ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
On the Relation of Locus of Control and L2 Reading and Writing Achievement
Author: Ghonsooly, Behzad
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Locus of Control,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Reading Achievement,Writing Achievement,Correlation,Undergraduate Students,English (Second Language),Interviews,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Grade Point Average,Likert Scales

Locus of control, a psychological construct, has been the focus of attention in recent decades. Psychologists have discussed the effect of locus of control on achieving life goals in social/psychological interactions. While learning a foreign language involves both social interactions and psychological processes, the role and relation of locus of control in foreign language achievement is seemingly overlooked. This study is, therefore, concerned with examining the relationship between EFL learners' locus of control (LOC) and their L2 reading and writing achievement. Using Internal Control Index as the main instrument of the study and measuring L2 reading and writing achievements of 136 undergraduate students studying English as their major in two universities followed by an interview, the researchers examined the relation of their locus of control and their writing and reading comprehension achievements. The results of the study indicated that locus of control had a positive correlation with their L2 reading and writing achievement. Also the results of the interviews supported the information obtained from the questionnaires. The researchers have pinpointed to the importance of inculcating a sense of responsibility in EFL learners to improve their LOC orientation which might result in higher achievements in L2 reading and writing.
Building an Honors Education for the Twenty-First Century: Making Connections in and outside the Classroom
Author: Alger, Jonathan
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Honors Curriculum,Mentors,Teacher Student Relationship,Interdisciplinary Approach,Educational Experience,Educational Benefits,College Programs,Interprofessional Relationship

Jonathan Alger, president of James Madison University, reflects on his experience as a student who searched for an honors program in which it was &quot;cool&quot; for students to develop close mentoring relationships with faculty and where students were encouraged to seek both breadth and depth in their education. He realized he was seeking a significant opportunity to participate in an environment marked by high-impact learning practices, a focus on the big issues facing humanity, and lifelong learning. As a university president, he strives to create similar opportunities for the next generations of students. His college honors experience taught him the importance not just of interdisciplinary connections, but also of personal connections and relationships as a key to intellectual stimulation and growth.
Towards a Class-Centred Approach to EFL Teaching in the Palestinian Context
Author: Ayyash, Adnan I. Abu
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Classroom Techniques,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Preferences,Questionnaires,Language Teachers,Experienced Teachers,Student Needs

The teaching article attempts to highlight the significance of introducing a class-centred approach (henceforth CCA) to L2 teaching in the Palestinian context. Additionally, it aims to pinpoint that experienced teachers can make their teaching strategies more motivating and more communicative, through intertwining their learners' pedagogical and social demands. It is centered on the EFL teachers' everyday behaviours in a language classroom. It tries to precisely give an explanation and a definition of the concept of (CCA) and its implication in classroom language learning In addition, the article investigates the theoretical framework that underlie the CCA to teaching. In order to provide an overview of the present teaching preferences in L2 classroom conducted by EFL teachers at home, a questionnaire has been distributed to a sample population of EFL teachers from a Palestinian university. Meanwhile, the article tries to justify the need and the appropriateness of CCA to language teaching, with special focus on the Palestinian context. Alongside discussing and analyzing the questionnaire results, the article also makes use of major findings reached by many studies in this respect. Ultimately, it concludes discussion by confirming that language teachers' success in meeting and intertwining the learners' socio-pedagogic needs help EFL teachers cultivate and create a non-threatening classroom environment in which learners interact readily in the target language.
A Corpus-Based Study of the Misuse of Tenses in the English Composition of Chinese College Students
Author: Duan, Manfu
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Students,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Morphemes,Verbs,Writing (Composition),Error Analysis (Language),Error Correction,Interlanguage,Computational Linguistics

