University English As A Foreign Language Research Articles

Harnessing Text Structure Strategy for Reading Expository and Medical Texts among EFL College Students

This classroom-based study was conducted in Kuwait to investigate the impact of text structure strategy (TSS) instruction on the ways in which 54 English as a foreign language (EFL) college students approached expository and medical texts. Data collection involved two surveys, fieldnotes, class observations, and group interviews. A system of codes and categories was developed from the recurrent patterns and commonalities in the interview data and classroom observations. Two surveys were distributed in 2 intervals, 8 weeks apart, which focused on identifying text structure strategies such as introducing the concept of text structures, asking guided questions, identifying signaling words, and using graphic organizers, as well as the extent to which the participants applied text structure strategies to approach expository medical texts. Data analysis involved using the Microsoft Excel program to generate two tables and descriptive statistics including the means, standard deviations and percentages of the results of the two surveys. Findings indicated that the participants benefited from TSS instruction in strategies that involved group discussions rather than strategies that relied on individual class work. Moreover, a large percentage of the participants applied most of what they learned in analyzing expository texts into reading medical texts. Implications were drawn for EFL teachers to conduct action research studies on text structure strategy for EFL learners and to apply TSS instruction in class in group and pair work which are suitable for EFL leaners. Finally, EFL researchers were invited to conduct classroom-based studies of TSS instruction.

Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices of classroom writing assessment

This study investigates the extent to which university teachers’ beliefs about classroom writing assessment are congruent with their self-perceived practices in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts, and what factors contribute to belief-practice inconsistencies. Drawing on data from a survey of 136 Chinese university EFL writing teachers and ten teacher interviews, results showed a degree of belief-practice alignment regarding assessment for learning (AfL) practices that make learning explicit, but belief-practice discrepancies were more salient. AfL practices that empower students to take responsibility in writing assessment were perceived to be more important than assessment of learning practices; however, the reverse was found in teachers’ practice. Impacts of micro-level factors including assessment training, teaching experience, student attributes, meso-level school factors, and macro-level assessment culture are discussed, and implications are drawn.

Mobile-technology-induced learning strategies: Chinese university EFL students learning English in an emerging context

AbstractThis article reports on findings regarding the learning strategies used by a group of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in a mobile-technology-assisted environment. The research design is a context-specific case study using Dörnyei’s (2005) categories of learning strategies as the conceptual and analytical framework to guide data collection and analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 75 Chinese EFL learners and a small-scale follow-up interview of five participants who completed the questionnaire. Data showed that a mobile-technology-assisted environment effected changes in Chinese EFL learners’ ways of adopting a particular set of learning strategies, which differed in type and frequency from those typical of a teacher-led and examination-oriented language classroom. Metacognitive and commitment control strategies were most frequently used by the respondents in this study. The frequency of student use of metacognitive strategies moved ahead of commitment and environmental control strategies. Satiation and emotion control strategies, rarely used by Chinese students in a teacher-fronted language classroom, were also observable. These findings have implications for the understanding and designing of mobile-technology-assisted learning for EFL learners to develop appropriate strategies for autonomous learning.

Inclusive education services for the blind: Values, roles, and challenges of university EFL teachers

Implementing inclusive education, the process of providing all learners with equal educational opportunities, is a major challenge for many educational systems worldwide, for it requires changes to values, system, and practices. In the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in university, teachers are expected to be able to select, transform, or augment Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Differentiated Instruction (DI) as a framework to guarantee accessibility of all learner types to the learning environment by employing specific educational design guidelines, to fit their leaners', notably for the blinds. Data on what has led EFL teachers to join the reform of the teaching instruction and how they tackle problems during implementation cannot be located. Thus, the aim of this qualitative study is to uncover reasons for EFL teachers to participate in and what they did to facilitate the instruction wide effort to practice inclusive education, as well as challenges encountered. Key findings included implementing university policy as prime reasons for practicing inclusive education, utilizing UDL and DI as the key to successful implementation for instructional teaching, and inadequate resources and teacher training as the main challenges. Recommendations consists of providing disability-specific pre- and in- service training programs for teachers and making arrangements of sufficient educational materials and assessment based on UDL and DI towards EFL instructions.

