Earticle

The growing global popularity of English for young learners (EYL) teaching is the embodiment of the spread of English as the world’s lingua franca. The rapidity of the EYL expansion also occurs in Indonesia despite the blurred policy to implement it. The present study was conducted to explore the current practices of EYL teaching in Indonesian elementary schools after the national curriculum reforms. The selected municipality that represented the setting of the study was the second populous city in Indonesia, where a wide selection of schools was located. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to 184 school principals and 178 EYL teachers and analyzed through the use of simple descriptive statistics. Regardless of the absence of Government support, the findings revealed that most of the elementary schools in the research site offered English. A varied implementation of English teaching from one school to another was ascertained in terms of English position in the school curriculum, its frequency per week, the teaching resources and the learning materials, and the teacher to teach the subject. The schools reported that the shift in the foreign language policy had invited challenges in implementing the instructions relating to the funding and the teaching guidelines. In response to these encounters, this study recaps three focal points as recommendations to policymakers and related stakeholders to review the current policy of EYL instruction by considering the need for teaching guidelines and the status of the teachers administratively, as well as their access to professional advancement.

Identity has received a surge of theoretical and empirical attention within the past decades. A body of research on teacher identity mainly involved the feelings, beliefs, experiences and emotions of language teachers, which construct their professional identity. However, few studies (Antaki, 2012; Richards, 2006; Zimmerman, 1998) have investigated dynamic identities embodied through talk-in-interaction, and more particularly in EFL contexts. Using conversation analysis (CA) as situated within a socio-cultural approach, this study intended to investigate EFL teachers’ identity as is constructed in classroom interactions. In this regard, using observations and video-recordings, three EFL teachers’ naturally-occurring classroom interactions have been transcribed in detail. Data analyses revealed that teachers and learners construct and display different levels of identity in their talk (Zimmerman, 1998). Nominating the students and entering them in question-answer sequence along with the subsequent questions, learners display their transportable identity. While learners produce transportable identity, they can significantly construct more talk and longer turns which may enhance their learning opportunity.

The study aimed to extend the existing discussion on assessment literacy by focusing on English teachers’ ability to implement it in South Korea where a new assessment policy was implemented as part of educational reform. Scholars have pointed out a lack of teachers’ assessment knowledge and gaps in their ability to conduct the appropriate assessment for effective instruction. Thus, the scope of teacher assessment literacy needs to include teachers’ ability to implement it appropriately in given contexts. Grounding our study in the notion of teacher-based assessment as a guiding framework and using a mixed-methods design, we examined how Korean teachers perceived performance assessment emphasized in the reform and how they put it into practice. One hundred and twenty-seven teachers participated in survey questionnaires and 15 teachers were interviewed as a follow-up. The findings of the study showed that there were discrepancies between the teachers’ perceptions of assessment and their assessment practice and that the teachers showed diverse reactions toward teacher-based assessment from being capable to feeling powerless depending on their assessment knowledge and contextual constraints. The study suggests the importance of teachers’ agency in assessment literacy as a prerequisite for teacher-based assessment.

This study examined the possible washback effects of the latest version of the College English Test–Band Four (CET-4) test from the test-takers’ perspective, focusing primarily on the listening section. Using survey methodology, 305 Chinese EFL learners from both a first- and a second-tier city in China rated the difficulty, usefulness, and level of authenticity of the CET-4 listening, the non-listening test sections, the degree to which they adapted their learning behaviors to the test, and how much their teachers adapted their instruction to address the CET-4. The results indicated learners from the second-tier Chinese city considered the CET-4 more difficult, authentic, and useful, and that it had more of an impact on teaching and learning. Despite these differences, both groups rated the listening section as more difficult, less useful, and less authentic than the other sections of the test. Finally, the listening section was perceived to have more of an impact on student’s learning than the perceived impact on teaching. Based on these results, we argue that the possible washback effects of a test should be a fundamental consideration in the development and validation of a test, not just an afterthought (Bachman, 2005; Chalhoub-Deville & O’Sullivan, 2020; Messick, 1996).

This paper examines the longitudinal changes of Korean college students in their motivation and their self-confidence in an online-offline blended EFL-learning course. The participants completed the same questionnaire three times (i.e., March, June, and December) with items regarding the ideal second language (L2) self, the ought-to L2 self, instrumentality, integrativeness, demotivation, and the perceived confidence in speaking English. Repeated-measures t-test/ANOVA indicated that students’ initial motivation was maintained until the end of the academic year. Their confidence in speaking English increased in a statistically significant manner. However, student demotivation also increased despite the fact that it remained at a relatively low level. These findings portrayed that the online-offline blended English learning was an effective instructional medium for EFL students in their English courses. This study suggests that L2 practitioners need to find an optimal balance between online instruction and offline EFL classes, where in-class authentic L2 communication should be maximally fostered.

