Earticle

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the writing performance and the use of socio-cognitive strategies among monolingual Persian and bilingual Turkish-Persian EFL learners across two proficiency levels. A mixed-method approach was employed to analyze the data gathered from the quantitative analysis of socio-affective writing strategy questionnaires as well as qualitative analysis of sample written texts and semi-structured interviews. Results of a series of two-way ANOVAs showed that bilinguals used more positive affective strategies than monolinguals. While the difference between high-proficient and low-proficient participants in strategy use was not significant, some differences were found between bilinguals and monolinguals across different proficiency levels concerning their overall writing quality. The findings also highlighted the underestimation of writing socio-affective strategy instruction, which can be considered as one of the reasons contributing to the writing problems of EFL learners.

This study aims to explore Thai university writing instructors‘ knowledge of writing assessment and their perceptions of different assessment practices. Having a good understanding of assessment principles is important because it helps teachers choose and develop appropriate assessment tools to measure students‘ abilities. Two major research questions are how much Thai university instructors know about writing assessment and whether they received any formal training in writing assessment before they started teaching. Fifty-two participants from ten large universities in Thailand participated in an online survey, and 21 of them participated in in-depth interviews. Findings from the survey show that the majority of participants reported having received some formal training in writing assessment, but 30% reported no formal training. More than half of them expressed frustration when having to develop assessment tasks to assess their students‘ achievements. Moreover, answers given in the online survey did not correspond with neither actual classroom practices nor background knowledge of assessment. It is hoped that the results of this study will motivate Thai university instructors to reflect on their assessment practices because, ultimately, the aim of this research is to provide suggestions that may help TESOL programs better prepare their graduate students for future teaching responsibilities.

The last two decades have witnessed many studies reporting factors that promote second language (L2) learners‟ pragmatic competence such as pragmatic input, language proficiency, and pragmatic instruction. Length of formal study, although it may relate to language proficiency indirectly, has been a rather neglected aspect in pragmatic acquisition research. This study analyses the effects of length of time spent learning English formally on English language learners‟ ability to evaluate impoliteness and the foundations by which they evaluate it. Empirical data were collected by means of questionnaires and a semi-structured interview from one hundred EFL teacher trainees at a private university in Central Java Indonesia. The participants were divided into two groups. Group 1 (n = 50) studied English for nine and half years and group 2 (n = 50) studied English for eight and half years. The overall results revealed that the length of time spent learning English affected the learners‟ capability of comprehending impoliteness in particular off-record impoliteness. The English learners in the present study mostly used Quality face violation as the foundation of impoliteness evaluation.

In light of the difficulties inherent in EFL/ ESL summary writing teaching and learning, it is of paramount importance to probe into the instructional techniques to enhance summary writing ability. This study investigated the relative impact of two instructional techniques: Network Tree Advance Organizers (NTAOs) and Marginal Glosses (MGs) on EFL learners’ summary writing ability. First, the Oxford Quick Placement Test was administered to ensure the homogeneity of all of the participants. Sixty language learners were then randomly assigned to three groups: The two experimental groups and one control group. One of the experimental groups was exposed to the MG instructional technique; the other experimental group received the NTAOs; while the control group was provided with neither of them and merely followed the traditional procedures of a writing class. The student-generated summaries at the beginning and end of the instructional period were evaluated by two different raters based on the TOEFL iBT scoring criteria (Baba, 2009). To analyze the date, the researchers used one-way ANOVA and paired-samples t-tests. The results revealed that learners in the NTAO group outperformed their counterparts in the other two groups (i.e., the MG group, and control group). The study points to the relative effectiveness of the utilization of different instructional techniques to promote the learners’ summary writing ability. It is also argued that the visual sketch of the materials presented through the NATOs could pave the way for more elaborate and detailed information processing and prompt language learners to properly prioritize, organize, and classify information.

Debate has continued about how L1 speakers process morphologically complex words. Consensus has been divided between single- and dual-route processing models. We conducted lexical decision experiments with a wide variety of English derived words to investigate how Korean EFL learners and L1 English speakers access complex words. First, we show that English prefixed or suffixed words are processed with greater cost than simplex words for both English L1 speakers and EFL learners. Second, suffixed words are processed with faster response times and higher accuracy than prefixed words. Third, complex words are accessed differently in terms of affixal salience according to the individual affixes that belong to the same morphological classes. Finally, the homophony of affixes with dual membership induces Korean EFL learners, not English L1 speakers to process complex words with more difficulty than those with single-membership affixes. These results suggest that derived words are processed via morphological decomposition into stems and affixes whereas simplex words are directly accessed as whole word units, supporting the dual-route processing models. Additionally, this study implies that prefixes are more likely to be parsed from the bases than suffixes. Furthermore, it is suggested that the processing efficiency of derivational words varies according to each affix type, which complements the formal structural theory of lexical morphology. Finally, it is indicated that the confusability of affixes with dual membership hinders the processing of the derivational words.

In recent years, English language teaching materials, textbooks, videos and websites that facilitate the learning of language, which have grown in number, have tended to cover safe, non-controversial topics using the banking model (in Paulo Freire’s terms). Often these topics did not engage learners either affectively or cognitively. This study addressed the lack of choice and localised context in an English for Academic Purposes course in Hong Kong by incorporating learners’ choices of topic and digital stories into the course. The findings indicated that learner autonomy over topic and the affordances of digital delivery stimulated students to feel ownership and relevance to their local community. The results suggested that by incorporating the principles of critical applied linguistics, second language learners and students can co-construct material and knowledge and represent what they find personally meaningful, which may lead to social changes in society.

