Undergraduate EFL Learners Research Articles

Apology Strategies in English: A Pragmatic Analysis of Moroccan Undergraduate EFL Learners and British Native Speakers

Apology Strategies in English: A Pragmatic Analysis of Moroccan Undergraduate EFL Learners and British Native Speakers

The Relationship between Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Perceived Teacher Support and Learning Engagement

The Relationship between Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Perceived Teacher Support and Learning Engagement

Chinese Undergraduate EFL Learners' Perceptions of and Anxiety in a Flipped English Classroom

The study explored 104 Chinese undergraduate students' perceptions of and anxiety in a flipped English classroom (FC). The results indicated that most participants showed favorable attitudes towards the FC, but higher levels of anxiety in the FC. The negative correlations between Flexibility and speech anxiety and Instructor and low self-confidence were statistically significant. In students' responses, better prior-to-class preparation and teacher support were two advantages of the FC, while fear of speaking and lack of confidence were their concerns, which were correlated with anxiety, including speech anxiety and low self-confidence.

Digital Literacy in Saudi Tertiary EFL Context: Perspectives of Students and Potentials for Listening Skills

Technology is regarded as a vital aspect in modern society, revolutionising various fields. Consequently, evolutionary knowledge and skills raise in this paradigm, referred to as digital literacy. The necessity to reveal the influence in EFL, English as a foreign language, context is fundamental. The exploration seeks to examine digital literacy perspectives of 117 Saudi undergraduate EFL learners enrolled in English Language and Translation bachelor’s programme at a Saudi university. It also scrutinises the prospects for improving English listening skills. To achieve the exploration objectives, mixed-method approach is integrated via adopted questionnaires from scholarly work (Mudra, 2020; Najmi & Navaee Lavasani, 2021; Ng; 2012a; Ng; 2012b; Yukselir & Yuvayapan, 2019) with minor adjustments. Findings demonstrate EFL learners’ confidence to their digital literacy skills. They reveal high confidence to solving technical difficulties; conversely, the least positive positioning denotes towards literacy to web relevant activities. Findings advocate for the benefits of listening skills, especially for pronunciation and vocabulary improvement, authentic materials for learning, language learning motivation, and access to entertaining educational materials. The exploration serves endeavour to subsequent academic and pedagogical implementations.

Beyond Syntax: Exploring Moroccan Undergraduate with AI-Assisted Writing

Amidst the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into education, this research aims to uncover patterns and themes within student-written assignments, shedding light on the diverse impacts of AI tools on the writing process. This study explores the intricate dynamics of undergraduate EFL learners’ interaction with AI-supported writing tools, focusing specifically on writing. The investigation, guided by questions about student use of AI-supported writing tools and the influence of different tools on writing quality, addresses notable gaps in the existing literature. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with purposive sampling of 62 Business Law undergraduates enrolled in a general English course at the International University of Rabat, Morocco, dividing them into two groups: one received structured AI training, while the other acted as a control group. Results revealed positive outcomes in language proficiency, creativity, organizational skills, and vocabulary use with AI assistance, emphasizing the transformative impact of AI on writing. The study also observed shifting preferences in AI writing tools, urging educators and developers to adapt to evolving user choices and promote continuous innovation in AI writing tools.

A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling Exploration of EFL Learners’ Perceptions of What Contributes to the Readability of Model Paragraphs

This study investigated what features undergraduate EFL learners perceive as affecting the difficulty of model paragraphs. Four hundred and seventy-five Vietnamese undergraduates participated in a partial least squares structural equation model design. They ranked five paragraphs from easiest to most difficult and responded to a 10-point Likert questionnaire regarding 11 features (titles, paragraph length, vocabulary, vocabulary in context, rhetorical organization, paragraph structure, sentence length, punctuation, signal words, interest, background knowledge). The results showed that eight variables (titles, vocabulary, vocabulary in context, sentence length, rhetorical organization, paragraph structure, interest, background knowledge) had a significant direct effect and four variables (vocabulary, sentence length, rhetorical organization, background knowledge) had mediating effects. The model accounted for 0.508 R2 of students’ perceptions, with a moderate to high predictive relevance ( Q2 = 0.35). The paper also discusses the results’ implications for those in writing studies and the publishing industry. Suggestions for future study are also presented.

