hold when they are at home.

Incorporating instructional design to pre-service online teaching English as a Foreign Language in Moodle.

Implementing virtual field experiences for online language learning has long been recommended as part of an early English language teachers’ preparation, by authors like Compton and more recently Ottenbreit-Leftwich et al. This article reports a case study whose general objective was to obtain theoretical and practical experience elements, for the design and implementation of a didactic sequence for online teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL), B1 level in a course hosted in Moodle. A preliminary research cycle, where a group of experts in online learning was interviewed (n=11), helped a pre-service teacher to do further documentary research to learn about the concept of instructional design. The result was designing and implementing a didactic sequence for a university English language course following David Merrill’s Model of instructional design. This way the pre-service language teacher identified and practiced the necessary knowledge and basic skills for online language learning and teaching via Moodle, as well as the interactions and roles that were promoted. Finally, awareness was also raised about the need of incorporating content and activities that better account for the needs posed by different ability levels in the classroom.

Flipping writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills in an English as a foreign language collaborative writing context: a mixed‐methods study

AbstractBackgroundThe transition from teacher‐centred towards student‐centred approaches in English language teaching, accompanied by developments in educational technology, has attracted researchers' attention to reverse teaching or flipped class. The related literature asserts that this mode of instruction might influence instructors' and students' participation in the class.ObjectivesTo shed more light on the role of flipped class in affecting language learning strategies and skills, this study applied a sequential explanatory mixed‐methods approach to explore the impact of flipped class on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills.MethodsForty‐six intermediate EFL learners with an age range of 21–27, studying at a private language institute, were randomly divided into two groups of 23 learners. The two groups were randomly assigned to a flipped class, which received writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills through video clips before the class time, and a non‐flipped class, which received writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills in a conventional way during the class time.Results and ConclusionsThe results revealed that both flipped and non‐flipped classes improved the EFL learners' writing metacognitive strategies, writing performance, writing content, and writing organisation. Furthermore, one‐way ANCOVA analyses indicated that the flipped class outperformed the non‐flipped class in writing metacognitive strategies, writing performance, writing content, and writing organisation. Thematic analyses, which were used to help analyse individual semi‐structured interviews, uncovered a number of categories and themes, signifying the flipped learners' positive perceptions towards the flipped class, such as enhancing motivation, self‐confidence, and writing collaboration.ImplicationsPedagogical implications were discussed for flipping writing metacognitive strategies and writing skills.

The effects of task-based instruction on reading comprehension of non-English major students at a university in the Mekong Delta

Reading is a core of English language learning skills. However, many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners face challenges in learning this skill due to a lack of exposure to authentic texts. Concerning this issue, it is believed that task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an ideal teaching method for successful reading learning. Therefore, the goal of this study is to determine how task-based instruction (TBI) influences students’ reading comprehension and their attitudes regarding this teaching approach. The research was carried out at a university in the Mekong Delta, where English is a compulsory subject of all majors. The two groups – the control group and the experimental group were made up of 58 non-English major students. Data about students' reading performance and their attitudes towards the intervention were collected using two instruments: tests and questionnaires. The findings revealed that TBLT had a considerable impact on improving experimental students' reading comprehension. Moreover, students showed their positive views on the use of TBLT in their reading classrooms. Therefore, it is suggested that TBLT should be used as the main teaching approach to English language learning.

Developing English Majors’ Comprehension of Literary Texts and Online Self-Regulated Language Learning Skills via Literature Circles 2.0

To cope with the virtual learning mode that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed and driven by the desire to enhance students’ ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate their online learning, the current study sought to digitalize the Literature Circles model and investigate its effect on developing English majors’ comprehension skills of literary texts and online self-regulated language learning skills in an EFL context. Literature Circles 2.0 was adopted to teach the Literary Reading course that includes five short stories and a one-act play. To achieve the purpose of the study, two tools were implemented: Test of Literary Reading Comprehension Skills and Online Self-Regulated Language Learning Skills Questionnaire (Barnard et al., 2009). Sixty English majors, divided into two equivalent groups, participated in the study. The control group studied the course using the traditional teaching method, teacher-centered, which relies on lecturing, whereas the experimental group studied the same course using the Literature Circles 2.0, whereby students worked autonomously in an online virtual environment. The study results revealed the significant effect of Literature Circles 2.0 on developing the students’ comprehension of literary texts as they were demonstrated to be involved personally and emotionally in the active learning process of the course. Meanwhile, the students of the experimental group displayed a significant mastery of the online self-regulated language learning skills. Based on the students’ significant improvement in processing, comprehending, and extracting the meaning of literary texts, the study concluded that the Literature Circles 2.0 proved to be an effective approach to promoting students’ comprehension of literary texts. Therefore, the study conclusively recommends the use of Literature Circles 2.0 in teaching such texts.

