English language teaching

This mixed-method (questionnaires and interviews) study investigated the attitudes of teachers of English across different level of institutes in Hong Kong towards HKE; the study includes both local English Teachers (LETs) and Native English Teachers (NETs). By analyzing both qualitative data and quantitative data from 100 questionnaires and 28 individual interviews, it is shown that both NETs and LETs had a generally positive attitude towards HKE although LETs showed a ‘bi-polar attitude’ when it comes to using HKE in class. Results also showed that NETs and LETs had different foci in pronunciation teaching and their teaching may be altered by their attitudes towards HKE. Further research should be done from teachers’ perspective because teachers play an influential role in executing teaching plans; their attitudes towards language may affect their students in long term.

While the role of culture in second and/or foreign language (L2/FL) learning and teaching has often been unquestioned, empirical research on culture learning and teaching in L2/FL education has been less common than opinion-oriented writings in relevant journals. This article offers a summary and synthesis of 52 empirical studies on L2/FL culture learning and teaching published during the 20-year period 1996-2015. In doing so, it first provides some background, then discusses the methods used for choosing, summarizing, and briefly analyzing these studies, and finally outlines a range of quantitative and qualitative findings. Culture learning and teaching research in L2/FL education during this period involved five main languages (English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish) in 19 different countries; adopted mainly qualitative research approaches; and addressed a diverse range of age and educational levels, although postsecondary research studies were most common. The survey here highlights a shift from a focus on ‘culture’ to the ‘intercultural,’ and reveals that culture learning and teaching research has moved beyond reporting teachers’ and students’ attitudes to a range of topics impacting L2/FL learning and teaching, including instructional approaches, teaching materials, assessment, and technology. It also points to connections between the studies outlined and offers possibilities and directions for future research in this important area.

Today it is widely accepted that people perceive the world according to social, cultural, and economic conditions of the date range that they were born in. The term generation is used to define people born around the same time and have common characteristics. People who were born after 2000 are called as the generation Z and are often regarded as iGeneration or Digital Natives since they were grown up with mobile communication technologies and the internet. Hence, this generation perceives the world in a different way than the people from older generations. So, understanding how learners of generation Z learn better might be helpful for teachers, school administrators, and policy makers in designing more effective instructional settings. In this respect, this study aims at exploring the instructional expectations of this new cohort of students in the English as foreign language classrooms. Questions for semi-structured interview were developed and used to elicit the opinions of randomly selected language learners and instructors from preparation classes of two universities and the data went under content analysis. Results indicated that it is no more possible to satisfy the Gen-Z students with the application of traditional methods and strategies. Teachers and materials are expected to be technology oriented to meet Gen Zers personal and academic needs. The study concluded that while the instructors and the students share some views about language instruction in common, still a generation gap exists for some aspects of language learning regarding materials, testing and evaluation, and assignments.

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Teaching of English to non-native students has always been a topic of discussion among the researchers. As English
has acquired the status of an international language and has become a status symbol, it has become important to study this
language in this age of Globalization. English has become a compulsory language in almost all schools and higher studies across
the globe. But there are also some complexities to teaching of English as a foreign language to non-native students. This paper
discusses the obstacles faced by the EFL learners and the role of teachers and some of the teaching problems in the situation.
IndexTerms - EFL/ESL, Language Skills, Motivation, Non-Native Learners, Native Speakers

Universal Grammar is the System of Principles, conditions and rules which are elements or properties of all human languages. All human beings share part of their knowledge of languages. U G is their common possession regardless of which is each one's mother tongue. Even if somebody speaks English or Japanese he has to use Verb phrases, Noun phrases, know how to use the phonetic properties, know the syntax of the words, even if he does not realise it he uses his/her U G. A person's language is U G plus the particular settings of parameters, plus lexicon of available words. The Grammar is the logic behind each language and by claiming that a U G exists, Noam Chomsky is drawing attention to the same problem that so worried Einstein, Morowitz, Wigner et al. Namely, that the human mind appears to have access to a non-personal and therefore universal reality (Cruse,). As Albert says the child starts with Universal Grammar as an innate endowment, already there, with all its parametrized options, and has only to hear how the options need to be set in his particular language to attain full grammar of that language (Albert 4). It is found that the mistakes that the children make are never against Universal Grammar.