Second language literacy research in recent years has attended to emerging genres and various literacy practices. Less explored, however, are the innovative ways of meaning-making and communication facilitated by the use of multimodal resources in a foreign-language context. To bridge the gap, this study investigates how a Chinese-English bilingual speaker coordinates and orchestrates design elements in her vlogs and how decision makings are informed by various factors. Interview data and vlog analysis show that the participant is skillful in using digital technologies, anticipating audiences’ needs, fulfilling rhetorical purposes, and negotiating with constraining contextual factors. This study challenges the view that learners in an EFL country have limited opportunities to use the language due to the lack of contact with the target language community. It also suggests that EFL educators could build on what learners do on their own while encouraging them to repurpose the use of vlogs and mobile technologies.

The current study attempts to put to the test the nature of interdependence between L2 and L1 in a bilingual mind. It aims to find out if reading strategy instruction (RSI) in L2, a) affects reading comprehension ability and attitude toward reading both in L2 and L1, and b) if so, in which language (source (L2) or target (L1)) each of these two dependent variables are more affected. To meet the purposes of the study, a quasi-experimental design was employed. Measures of reading comprehension and attitude toward reading in L2 and L1 were distributed as pretests and posttests to 48 Iranian EFL learners. The experimental group received RSI in L2, but the control group received traditional reading instruction. Reading comprehension and attitude toward reading improved significantly both in L2 and L1 for the experimental group, but not for the control group; however, for the experimental group the magnitude of improvement in reading comprehension was more in L1 than in L2, and the magnitude of improvement in attitude toward reading was more in L2 than in L1. Therefore, although languages are interdependent in one mind, cross-linguistic influences are not the same in magnitude in terms of the languages and domains involved.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether hypermedia glosses (i.e., text only, text plus audio, and text plus video clips) promote EFL learners’ reading comprehension and examine learners’ preferences for using hypermedia glossing modes when they are reading a hypermedia text. The participants were 77 intermediate-level EFL learners from a university in China. Data were collected through pre- and post- reading comprehension tests, a questionnaire, and interviews. The reading comprehension findings reveal that all three glossing modes significantly promote learners’ comprehension of the text, but no significant differences were found among these three types. In addition, the questionnaire and interviews data indicate that learners hold positive attitudes towards glosses and hypermedia reading. They preferred text coupled with video glossing mode more than text only and text plus audio glosses. The pedagogical implications were provided.

This study examines the effect of phonemic awareness instruction on listening comprehension ability in learning English as a second language or foreign language (L2). The searching procedures were carried out using Publish or Perish with discreetly selected keywords. Eight studies with 13 samples published between 2000 and 2020 were obtained. Hedges’ g was calculated, leveraging Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. The overall effect size of phonemic awareness instruction on listening skills was found to be large (Hedges’ g = 0.99, lower bound = 0.82, upper bound = 1.61). The result demonstrated that phonemic awareness instructions to beginners (Hedges’ g = 0.86) or primary school students (Hedges’ g = 3.67) might have a large effect on enhancing their listening skills. Furthermore, research that conducted phonemic awareness instructions (Hedges’ g = 1.43) showed a much larger effect size than phonics instructions (Hedges’ g = 0.45), suggesting the need for a more focused phonemic instruction for L2 learners. Lastly, the effectiveness of phonemic awareness instruction was better assessed when using intensive listening measurements (Hedges’ g = 1.43) rather than selective ones (Hedges’ g = 0.80). These results collectively indicate that phonemic awareness instructions could be both effective and practical for helping L2 learners improve listening skills.

With the status as an international language, English is a language used by a variety of speakers in various situations (EIL). Therefore, to help students to be a competent English user is becoming more complex. For example, English learners are expected to communicate not only with native speakers of English, but also with English speakers whose native language is not English. However, Korean English education does not seem to be prepared to make Korean EFL learners competent English users. Thus, this paper deals with reasons why Korean English education is not reflecting EIL. This paper argues that the discrepancy between awareness of and attitude towards World Englishes is exposing Korean EFL learners only to native varieties of English, which probably causes difficulties in communicating in English. Along with the review on how Korean EFL stake holders consider English varieties other than native varieties, this paper proposes three feasible ways to incorporate different varieties of English with consideration of the local context of Korea.