EFL University Students' Awareness of the Translation and Usage of some Cultural Expressions

The current research attends to the investigation of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) University students awareness of idioms translation and usage. It has theoretically tackled the topic in the first place by paving the way in terms of presenting different definitions of translation and its relation with language and culture , the definition of idioms, their classification, interpretation and usage. The research then moves to the practical part of the study which focus on examining the role of context in helping students being aware of the meaning, correct translation, and usage of idioms. To analyze the data resulted in this part of the research, different statistical tools have been used, like percentages of correct answers, mean scores, standard deviation, and t-test for a single group. The research ends with discussing the results obtained which prove that students' awareness of contextualized idioms is quite satisfactory because an idiom is largely related to the situation that gives it a special meaning. The conclusions and recommendations of the research highlight the main points that have been so far probed and highlighted.

Developing EFL students’ pragmatic competence: The case of compliment responses

This study investigated the effect of consciousness-raising instruction and corpus-based instruction on EFL (English as a foreign language) students’ development of compliment responses. It employed a quasi-experimental design with 136 EFL university students divided between three groups: control, consciousness-raising, and corpus groups. A discourse completion test (DCT) was used as a pre- and post-test with all the groups to investigate any significant differences between them. Further, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was used to explore students’ perceptions of pragmatic instruction of compliment responses. The results showed the effectiveness of pragmatic instruction of compliment responses through both consciousness-raising instruction and corpus- based instruction. More specifically, significant differences were found between consciousness-raising group and the corpus group on one hand, and the control group on the other. No significant differences were found between the consciousness-raising group and the corpus group. The results also revealed that the students value the importance of pragmatic instruction indicating that it was important, necessary, useful, and enjoyable at the same time. The article ends with some pedagogical recommendations for pragmatic instruction.

Can engaging L2 teachers as material designers contribute to their professional development? findings from Colombia

There is a lack of research around the professional development of English (L2) teachers in Colombia. As in other Latin American countries, higher education institutions have started offering general English as a foreign language (EFL) courses as well as content courses taught in English. In both types of course, EFL teachers are expected to integrate content and English language learning with the aim of providing learners with meaningful and authentic learning opportunities. However, such teachers often face the challenge of not having appropriate materials to deliver such courses. The aim of this case study, which employed mixed methods, is to describe the extent to which university EFL teachers from a Colombian university developed professionally as they engaged in developing materials for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) courses. The study consisted of two parts: (1) a CLIL workshop attended by 16 participants, followed by (2) interviews with four of those participants. Drawing on data from a survey, group discussions, and individual interviews, the findings show that engaging the university EFL teachers as materials developers boosted their professional knowledge (linguistic, content, and pedagogical knowledge), motivation, identity, and agency as CLIL teachers and material designers.

How university EFL writers’ beliefs in writing ability impact their perceptions of peer assessment: perspectives from implicit theories of intelligence

Peer assessments are often used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) writing classes, and there are many studies that have measured students’ perceptions of peer assessment activities. The current literature presents contrasting findings on these perceptions; therefore, this empirical study used structural equation modeling to investigate how students’ implicit theories of writing intelligence shape their perceptions of peer assessments. The results indicated: 1) students who endorse the incremental theory of writing intelligence are more likely to have positive perceptions of peer assessments; 2) students’ motivation to learn how to write in English is a significant mediator in the process; and 3) students who endorse the entity theory of writing intelligence may have negative perceptions of peer assessments. This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it provides evidence that students’ implicit theories of writing intelligence (among other factors) impact their perceptions of peer assessments. Second, it affirms that students’ implicit theories can predict their motivations in an EFL context. Third, it demonstrates that, although rarely used, the implicit theories of intelligence are a useful theoretical framework for EFL/ESL writing education and research.