Teaching Vocabulary explores different approaches to teaching vocabulary in ESL/EFL classrooms. It provides an overview of the place and importance of vocabulary in English language learning and teaching in an easy-to-follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include understanding vocabulary, the importance of vocabulary, relevant research findings that impact vocabulary, knowing your students’ vocabulary levels, and how to teach vocabulary effectively. [Note: The attached file includes the Table of Contents, front matter, and a sample of Ch. 1.]

Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning E is a double-blind refereed journal that explores a variety of issues related to translation teaching and learning. We seek qualitative and quantitative research articles that are relevant to this subject. The publications will be available free online via our website. The length of papers should be around 2500 to 6000 words. http://www.cttl.org/

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to form and use past simple tense, be familiar with the formation and word order in negative sentences and questions. Secondary Aims To introduce the past simple with its function to talk about the past (comparing it to the present simple and present progressive) To introduce the affirmative and negative form of the past simple and the forms of regular and irregular verbs To review adverbials of time concerning weekdays (on Monday, on Saturday, on the weekend), here used with the past tense. To practice the pronunciation of the "-ed " ending in the past simple and the stress of the personal pronoun when using the same question to talk about another person To provide Ss with controlled and semi-controlled practice in speaking and freer practice in writing in the context of reporting about past events using the past simple

This study reports the relative effectiveness of the inclusion theory when the combined strategy instruction on improving the reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts for students with dyslexia is implemented. A total sample of 298 students of English as a foreign language from both public and private schools participated in the study which employed a pre-test- post-test control group design to investigate the efficacy of combined strategy instruction consisting of Graphic organizers, Visual displays, Mnemonic illustrations, Computer exercises, Prediction, Inference, Text structure awareness, Main idea identification, Summarization, and Questioning. The study concluded that combined strategy instruction in the field of the inclusion theory is more effective than regular instruction in improving reading comprehension when using narrative texts, but there’s no difference, when using expository texts. There was no significant difference neither by gender nor by school ty...

This chapter explores the results of a study in Thailand that capitalised on the popularity of the selfie, providing second-year English language students with an opportunity to practise their oral presentation and speaking skills. The selfie was used not in the usual sense of online picture-sharing, but as a visual aid in a face-to-face interaction, thus serving as a “currency for social interaction” (van Dijck 2008, p.62) and communication device (Saltz, 2014). Mining the rich insights gained from the Thai study, this chapter presents another selfie-inspired activity adapted for a different context and purpose at a UK university. Initially designed to facilitate recall of students’ names linked with faces, the initiative evolved into an effective conversation starter. It is suggested that both selfie-inspired initiatives have led to serendipitous results, such as encouraging self-reflexivity among the students and promoting the development of “rapid intimacy” in the classroom (Vic...

This research aims to investigate English students' perceptions of using WhatsApp in paragraph writing class in one public university. Paragraph writing class is a part of language disciplines which may get some benefits from the usage of SNS. This qualitative research with a case study approach explores the perceptions of English students on the benefits and limitations of using WhatsApp during their learning activities. There were six participants in this research that the researcher got through purposive sampling; two students who got high, average, and low score of pre-test. The data were collected through questionnaire and interview. The data were analyzed in three major themes; 1. General background of the participants using WhatsApp, 2. Benefits of WhatsApp in paragraph writing class, and 3. Limitations of WhatsApp in paragraph writing class. The findings of the current research indicate that there were positive perceptions of the students in using WhatsApp in paragraph w...

Writing academic texts is a challenging endeavour for novice L2 writers, which causes them to rely heavily on the original texts. Some studies have differentiated intentional acts of fraud (like plagiarism) from patchwriting which they claim is unintentional source text reliance. However, others have a negative view toward it. The present study explores L2 graduate student writers and their professors' perspectives about these different writing practices and how they may work for or against developing professional writing expertise in a discipline. Survey questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. The results were analysed through calculating frequencies and percentages as well as inductive data analysis for transcribed interviews. The results showed that many graduate students used patchwriting in their attempts to write academic texts unintentionally and intuitively. The reasons identified for patchwriting were students' lack of confidence to write independen...