Chinese Students' English has its own characteristics. It is of significance to analyze and study these characteristics. The paper uses the corpus approach to study the misuse of tenses in Chinese College students' CET-4 compositions of the sub-corpus of &quot;Non-major College Students&quot; in the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC). Nine types of misuse are identified, and analysis is made of the causes of each type. It is found that the misuse of tenses in Chinese college students' English compositions is mainly in the simple present tense and the simple past tense; the wrong collocation of tenses is mostly in the kind of complex sentence with the main clause and subordinate clause both indicating the future action and the subordinate clause using the simple present tense; as for the two special words &quot;could&quot; and &quot;would&quot; with both declarative and subjunctive usages, Chinese students often get confused and misuse them; students have vague understanding of the time concept indicated by the different tenses. Based on the analysis, the author tentatively provides some interpretations for these mistakes: many problems exist in the teaching of grammar in Chinese English teaching, and the teaching of tenses is not systematic and the focus of teaching and tests is not in accordance with the actual uses of tenses; students are affected by inter-lingual transfer and intra-lingual transfer when making English sentences. At last, some suggestions are offered by the author for the teaching of tenses: teachers should combine systematic teaching of tenses with the teaching of tenses in actual contexts and students should try to write English compositions using different tenses.
Critical Language Awareness in Pedagogic Context
Author: Ali, Shamim
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Metalinguistics,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Critical Reading,Discourse Analysis,Teaching Methods,Critical Thinking,Thinking Skills,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Program Effectiveness,Student Motivation,Graduate Students,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes

This study was designed to investigate the significance of developing students' critical language awareness through explicit teaching methodology of some procedures of critical discourse analysis. The researcher integrated critical activities into her teaching and students' learning process. The study was planned prudently to discover the procedure of encoding and decoding of the writer's message and to teach students the skill of inferencing evaluating and explaining through higher-order thinking processes. The participants of this study were 18 Mphil students of English Linguistics studying in NUML. The post-test revealed that the participants' power of critical thinking increased in comparison to the pre-test. Their motivation level was also enhanced and they were able to decode the message of the text. They were able to deal with challenging tasks rather than mere passive tasks. It was concluded that about 90% of the students' critical language awareness rose after becoming familiar with CDA [Critical Discourse Analysis] techniques.
Pedagogical Implications on Medical Students' Linguistic Needs
Author: Hwang, Yanling
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Needs,Medical Students,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,Language Aptitude,Needs Assessment,Language Usage,Student Evaluation,Teaching Methods,Cooperative Learning

In this paper, an extended teaching implication is performed based on the study of medical students' linguistic needs in Tawian (Hwang, Lin, 2010). The aims of previous study were to provide a description of the linguistic needs and perceptions of medical students and faculty members in Taiwan. However, this paper put more thoughts on the pedagogical application of the findings. The paper presented teaching implication of medical English or general English based on perceptions of medical students and faculty members. The extended study related to the teaching application tended to answer the following six issues: (1) the use of the English language (2) the importance of using English in the medical field (3) evaluations of medical students' English ability (4) a needs analysis of the English course for the School of Medicine (5) suggestions about the English curriculum for the School of Medicine and (6) other assistance or requirements identified by students.
The Effect of Computer-Assisted Whole Language Instruction on Taiwanese University Students' English Learning
Author: Wang, Pei-ling
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Computer Assisted Instruction,Whole Language Approach,Student Attitudes,Instructional Effectiveness,Reading Improvement,Reading Skills,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,College Entrance Examinations,Language Tests,Statistical Analysis,College Freshmen,Likert Scales

The purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate students' perceptions of computer-assisted whole language instruction; (2) to examine the effectiveness of whole language instruction on students' reading improvement; and (3) to determine the difference between basic-level and advanced-level students' improvement in reading skills. A total of 212 freshmen (98 low level and 114 high level students) were quasi-randomly selected as the participants of the survey study. Instruments included a questionnaire and the English Entrance Examination. The results of the study indicate most students evaluated the instruction positively. While the significant difference in the gain scores of the t-test reveals that integrated instruction is effective in improving students' reading ability (p = 0.00), basic-level students had much greater improvement than advanced-level level students, whose scores even showed slight regression.
A Comparative Study of EFL Teachers' and Intermediate High School Students' Perceptions of Written Corrective Feedback on Grammatical Errors
Author: Jodaie, Mina
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Language Teachers,High School Students,Secondary School Teachers,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Written Language,Feedback (Response),Grammar,Error Correction,Comparative Analysis,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Language Proficiency,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research