The role of pragmatic markers in academic spoken interlanguage. A corpus-based study of a group of Brazilian EFL university students

The present work addresses a group of university students of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) on how they use pragmatic markers in their oral productions.The initial hypothesis was that there would be differences both in usage and form in comparison to native speakers. In order to verify our claim, we set off to investigate two corpora: a learner oral corpus being compiled at the Federal University of Minas Gerais/Brazil and a sub-corpus from the British Academic Spoken English (BASE). While Brazilian students overuse items such as maybe and just, the datarecorded in the UK displayed a more varied range of markers and multiword forms. Overall, the findings reinforce the importance of analyzing empirical data for a broader understanding of how native speakers and learners can differ in their oral academic production. The paper also sheds light on language teaching and learning in the academic setting from a pragmatic viewpoint.

Learners in a Tight Corner: An Investigation of Figurative Idiomatic Competence and Learner-related Factors

Idioms play an indispensable role in communication. Knowledge of idioms is considered an indicator of proficiency. This study is aimed at investigating English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ knowledge of frequently used idioms and the effect of learner-related factors. The participants were 218 female EFL college students at the College of Basic Education (CBE) in Kuwait. A test was designed and used as the data collection instrument to assess the students’ knowledge of frequent idioms. The test scores reveal a substantially low overall knowledge in this area. The results show that Kuwaiti EFL learners have difficulty comprehending common idiomatic expressions. Additionally, the study is aimed at determining whether students’ knowledge of idioms is linked to age, year of study, and/or Grade Point Average (GPA). A statistically significant difference in knowledge of frequently used idioms is evident when GPA is taken into account.

How Learning Motivation Influences Feedback Experience and Preference in Chinese University EFL Students.

Drawing on the argument that students’ different learning behaviors, including their perceptions of and engagement with feedback, could have roots in learners’ fundamental motivational characteristics, this study examines how different second language learning motivational variables may predict university EFL (English as a foreign language) students’ feedback experience and preference. Data were collected from EFL students from three universities in an Asian region (N = 409) through three self-report questionnaires. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that different components of the second language learning motivational construct appear to display differential associations with EFL students’ feedback experience and preference. In particular, this study brought to light the crucial role of attitudes to classroom English learning and intended learning effort as essential mediating motivational variables in predicting how EFL students conceive of and act on feedback. The findings of this study also provide significant insights into a complex and dynamic view of how student preference for different types of feedback actually works in the feedback process. The authors conclude by arguing that EFL teachers need to shoulder the burden of making the EFL classroom a supportive environment that promotes a positive self-concept and self-confidence as the first step toward stimulating students’ active feedback use, and that conditions need to be created to allow for connection of students’ preference for learning process-oriented feedback to action to maximize the pivotal role that students play in the classroom and learning process.

Motivational Teaching Strategies within Saudi University EFL Classrooms: How to Improve Students’ Achievement?

Motivation is essential because it highly contributes to achievement. Teachers need to motivate their students in order to develop a positive outcome. Research on motivation for foreign language learning has shown that teachers should be aware of their actions and behaviors in classroom because it is very likely that they can demotivate learners. This study explores how motivational strategies used by English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers could increase the motivation of students to learn English as a foreign language. Participants included five EFL teachers along with one hundred first-year female students. The students completed a survey while the teachers took part in an interview. Both measures aimed to explore the attitudes of both teachers and students towards motivation in the foreign language classroom. Results showed that the most used motivational strategies were: resources that satisfy the students’ needs and interests, group work, active participation in class, and praises and rewards. The findings of this study can contribute to teachers’ knowledge of the motivational strategies that work best for students especially those that are pertinent to the Saudi context to improve their current teaching methods and can contribute also to further research on motivation.

The Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies by EFL and EAP Undergraduate University Learners’ in the Iraqi Context

Vocabulary learning is an essential part of foreign or second language learning. This study aims at identifying the most and least common strategies that are used by Iraqi English as a foreign language (EFL) majors and English for academic purposes (EAP) learners. Also, determine the differences that are in EFL and EAP students’ vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) use as well as exploring EFL and EAP students’ views and difficulties. The study samples were 100 undergraduate learners (50 EAP learners and 50 EFL majors studying at Al-iraqia University, Iraq). There were two methods adopted; a validated Likert-scale questionnaire based on a developed version of Schmitt (1997) and further selected four of them for a follow-up semi-structured interview. The results of the survey indicated that EFL and EAP learners’ most common strategy was determination strategy, whereas, the least common strategy was metacognitive. The finding of the independent sample t-test of the five identified categories: metacognitive, determination, cognitive, memory as well as social, indicated that there was no significant difference between EFL and EAP learners’ in the frequency of the use of VLS. The results of the interview indicated that the majority of EFL and EAP learners’ valued the significance role of VLS.

Investigating University EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Critical Thinking and Its Teaching: Voices from China

This study investigates Chinese university EFL teachers’ perceptions of critical thinking (CT) and its teaching through a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The findings reveal that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in China strongly agreed that CT should be an integral part of the EFL curriculum and classroom teaching; however, they appeared to lack professional knowledge of CT and how to implement it in their classes. In addition, they were faced with various challenges and claimed to need further support with their teaching of CT. The study calls for more customized professional development on the integration of CT into the English language curriculum, materials development and pedagogical practice.

The Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies by EFL and EAP Undergraduate University Learners’ in the Iraqi Context

Vocabulary learning is an essential part of foreign or second language learning. This study aims at identifying the most and least common strategies that are used by Iraqi English as a foreign language (EFL) majors and English for academic purposes (EAP) learners. Also, determine the differences that are in EFL and EAP students’ vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) use as well as exploring EFL and EAP students’ views and difficulties. The study samples were 100 undergraduate learners (50 EAP learners and 50 EFL majors studying at Al-iraqia University, Iraq). There were two methods adopted; a validated Likert-scale questionnaire based on a developed version of Schmitt (1997) and further selected four of them for a follow-up semi-structured interview. The results of the survey indicated that EFL and EAP learners’ most common strategy was determination strategy, whereas, the least common strategy was metacognitive. The finding of the independent sample t-test of the five identified categories: metacognitive, determination, cognitive, memory as well as social, indicated that there was no significant difference between EFL and EAP learners’ in the frequency of the use of VLS. The results of the interview indicated that the majority of EFL and EAP learners’ valued the significance role of VLS.

Kahoot! In an EFL Reading Class

Game-based learning has attracted considerable attention over the past few years. Mobile apps are welcomed by the digital generation. Debate continues regarding the approach that will most benefit students in English language classrooms, and the impact of mobile applications, particularly on English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, remains unclear. Specifically, little is known about EFL learners’ perceptions of mobile applications. The main purpose of this study was to understand Chinese students’ attitudes toward the application of Kahoot!, a mobile game-based learning app, in a college EFL class in Taiwan. No gender differences were found in students’ perceptions of the use of Kahoot! for English learning. Although the participants expressed positive attitudes towards the application of Kahoot! in the EFL reading class, several negative opinions were expressed regarding the use of Kahoot! as a testing tool. These results provide support for the affective filter hypothesis. Implications for EFL teachers and future research are discussed.