The Cultivation of Cross-Cultural Communicative Competence in English Teaching under the Background of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data

Artificial intelligence refers to the intelligence expressed by machines made by humans and is a manifestation of human intelligence. On the whole, artificial intelligence includes two aspects: “artificial” and “intelligence.” Artificial is created by man, and information work covers a number of areas, for instance thinking and consciousness. The process from feeling memory to thinking is called “wisdom.” The result of wisdom is behavior and language. The expression process of behavior and language is called “ability,” and the two are collectively called “intelligence.” However, there is no unified explanation for intelligence at present, but there is no doubt about the widespread. Big data processing includes multiple data processing processes, but data quality is the most important link in the entire process, and each data processing link will have an impact on the quality of big data. The big data processing process mainly includes data collection, data preprocessing, data storage, data processing and analysis, data display/data visualization, data application, and other links. The aim of this paper is to explore the studies on the development of intercultural intercommunication skills in English language learning and teaching in the context of artificial intelligence and big data. It is hoped that this will be done in the light of AI and big data technologies. We can explore the current situation of cross-cultural communication, provide new learning directions for cross-cultural communication, and promote cultural exchange and dissemination. This paper investigates students’ attitudes towards cross-cultural communication by means of a questionnaire and then briefly tests students’ cross-cultural communication ability. The experimental results of this paper show that 4 students have mastered cross-cultural knowledge, accounting for 3%; 8 students have mastered cross-cultural knowledge very well, accounting for 4%, and 9 students have mastered cross-cultural knowledge, accounting for 7%. There are 12 people who are very knowledgeable about cross-cultural knowledge, accounting for 9%. These data show that the current students have very little knowledge of intercultural communication, and their intercultural communication skills need to be improved.

USING DUOLINGO APPS TO IMPROVE ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITAS BORNEO TARAKAN

Learning English is matter of learning language components and language skills. Reading is the most difficult learning that plays important role in mastering English Language. Learning reading is quite challenging. It needs various techniques and applications. The transformation of English language learning is mostly affected by technological advances. The development of English Language Teaching (ELT) resources, Duolingo participates to transform method of English language learning on smartphone. The aim of this study is to find out the impact of Duolingo in ELT as extensive learning. Pre-experimental design with pre-test and post-test was used in this research. The researcher involved 15 students as sample with 2 months practicing duolingo apps with 20 xp on each day intensity of practice. The researcher used reading tests as pre-test and post-test and questionnaire to see students’ perception. According to the results, there was massive improvement on students score. Students also felt that Duolingo is useful apps to use everyday to learn English.

The Importance of Digital Literacy to Enhance Students' ability in English Language

The pandemic in Indonesia views that Indonesian people are still experiencing “technology stuttering”, especially in the education field, where technology is very rare due to the availability of technology devices. The phenomenon of pandemic situations makes it hard for teachers and students to carry online learning because they do not have adequate skills to implement online learning. It affects the quality teaching process and students outcomes in school, especially in English Language subjects. This research aims to observe the ability of senior high school student’s digital literacy skills in Singaraja, Bali. This research informed by descriptive qualitative employed semi-structured interviews to investigate 21 students. These interviews included the use of digital literacy skills in English Language Learning, and the results of interviews will be discussed in the paper. Digital literacy skills are the student’s ability to search information on the Internet. Moreover, with digital literacy skills, students can select the information carefully. This research shows the student’s ability in low level, and students cannot find information to support their learning process. Also, this research explains the importance of digital literacy skills, especially for ESL students and how to utilize digital literacy for the English language in the post-pandemic situation in Indonesia