APA Citation: Şeker,E. (2016). Designing a competence-based syllabus for Turkish speaking learners of English in terms of accessibility to universal grammar. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 12(1), 79-109. Abstract This study focuses on designing an English grammar syllabus for Turkish speaking English learners, which is based on the assumption that learning English grammar will be simpler and easier for Turkish speaking learners if it is introduced in a way by which they can achieve accessibility to Universal Grammar. In this study, I analyze almost all traditional grammar modules presented in a reliable ELT reference course book referring to parameters set between Turkish and English languages, try to determine how much of these modules are accessible through first language competence and finally transfer the results into developing a foreign language learning syllabus, accordingly suggesting a hierarchy of learning for Turkish speaking English learners. The traditional...

Acquisition is the process of obtaining something. Language is a medium to express one's feelings. It is a primary tool for expression and communication in one's day to day life. Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the ability to apprehend and understand a language. "Cognition" refers to a mental process by which knowledge and understanding is developed in the mind and it plays a major role in language acquisition. The connection between cognition and language is the first and foremost key to language learning and teaching. In educational settings, understanding the functioning of the cognitive mechanisms underlying any language learning activities is essential. Communication happens among various species through a limited number of meaningful vocalizations or even with partially learned systems. It is cognition that truly makes one a human as there is no other species that can express infinite ideas with a limited set of symbols. It is language that sets human apart from other species. Some creatures other than humans may communicate with one another in justly complex ways, but none of their communication systems begins to approach language in its ability to convey information. The present study is intended to be descriptive research on the challenges in language acquisition and aims at understanding the barriers to communication. Language acquisition still remains a mystery as its difficult to explain the variations in languages and their acquisition.

This paper presents the results of a research study based on a pedagogical experience of two pre-service English teachers with seventh graders. The main goal was to analyze the students’ context representations, after using some songs in English as a trigger for reflection. The pedagogical implementation of the songs was designed from a critical pedagogy perspective which allows students to have a more visible role within their English classes. The data were collected through students’ artifacts, classroom observations, closed-ended questionnaires, and dialogues. The results show that after analyzing the contents of some songs in English, students felt motivated to share their own representation about what they face as adolescents and to express their feelings about them.

Knowing that writing is a crucial but challenging language skill in both academic and career lives, researchers have continually explored ways to facilitate learning and teaching of writing at different educational levels. This experimental study investigates the impact of using mentor texts in undergraduate writing classes on the students' writing proficiency. A quantitative, pre-posttest experimental design was used to achieve this purpose. Based on the strong relationship between reading and writing, and stemming from the modeling approach to learning, mentor texts are tested as potential tools in teaching word choice, sentence structure, and organization for Arab university undergraduates studying English as a foreign language. This is done by examining expository essays written by 128 female students before, during, and after the fifteen-week study period. The subjects are divided into control and experimental groups. A non-parametric Friedman test of differences among repeated measures is conducted and rendered a Chi-square value of 125.242 which is significant (p<.01). Comparing the scores of the three components of the essays, which are word choice, sentence structure, and organization, resulted in the finding that mentor texts could be an effective strategy to teach these three writing traits to undergraduate students.

This paper focuses on the use of the social network Instagram to provide supplementary English language learning material to learners from Arabic speaking countries. The author was able to use his online account in Instagram to assess the needs of these learners through data analyses. The content made specific to Arabic speakers by offering translation in each post from English into Arabic and vice versa to foster their interest in the English language. The account was followed by more than 48000 learners. The study aimed to comprehend how Arab learners promote the process of learning English language via the use of the social network Instagram. The study found that Arab learners do not like complicated, lengthy information and, instead, prefer simple, brief explanations related to the English language. The results of this study suggest that a similar program of offering English lessons on Instagram in the future would have an even greater following if only simplified content was of...