Video Captioning and Subtitles in Second Language Listening Comprehension: Fast-Paced Versus Slow-Paced Speakers.

The present study examines the impact of implementing video captioning and subtitles on listening comprehension with special reference to the speaker's speed. A total of 64 undergraduate Saudi EFL learners were assigned into six groups: fast speaker with full captioning, fast speaker with subtitles, fast speaker with no captioning nor subtitles, slow speaker with full captioning, and slow speaker with subtitles, slow speaker with no captioning nor subtitles. Each group was instructed to watch a video in English under its assigned condition and then answered a listening test. Participants also answered a questionnaire to determine the impact of these conditions on their cognitive load. The results revealed that the group that viewed the video of slow speakers with a caption obtained the highest score on the listening comprehension test, followed by the group that viewed the video of fast speakers with a caption. The group that viewed no caption video of fast speakers obtained the lowest scores. The questionnaire analysis indicated that the students in the subtitle slow group reported using low mental effort, whereas the students in the caption fast group reported using very high mental effort followed by the students in the caption slow group who also reported using high mental effort.

The Usefulness of the Telegram App in Learning English as a Foreign Language: Teachers and Students Voices

The study attempted to investigate the effectiveness of the Telegram application (app) in learning English as a foreign language for undergraduate EFL learners. The study looked at how Telegram app constraints EFL learners experience when utilizing Telegram in learning a foreign language. This research, using a descriptive-diagnostic research approach, used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to collect the data from 40 students and 20 teachers at Najran University which were chosen through a stratified sampling technique. The results revealed that both teachers and students think that Telegram can highly improve learning English as a foreign language. The results also showed the participant (student, teacher) played a role in varying the study sample's responses in favor of teachers. The findings of the interview show that many students struggle to learn the English language through Telegram due to constraints like device compatibility, health issues, lack of motivation, loneliness, distraction, and difficulty in uploading and downloading files, often unable to receive feedback or academic assistance due to technical staff and training issues. The results of this study have implications for teaching and learning English that can motivate both instructors and students to use social media-based tools.

The Spatial Influence on Vocabulary Acquisition in an Immersive Virtual Reality-Mediated Learning Environment

This study aims to investigate whether VR-assisted language learning facilitates EFL learners' vocabulary learning and memory retention. One hundred seventy-seven Chinese undergraduate EFL learners were divided into VRG (VR-assisted instruction group) and CIG (conventional instruction group). Participants in the VRG (n = 75) were provided with immersive VR devices, whereas the others (n = 102) learned in conventional classrooms with instructors. The results illustrate that the spatial design of virtual environments may be related to lexical memory performance. Target words that are placed in positions where they are interacted with more frequently tend to perform better in terms of being memorized. It also suggests that words corresponding to items placed between 60-180 cm of the ground are better retained. Subsequent interviews revealed that VR technology helps learners encode information based on spatial location. The VR technology's visual, aural, and textual stimulation also help learners subconsciously remember the vocabulary items.