This study was an attempt to compare EFL teachers' and intermediate high school students' perceptions of written corrective feedback on grammatical errors and also to specify their reasons for choosing comprehensive or selective feedback and some feedback strategies over some others. To collect the required data, the student version of questionnaire developed for the purposes of this study was distributed to 100 intermediate high school students who were selected based on their scores on a proficiency test. The matching teacher version of the above-mentioned questionnaire was also distributed to 30 EFL teachers in language institutes. Semi-structured interviews with 8 teachers and 10 students were also carried out to provide more in-depth and qualitative data. Results showed that there are some important differences as well as similarities between teachers' and students' perceptions of written corrective feedback on grammatical errors. In addition, some unexpected differences in EFL teachers' perceptions of written corrective feedback were found. Overall, the present study can have some insightful implications for the field of EFL writing instruction.
Comparing Literacy Instruction within China and the United States
Author: Simnacher-Pate, Roberta
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Literacy,Comparative Education,Elementary Education,Qualitative Research,Investigations,Case Studies,Accountability,Leadership Responsibility,Student Experience,Educational Facilities,Journal Articles,Interviews,Classroom Observation Techniques

The presence of multilingual learners places multifarious demands upon classroom educators to properly select appropriate research-based and functional methods, materials, and assessments to guide children's literacy development. Researchers aimed to investigate whether universal teaching methods, materials, assessments, concerns, and problems exist within countries around the world, albeit disguised in a myriad of languages. As a plethora of questions continued to arise, an opportunity was seized to explore the educational similarities and differences of elementary school literacy instruction between China and the United States specifically. Qualitative methods of investigation were utilized in this case study to determine that Chinese schools in Beijing utilized teacher-centered methods of instruction, structured learning environments, and whole-class leveled instruction in departmentalized settings. These principles promote educational development, even though schools in the United States are moving from that model to ones more individualized, aimed at preventing student failure and emphasis is placed on remediation of difficulties.
The Construct Validation of a Questionnaire of Social and Cultural Capital
Author: Pishghadam, Reza
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Cultural Capital,Social Capital,Construct Validity,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Correlation,Factor Analysis,Predictor Variables,College Students,Reliability,Interpersonal Competence

The present study was conducted to construct and validate a questionnaire of social and cultural capital in the foreign language context of Iran. To this end, a questionnaire was designed by picking up the most frequently-used indicators of social and cultural capital. The Factorability of the intercorrelation matrix was measured by two tests: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity. The results obtained from the two tests revealed that the factor model was appropriate. To validate the questionnaire, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed. The application of the Principle Component Analysis to the participants' responses resulted in 14 extracted factors accounting for 69% of the variance. The results obtained from the Scree Test indicated that a five-factor solution might provide a more parsimonious grouping of the items in the questionnaire. The rotated component matrix indicated the variables loaded on each factor so that the researchers came up with the new factors, i.e., social competence, social solidarity, literacy, cultural competence, and extraversion. Finally, statistical results were discussed and suggestions were made for future research.
The Validation Process of the SILL: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Author: Park, Gi-Pyo
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Measures (Individuals),Learning Strategies,Factor Analysis,College Students,Statistical Analysis,Taxonomy,Correlation,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Classification,Validity,Goodness of Fit

This study examined the validity of the SILL by performing a confirmatory factor analysis among 914 university students learning English in Korea. The results showed that all the fit indices including chi-square, RMSEA, CFI, and NFI used to test Oxford's two construct and six construct taxonomy of the SILL provided unacceptable fit to the data. These results might be in part due to the large number of the participants and in part due to the high correlations among the constructs. Implications of these findings were discussed, followed by future study areas to shed further light on the SILL and language learning strategies.
Educating the Leaders of the Future
Author: Cornelissen, Albert
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Honors Curriculum,Student Development,Educational Practices,Leadership Training,Interdisciplinary Approach,Thinking Skills,Academic Standards,Problem Based Learning,College Programs,Foreign Countries