This study examines the impact of an arts project-based language program for Korean EFL college students, drawing upon the Stoller‟s PBL framework (2006). The investigation integrated an art project, based on a real-world task, into English language learning for college students of arts within a general English program. 15-week EFL course asked students to develop their portfolio or showcase reels with the goal of improving English language ability. The English-Based Art Communication course of 98 students was divided either into an experimental group (N = 49) or a control group (N = 49). The researchers administrated a pre- and post-questionnaire and a TOEIC speaking test to the students, with which to analyze the students‟ language improvement and change of perceptions on English learning. The researchers observed the whole process of students‟ doing their project and interviewed them regarding their learning experiences. Though there was no statistically significant improvement in the speaking skills in both groups, the questionnaire and interview data revealed a significant increase of positive perceptions among the experimental group about their major and the language learning, not to mention substantial improvements in vocabulary and overall confidence. The discoveries imply that the project-based language teaching become efficient with art-related works and students‟ engagement.

This project is in response to the need to integrate new forms of technology in language-learning classrooms, to not only enhance learning, but equip students with the technological and collaborative tools to prepare them for future academic and professional contexts. The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate student attitudes towards doing various language-learning tasks on Google apps, 2) explore some of the advantages and limitations of using Google apps as a cloud-based collaborative tool, and 3) investigate student behaviors while collaborating on Google apps. Surveys and interviews were used with 31 participants in a pre-university EAP course in the UAE to explore student perceptions of using four Google apps (Sheets, Slides, Docs, and Forms) to do various language-learning tasks. Field notes based on observations of one in-class task were also analyzed to investigate student behaviors while collaborating. Participants reported advantages of collaborating on Google apps such as ease of use, working together from different places, and being able to give feedback online. In regards to behaviors, participants showed a tendency to divide their work while collaborating. Some possible limitations to doing language-learning activities on Google apps will be discussed, as well as implications of the study.

This study explores the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers. The study adopted a qualitative research design which was conducted using document analysis technique on digital written works of six pre-service teachers in one Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (ITEM). The pre-service teachers were introduced to narrative essay format and i-Spring Pro 6.2 software to produce e-books. The data gathered (i.e., pre-service teachers’ digital written works) were analyzed using predetermined (i.e., a priori) codes. As induced from the findings, the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach is found to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers, which is evident from their improved accuracy of genre and message, fulfillment of task requirements, use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, originality, coherence and organization, and use of multimedia in text presentation. These positive results indicate that the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach in writing narrative essay type is beneficial to expose pre-service teachers to a more meaningful, fun, and engaging way of learning and practicing ESL writing.

This study employed pedagogic discourse theory (Bernstein, 1990) to investigate whether student participation was affected by teachers‟ translanguaging practices. The study employed qualitative research methods, including classroom observations and semi-structured interviews, to gather data on teachers‟ classroom practices in regards to their translanguaging practices. The data was then analysed via pedagogic discourse theory to ascertain how power and control within the translanguaging practices influenced student participation. Results suggest that teachers‟ translanguaging practices may improve students‟ ability to participate in class by improving student understanding of teacher talk. However, when teachers translanguage within IRF sequences, student participation appears to be limited to responses within the IRF sequences, suggesting students may struggle to gain any sense of control over the learning environment in such situations. Results therefore infer that translanguaging may not always provide space for the creative or critical thinking that is often discussed in translanguaging literature.

Currently, ministries of education in some developing countries, such as Malaysia and Iran, are planning to transform their often-centralized tests to school-based assessment. This is good news but before making any changes, one must ask if stakeholders in such communities are ready for any changes. The objective of this study was to compare the conceptions of assessments of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and students. Qualitative methods were used to collect the data using a questionnaire with open-ended tasks developed, validated, piloted and refined by the researchers. The data were analyzed through inductive and deductive thematic analysis approaches. The results also indicated that both students and teachers frequently view assessment as tests and scores, and yet there were differences between their conceptions. For example, while teachers were more concerned with standards and validity, themes such as cheating emerged from students‟ data. Assessment was also found to be stimulator of both adaptive behavior (such as an instrumental motivator) and maladaptive behavior (such as cheating) among students. These results offer remarkable implications for language learning, teaching, and testing for education policy-makers in developing countries.

This article introduces the CIPP Model (Context, Input, Process, and Product) and explains its application in the evaluation of language programs. The model has long been used in various fields to evaluate programs both before they begin (e.g., by assessing the alignment of the contexts and input) and after they are complete (e.g., by evaluating how well the process has been implemented and whether the product is up to standard). The flexibility of the model is a major strength. In the field of language teaching, this model is highly relevant to curriculum development and can be applied at both the course level and the program level. This paper first introduces competing models of language program evaluation. It then introduces the CIPP Model and explains its applicability in the field of language education, providing suggestions for the application of the model. The CIPP Model has the potential to assist TESOL professionals — teachers and administrators — in improving their professional practice, curriculum design, and program evaluation. Educators in a variety of contexts would benefit from furthering their knowledge of this widely applied evaluation model.