Screenagers today may not have any difficulties in using digital technology for everyday social and entertainment purposes, but the extent to which they can make effective use of it for their own learning has not yet been fully explored. The purpose of the study is to investigate secondary school students’ autonomous learning and perspectives on the use of digital technology in EFL reading. With a total of 275 middle school students in Gyeongsang-do area of South Korea, the research was carried out in a mixed method. The data was collected through a survey questionnaire, supplemented by interviews. The results identified 60.4% of participants as autonomous learners in reading with digital technology. The level of learner autonomy was also positive for the five categories. The students’ perspectives are slightly positive (52.2%) towards the use of digital technology in autonomous reading. While recognizing its usefulness, they were neither interested nor motivated in the use of digital technology in autonomous reading. Grade three responded most negatively in terms of their perspectives on the use of it. It is suggested that teachers should promote the students’ enjoyable reading by exposing it to various useful resources and monitoring their progress.

Knowledge about academic writing is important to be promoted among the community in Institutes of Teacher Education Malaysia (ITEMs) as the teacher trainees will need to teach these academic writing skills to their students in the future. Additionally, the amalgamation of digital technologies and instructional practice is known to be able to ignite the change in the teacher trainees’ learning of academic writing. As such, this study was conducted by adopting a single group quasi-experimental research design to investigate the effects of digital writing software as a tool for process approach to writing on teacher trainees’ academic writing performance. The study was done on 10 teacher trainees at one ITEM using pre- and post-tests, observation, and reflective journal. Findings indicate that the use of digital writing software as a tool for process approach to writing does improve the teacher trainees’ academic writing performance. The eclectic approach proposes an effective way of enhancing the writing process and increasing the teacher trainees’ motivation to write digital conceptual papers. The use of digital writing software as a tool for process approach to writing can be carried out over an extended duration to develop better comprehension and practice of academic writing.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of flipped learning in Korean EFL context. The study focuses on whether flipped learning leads to more increased learning outcomes in comparison to conventional or blended learning, especially regarding English speaking skills. A total of 70 first-year students in a Korean university participated in the study. They were divided into conventional, blended learning, and flipped learning groups. For the experiment, online contents were used for the flipped learning group, online contents and messengers were utilized for the blended learning group, and the conventional group was given paper-based activities. The pre- and post-tests were administered and evaluated using a rubric following the IELTS speaking assessment criteria. For the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were collected and analyzed. Findings showed the statistically significant increases between the pre-test and post-test scores regarding fluency and coherence and lexical resources for all three groups. In terms of grammatical range and accuracy and pronunciation, however, only the two experimental groups showed significant improvements. Group comparison results showed no significant differences regarding all four items. Based on the findings, this study hopes to offer insights on the decision to implement flipped learning in EFL classes in Korea.

This study aims to investigate the effects of blended learning on Thai university students’ speaking ability, students’ learning motivation, as well as to explore students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards blended learning. Utilizing a mixed-methods embedded experimental research design, 56 students in the treatment group received blended learning instruction. Meanwhile, the other 46 students in the control group received traditional teaching instruction. In this study, the pre- and post-speaking tests and students’ learning motivation questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data. The qualitative data were retrieved from students’ online reflection blogs and students’ and teachers’ semi-structured group interviews. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were then used to analyze the data. The research results revealed that blended learning instruction helped improve students’ speaking ability. Furthermore, the results indicated that students’ learning motivation was at a high level. Additionally, a great majority of both student and teacher participants had positive perceptions towards blended learning. The research results, therefore, conclusively proves that blended learning implementation is effective in improving students’ speaking ability and in attaining a high level of students’ learning motivation.

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination is a high-stakes matriculation system that determines the opportunity for higher education and social mobility for most local students. This means that content featured in the tests poses strong washback effects on classroom teaching and learning. Despite the fact that the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) recognizes the effects of washback and the necessity to use it in a positive way, certain aspects within the HKDSE English Language Reading Comprehension paper might have been overlooked. This paper looks at the genres, text sources and topics featured by the HKDSE examination since its inception in 2011. It finds that while there is an effort to diversify the topics featured and ensure their appropriacy to local candidates, the Authority falls short in utilizing a wide enough range of text genres in its examinations, possibly leading to narrowed English reading abilities in the population. Additionally, texts are also usually selected from sources that favor affluent, professional demographics, which has possible implications for the fairness of the test.