Some students want to broaden their perspectives while others want to deepen their knowledge, and it is vital to challenge students to the level of their ability and interest. However, in regular degree programmes the possibilities for individualization and differentiation in content and didactics are often limited. The main focus of a regular degree programme is how to guarantee the bachelor's level for all students. Focusing on the average student alone, though, might cause students who are looking for an additional challenge to lose interest. This article describes how Windesheim University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands) addresses the challenge of educating the leaders of the future through the Windesheim Honours College and Honours Programmes.
Writing on the Soul: Technology, Writing, and the Legacy of Plato
Author: Miller, Paul
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing (Composition),Figurative Language,Technology,Rhetoric,Foreign Countries

There is some ambivalence over how the idea of the tool in rhetoric and composition should be viewed. During the last four Conferences on College Composition and Communication (2004-2008) the word &quot;tool&quot; appears, on average, more than 20 times a year in the titles of presentations, workshops, and sessions. Sometimes the word has positive connotations, such as &quot;Blogs as Professional and Pedagogical Tools,&quot; and &quot;Inquiry and Argument, Tools for Individual Discovery, Analysis and Growth.&quot; Sometimes the connotation is unclear, such as &quot;Computational Linguistics and Composition: A Double Logic of Media and Tools,&quot; or the aptly titled &quot;'Writing Is Hard, But Tools I Understand': Activity Theory for Teaching Writing to Students in Technical Majors.&quot; Other times the word has negative connotations, or at least the sense that a tool is an easily abused objective force, as in &quot;Branded: Student Writing as a Marketing Tool for Colleges&quot; and &quot;Teaching Technology as Concept, Not as Tool.&quot; In some cases the concern over tools goes beyond ambivalence, and scholars mount serious, extended attacks on the status of tools, and of the tool as a metaphor in the context of writing. In this article Paul Miller examines the metaphor of writing as tool, refining it rather than replacing it. He argues, writing, as opposed to language, &quot;can&quot; be put aside--that's one of its advantages. Indeed, many cultures never had writing. And writing, Miller states, is fundamentally external and material in its origins and its dependence on technology. He suggests a more approving attitude toward tools, and a more developed notion of how external technology relates to other aspects of the discipline is needed.
More than 100 Years of Rhetoric at the University of Minnesota
Author: Beard, David
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Rhetoric,Universities,Departments,Educational History,Curriculum Development,Majors (Students),Educational Change,Writing (Composition),Trend Analysis

As part of the development of a Department of Writing Studies in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, the 99-year-old Department of Rhetoric in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences was dismantled. The bulk of Rhetoric faculty have been shifted to this new department of Writing Studies. The undergraduate majors and minors (in Scientific and Technical Communication [STC], for example) and the graduate programs (the MS in STC and the MA and PhD in Rhetoric and STC) were shifted to the new Department of Writing Studies. Of all major research institutions, the University of Minnesota has had perhaps the most convoluted relationship with rhetorical theory and practice. The rhetorical tradition has been at the heart of the Department of Rhetoric and will be at the heart of the Department of Writing Studies--though institutional realignments always mean change. The rhetorical has been essential to the Department of Communication Studies since the postwar period. And, the College of Liberal Arts has housed a number of interdisciplinary initiatives that have included rhetorical study: a Communications program, a freestanding program in Composition; a Center for Advanced Studies in Language, Style, and Literary Theory, and a Center for Writing (offering a graduate minor in Literacy and Rhetorical Studies). This fragmentation and dispersal of rhetorical studies is part and parcel of the complex positioning of rhetoric at a Midwestern university with roughly 50,000 students. The particular dismantling of the Department of Rhetoric strikes a chord because this is not the first time that a Department of Rhetoric has been dismantled at the University of Minnesota. An examination of the history of the dissolution of the first Department of Rhetoric and the fate of its programs can serve as an important foil for the critical analysis of the current institutional position of rhetorical studies. The dialogue on the institutional position of rhetoric is functioning at an interdisciplinary level (through the Alliance for Rhetoric Societies and its related initiatives) and at the disciplinary level (as the Consortium for Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition seeks disciplinary status in the National Research Council). This comparison will allow the author to anecdotally demonstrate what he believes are generalizable conditions affecting the development of programs centered on rhetorical tradition.