Understanding English Language Anxiety among Undergraduate Saudi EFL Learners: The Case of Business College, PSAU

This study aims to investigate English language anxiety among Saudi EFL learners, understand their experience with the causes and sources of their anxiety, and examine if they witness differences in their anxiety based on the differences in their demographic profile. As the study seeks to understand how certain independent variables (gender, employment profile of learners’ parents, and their educational level) shape and affect the dependent variable (English language anxiety), the quantitative approach (descriptive quantitative design) was selected, and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was utilized to collect the data from the participants. A simple random sampling method was employed to select 205 respondents from the total population of students studying at different levels of the undergraduate program at the College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study found that the participants experienced moderate levels of anxiety and that there were several sources of anxiety among Saudi EFL learners. Test and communicative anxieties were found to be the major sources of English language anxiety followed by classroom and negative evaluation anxieties respectively. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed no difference of any significance for English language anxiety among Saudi English students due to variance in their demographic profile. The study findings hold implications as they would be of immense use in addressing the issue of anxiety, understanding the possible sources, and finding ways to overcome issues of anxiety and help students move away from anxiety towards acquiring effective and excellent English language skills and proficiency. 
 
 Received: 20 September 2023 / Accepted: 19 February 2024 / Published: 5 March 2024

An Investigation into Approaches to Learning Adopted by Undergraduate EFL Learners Kadija Fathi

The existence of differences and confusion in the approaches to learning English crucially pose challenges to investigate the approaches that may either enrich or hinder how English language learners go about learning. This study investigated the approaches to learning English adopted by EFL undergraduate students. In addition, it examined if there is a difference between the approaches to learning adopted by students in different departments at the Faculty of Education, Sirte University in Libya. Data were collected quantitatively from 70 students using the Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) as a diagnostic instrument for assessing students’ perceived approaches to learning. The results indicated that most students adopted surface approaches. These approaches to learning gained the highest mean score (M= 4.55) whereas deep approaches were the low ( M =1.77). The results also explained differences among students' approaches to learning English in different departments. The key findings provide inputs to the academic institutions on the learning process and act as a reference for decision-making and improvement in the learning approaches of students. suggestions for teachers, educational policymakers and future research have been provided in detail in this study.

Cross-gender Analysis of Iraqi EFL Learners Recurrent Grammatical Errors in English

The study attempts to investigate recurrent grammatical errors that hinder Iraqi undergraduate EFL learners` mastery of English grammar. If male-female learners of English are not competent in the structural and semantic bases of tense, they can hardly produce acceptable sentences in the L2/FL. For this purpose, an elicitation test is used to sort out the typical errors of Iraqi male-female undergraduate students (1st, 3rd and 4th stage) of the Department of English Language and Literature in Mustansiriyah University / Iraq, with respect to specific recurrent tense errors reflecting the structure of their transitional competence or what S. Pit Corder (1976, p.15) labels idiosyncratic dialect. The justification behind this study is those adopted following Corder (1976, p1), who mentions that two justifications are essentially relevant for the study of learners' errors, one of which is the pedagogical justification, which implies that eliminating any error requires a good understanding of the nature of that error. The research follows a comprehensive analysis methodology. It combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyze samples from Iraqi male-female EFL learners. The study found that there are several cross-gender differences concerning the recurrent errors, which might be attributed to several factors, i.e. linguistic and sociolinguistic. The study takes these factors as the building blocks for suggesting pedagogical solutions. The study was originally an attempt to help EFL learners eliminate such recurrent L1\L2 conflicting errors.

Factors Affecting Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension: A Case Study at YUFL

Listening is one of the most important skills in learning English language.This research was mixed methods. The objectives of this research were tofind out EFL learners' difficulties in comprehending listening and to givesome suggestions to be able to improve teaching listening skill and students'listening comprehension abilities. The samples used in this research were112 undergraduate EFL students from Yangon University of ForeignLanguages (YUFL), consisting of 97 females and 15 males aging from 20-23. The instruments used to collect the data were a questionnaire and aninformal interview. The findings of this research revealed that “Length andSpeed of Listening”, followed by “Unfamiliar Vocabularies” and “Accent”become the most significant factors that affect EFL learners' listeningcomprehension. Findings based on the replies of the students along with analysis of the data were of great significance and could be advantageous toimprove EFL learners' English listening comprehension skill.

A study on factors influencing Chinese undergraduate EFL learners' self-directed use of mobile English learning resources.