Education (GW-CEEE) is to advance education reform so all students achieve to high standards. GW-CEEE conducts policy and applied research, designs and implements program evaluations, and provides professional development and technical assistance. GW-CEEE&#39;s clients include state education agencies, school districts, schools, foundations, and federal agencies. For over a decade, GW-CEEE has conducted research on the inclusion and accommodation of English language learners (ELLs) in high stakes testing, including periodic reviews of state assessment policies for ELLs. GW-CEEE is currently conducting an applied research project with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the academic language demands of ELLs in middle and high schools. GW-CEEE also provides technical assistance and conducts professional development for clients in states, districts, and schools. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, GW-CEEE operates the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Cen...

The main purpose of the study was to find out the roles and attitudes of the parents
whose children learn English towards ELT for young learners. The study was
designed as a quantitative study and conducted with 157 parents in Çanakkale. A
confidence level questionnaire was conducted to the parents. The results indicated that the mean rank values of parents’ roles and attitudes towards ELT for young learners had a high mean score. Moreover, it has been found out that there is no statistically difference between female and male participants’ attitudes and roles towards ELT for young learners. In addition, there is no statistically difference between educator and other participants’ attitudes and roles towards ELT for young learners when the mean values of all items have been analyzed. The results of the study revealed that both parents knowing English and the ones not knowing it have almost similar mean values, so no significant difference can be claimed. When parents’ education level and the mean scores of each item in the questionnaire were analyzed, it can be inferred that there are statistically significant differences. Lastly, parents whose monthly income is between 0tl and 1000tl have the highest mean score of the item 7 which refers to the idea “I want my children to learn English because it will someday be useful in getting a good job”. Implications and suggestions for further research were put forward at the end of the study.

Esta investigación aborda la co-composición narrativa de la identidad profesional de docentes de inglés en su formación inicial en la carrera de profesorado de inglés de una universidad nacional de Argentina. Las identificaciones de estos profesores en cierne se manifiestan en los relatos que co-escribieron con la autora en su carácter de investigadora participante. La metodología de investigación se inscribe en la indagación narrativa ya que presenta herramientas poderosas de recolección de variados textos de campo en diversos sitios de esta carrera universitaria. La indagación abarcó un total de veinticuatro estudiantes cuyas identidades se analizaron y validaron narrativamente en un lapso de veinte meses. Este sucinto trabajo expone las narrativas co-compuestas de cuatro participantes, que entraman una (futura) identidad docente cuyo devenir conceptualizamos como existiendo en tránsito. Luego de presentar los cuatro relatos, sugerimos implicancias que devela el transcurrir de identidades contingentes en el currículo de la formación inicial del profesorado.

Both native and nonnative language teachers often find pronunciation a difficult skill to teach because of inadequate training or uncertainty about the effectiveness of instruction. But nonnative language teachers may also see themselves as inadequate models for pronunciation, leading to increased uncertainty about whether they should teach pronunciation (Golombek &amp; Jordan, 2005). Although studies have regularly shown that instruction is effective in promoting pronunciation improvement (Saito, 2012), it is not known if improvement depends on the native language of the instructor, nor if learners improve differently depending on whether their teacher is native or nonnative. This study investigated the effect of teachers&#39; first language on ratings of change in accentedness and comprehensibility. Learners in intact English classes were taught one class by a nonnative- and one by a native-English-speaking teacher. Each teacher taught the same pronunciation lessons over the course of 7 weeks. Results show that native listeners&#39; ratings of the students&#39; comprehensibility were similar for both teachers, despite many learners&#39; stated preference for native teachers. The results offer encouragement to nonnative teachers in teaching pronunciation, suggesting that, like other language skills, instruction on pronunciation skills is more dependent on knowledgeable teaching practices than on native pronunciation of the teacher.

The primary focus of research on employment of language learning strategies has been on identification of adoption of different learning strategies. However, the relationship between language learning strategies and proficiency levels was ignored in previous research. The present study was undertaken to find out whether there are any relationship between the employment of different strategies and learners &apos; levels of language proficiency. To this end,

the use of a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect… Your presentation should include: • the context of the topic – what prior knowledge would the class need in order to access this learning • the level of understanding needed for KS4 and how it fits into the KS4 curriculum • how you might approach the topic