Studying Foreign Language Anxiety with its Causes and Effects: A Case of King Khalid University EFL Learners

The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level of Saudi undergraduate students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). An attempt has been made to find out various possible causes, sources, and effects of foreign language anxiety on Saudi EFL learners. The study aims to answer the main question; if this anxiety affects the learning process of Saudi EFL learners positively or adversely. The study demonstrates some models and strategies related to causes and effects of anxiety. These models and strategies can be applied as potential management tools and strategies for reducing the level of anxiety encountered by Saudi EFL learners. The researchers employed quantitative and qualitative approaches to collecting and analyzing the data. A 33-item questionnaire adapted from Horwitz et al (1986) distributed among 271 subjects has been used as the main tool for the data collection. All the four basic language skills were tested to elicit the data for measuring the level of anxiety in Saudi students learning English as a foreign language. In addition to the above quantitative approach, some semi-structured interviews were conducted with both EFL learners and teachers. The outcome of the present study can significantly contribute to the development of the quality of learning English as a Foreign Language. It can also serve as an effective mechanism to solve problematic issues among EFL learners in general and Saudi EFL learners in particular. The study offers to introduce researchers and teachers with certain reliable scales for the evaluation of Saudi EFL learners’ progress in their learning process. Five-point (5-point) Likert scale is one of these major scales used in the present study.

Reflective journals to explore struggles and difficulties of novice Japanese EFL university instructors

ABSTRACTThis study explored reflective journals of two novice EFL (English as a foreign language) instructors in Japanese universities who completed master’s degrees in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in British universities, returned to Japan, and started to teach EFL in Japanese universities. The study examined what practical difficulties and challenges the instructors faced when they used communicative language teaching (CLT) in their classrooms and how they reflected on their struggles for future teaching through reflective journals. Narrative study was used for this research. Whereas reflective journals were the primary resources for data analysis, we collected multiple data sources to ensure triangulation of the qualitative research methodology. Through the analysis of the data, we found that their struggles with CLT included the students’ reluctance to engage in group activities, the instructors’ struggles with L1 (first language) use, and the difficulty in striking a balance between course goals, the students’ English proficiency and a CLT approach. This study also drew on aspects of the overall reflective practices including reflective journals – issues and consequences that offer insight and assistance to novice university instructors and stand to promote their professional development.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METACOGNITIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES AND PROFICIENCY IN EFL CLASSROOM IN CHILE

Purpose of the study: The main aim of the present study is to analyze and explain the use of metacognitive strategies in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Chile. To comprehend the metacognitive strategy usage of EFL learners, Oxford´s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used in this study.
 Methodology: The present research is a quantitative study within the characteristics of the descriptive correlational framework in which the metacognitive strategies used by participants were examined in a university EFL setting. Further, the mid-semester grades were used for quantifying proficiency to see the correlation between proficiency and the use of metacognitive strategies.
 Main Findings: Results showed that the participants used metacognitive strategies more frequently with an average use of 4.16. Two groups of strategies showed a positive relationship with language performance; cognitive (r=.26) and metacognitive strategies (r=.585). The measured R² (coefficient of determination) was found to be .342 which means 34% of the variance for the language proficiency of the participants was explained by metacognitive strategy use.
 Applications of this study: The results of this study can be applied by the language teachers in their classroom teaching practices and by researchers for furthering their research in the field of language learning strategies. It can also be used by the students to facilitate their learning process.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The present study is a contribution to our understanding of how the learners use metacognitive skills and strategies in learning a foreign language. Language teachers can use these strategies in their classroom for successful learning.

A Corpus-based Study of Collocation Production of Chinese EFL Learners

It is of great difficult for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners to acquire collocation. This research investigated V + N collocation production of Chinese middle school university EFL learners based on TECCL (Ten-thousand English Composition of Chinese Learners) corpus, aiming at discovering the difficulties in collocation usage. In the study, collocations in the writing samples were identified manually and evaluated by dictionaries, corpus and native speakers as right or wrong. Collocation accuracy was figured out and errors were examined. Therefore, difficulties in collocation usage were discovered. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively to yield the following three findings: first, middle school students and university students respectively produced 79% and 83% correct collocations among their collocation production. Second, collocation accuracy did not improve significantly as overall L2 (second language) proficiency increases. Third, wrong choice of verb and noun was the largest problem for Chinese EFL learners. The results also suggested that L1 (first language) influence and deficiency in L2 knowledge affected collocation usage. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications were discussed.