This study aimed to examine the factors that potentially impact the self-directed use of mobile English learning resources (MELR). The participants were 206 Chinese undergraduate EFL learners at Yangzhou University in Mainland China. Applying and modifying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study involved six constructs, including students' performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, perceived playfulness, and behavioral intention to use MELR. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was adopted to analyze the data collected from the questionnaire. The findings showed that facilitating conditions acted as the most significant predictor of behavioral intention to adopt MELR, followed by effort expectancy, perceived playfulness, and performance expectancy. However, social influence did not have significant effects on students' use of MELR. Pedagogical implications for teachers and students were also presented in the end.

Pragmatic Markers Used by Saudi Undergraduate EFL Learners in Oral Classroom Presentations at Albaha University

The current study investigated the use of pragmatic markers during oral classroom presentations by Saudi Arabian undergraduate EFL learners at Albaha University, Saudi Arabia. The use of pragmatic markers in academic contexts such as presentations is significant as failure to use these markers can cause poor comprehension by audience members and instructors who are tasked with grading such work. The method involved categorising and sub-categorising the pragmatic markers used as well as the linguistic meanings and pragmatic functions of these markers. The data were collected using audio recordings of students' oral presentations and were analysed based on Fraser’s (1996) classification and functions of pragmatic markers. A sample (n=20) of Saudi undergraduate EFL learners participated in this study (males: n=10; females: n=10). The results show that in their oral presentations, Saudi EFL undergraduate students tend to use deference and paraphrase markers most frequently, which may reflect Saudi religious and cultural conventions. However, the students’ use of interjections, pausing, and cohesion in their presentations was poor. There is a need to help Saudi Arabian undergraduate EFL learners improve their knowledge and use of pragmatic markers so they can make better oral presentations both at university and in their future careers.

The Impact of Vocabulary Size on the Receptive Skills of Saudi EFL Learners

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of vocabulary size on Saudi EFL learners’ reading and listening skills. Thirty-eight undergraduate Saudi EFL learners participated in the study. The study tools consisted of vocabulary size test (VST) developed by Nation and Beglar (2007). The test was developed to provide a reliable, accurate, and comprehensive measure of a learner’s vocabulary size from the 1st 1000 to the 14th 1000-word family of English word-level tests. A paid reading and listening comprehension tests were used. Both tests were obtained from ETS, TOEFL official application. The results revealed that the vocabulary size of the Saudi EFL learners in the tertiary stage was 2790 words. Furthermore, the study found a positive relationship between the scores of the vocabulary test levels and the score of the reading and listening test. This indicates that a higher level of performance in the vocabulary test may lead to a higher level of performance in the reading and listening test, and these relationships were statistically significant at the level of 0.01. Because of this, it was recommended that teachers and learners use different approaches and styles for teaching and learning vocabulary.

Assessing the Nexus of EFL Learners’ Academic Self-concept and Their Formal English Vocabulary Knowledge

Vocabulary is unquestionably the cornerstone of language learning. No matter the learners' first language, foreign language, age, or level of ability and skill. Yet, it is scarcely founded studies regarding formal English vocabulary knowledge. This investigation expected to explore the correlation between undergraduate EFL learners’ academic self-concept and their formal English vocabulary knowledge. The quantitative research method has been applied. The participants completed a written vocabulary test in English and filled in an academic self-concept questionnaire. The data were analyzed using simple correlation regression and qualitative analysis from data obtained from the interview. The results show that the undergraduate English as a Foreign Language learners’ academic self-concept has a positive correlation with the learners’ formal English vocabulary knowledge. Based on interview results confirm that illustrates the power of contextual language learning. Vocabulary learning was influenced by the amount of exposure, word self-regulation, general intellectual ability, motivation, and creativity factors that support the learners’ vocabulary knowledge achievement. The results suggested that teacher educators should pay more attention to the enhancement of the power of EFL learners’ academic self-concept to help the acceleration of teaching and learning English as a foreign language. For strengthening the academic self-concepts of EFL students as well as some essential considerations to be made before beginning the development of learners' English vocabulary knowledge are discussed. Last but not least, some pedagogical implications are proposed for EFL teacher educators.

Accuracy Order of the Acquisition of the English Article System: Evidence from the Written and Oral Production of Undergraduate Arab EFL Learners

The present study investigates the accuracy order and underlying processes of acquiring English articles by 45 undergraduate Arab EFL learners drawn from three proficiency groups. The theoretical approach adopted here is Bickerton's (1981) semantic model that focuses on the features ±Specific Referent(±SR) and ±Assumed Known to the Hearer (±HK). The study aims to identify what the three measures, SOC (Supplied in Obligatory Contexts), TLU (Target-Like Use), and UOC (Used in Obligatory Contexts), reveal about the accuracy order of the acquisition of English articles in the written and oral production tasks. It also seeks to determine the semantic contexts in which the articles are overgeneralized and the most challenging context to acquire. The results show that the SOC measure reveals an accuracy order of a >the >Ø and the >a >Ø, whereas the TLU measure reveals an accuracy order of the>a>Ø across the groups. In addition, the UOC measure reveals that Ø goes through a flooding-then-trickling process, then experiences a U-shaped behavior highlighted by an overgeneralization stage, and follows the by undergoing a U-shaped development. Furthermore, the learners have difficulty distinguishing [±HK] and [±Countability]. The accuracy comparison in article use showed that [+SR, −HK] and [−SR, +HK] were the most challenging contexts to acquire.

The Effects of Extensive Reading Strategy Training on Enhancing First Year Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Level of Autonomy

To better understand how extensive reading strategy training (ERST) affects the degree of learner autonomy (LA) in an EFL university setting, a mixed-method experimental study was conducted. The study's participants were split into two groups at random: experimental and control. While individuals who took part in the experimental group received ERST treatment, those who took part in the control group merely received conventional instruction. Data from both groups were gathered using pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine whether group variations in the degree of LA were caused by the ERST therapy. The experimental group also received a post-intervention questionnaire on views toward ERST, and descriptive statistics were used to examine the findings. Additionally, a thematic analysis was done on the information gathered through teacher-trainer interviews regarding how the treatment affected the students' attitudes and degree of autonomy. Results demonstrated that as compared to the control group, participants in the ERST treatment considerably increased their level of autonomy. Additionally, the experimental group ultimately displayed a very positive attitude regarding the therapy. In general, the study's findings showed that encouraging autonomy through ERST led to successful outcomes in the development of autonomous English language learners. To assist students to become lifelong autonomous learners, EFL teachers are expected to provide training on extensive reading strategies (ERS) by integrating them with communicative language courses.

Impacts of Culture on Classroom Participation Among Undergraduate EFL Learners in Afghanistan

This research aims to examine the impacts of culture on classroom participation among the English majored students at the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Laghman University (LU), specifically seek to find out the impacts of multi-ethnicity, dressing styles, and family background that affect students' participation. A mixed-method of research approach has been employed in this study; an adapted questionnaire and a semi-structured interview have been used as the research instruments for this study. Both quantitative and qualitative data have been collected from one hundred and ten (n = 117) respondents. The quantitative data were descriptively analyzed using the SPSS version 24, and later the semi-structured interview has been thematically analyzed. After the analysis of the data, it was revealed that cultural factors hindered student’s participation. Significantly, participation was affected by their family upbringing, they were not allowed to speak in front of elders or teachers confidently, which progressively caused them to be passive in the classroom. Also, urban students are active, communicative, and more confident that is why rural area students’ participation prone decline nation due to shyness, low confidence level, and weak educational background. Higher educational institutions in Afghanistan recommended implementing a learner-centric method when teaching the students to enhance the practices of classroom participation.