ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Native or Non-Native-Speaking Teaching for L2 Pronunciation Teaching?--An Investigation on Their Teaching Effect and Students' Preferences
Author: Li, Ying
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Nonmajors,Asians,Language Teachers,Native Speakers,Pronunciation Instruction,Undergraduate Students,Preferences,Student Attitudes,Teacher Characteristics,Pretests Posttests,Language Tests,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries,Evaluators,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research

This study investigated L2 leaners' preferences between native-speaking teachers (NST) and non-native-speaking teachers (NNST) as their English pronunciation teacher, and examined the participants' accentedness and comprehensibility in L2-English pronunciation after being taught by a NST and a NNST. The participants were 30 undergraduates who were doing non-English majors at a university in China. They went through 4-month English pronunciation classes. In the first 2 months, they were taught by a NST. From the 3rd to the 4th month, they were taught by a NNST. Their accentedness and comprehensibility of spoken English were tested at the beginning of the programme (pre-test), at the end of the 2nd month (middle test), and at the end of the 4th month (post-test). Information on their evaluation of the NST and NNST as a pronunciation teacher was collected with questionnaires at the end of the experiment. According to the results, (1) compared with that in pre-test, the participants' accentedness and comprehensibility both improved slightly in middle test; (2) compared with that in middle test, the participants received significant improvement both in comprehensibility and accentedness; (3) the majority of the participants prefer a NST to a NNST to be their English pronunciation teacher.
Cross-Cultural Comparison of Effective Leadership in Schools for Children with Blindness or Low Vision in the United States and Nigeria
Author: Ajuwon, Paul M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Leadership Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Blindness,Cross Cultural Studies,Leadership Qualities,Comparative Analysis,Residential Schools,Leadership Styles,Special Education,Questionnaires,Visual Impairments,Meta Analysis,Children,Principals,Teachers,Correlation,Factor Analysis,Likert Scales

In this project, the authors used the Essential Behavioral Leadership Qualities (EBLQ) method of measuring leadership effectiveness to assess and compare the effectiveness of principals (leaders) of residential schools for children with blindness or low vision in the United States (U.S.) and Nigeria. A total of 248 teachers (subordinates) in 25 schools in the U.S. and 271 teachers in 22 schools in Nigeria, assessed their principals against the qualities they (teachers) perceived to be essential for effective leadership in their respective countries. Differences found in perceived EBLQ items for leadership effectiveness in both countries demonstrated support for both the trans-cultural and culture-specific perspectives of leadership effectiveness. The outcomes in both countries indicated that the principals could derive a &quot;coaching&quot; effect from the two studies regarding the efforts needed to improve their leadership styles to achieve congruence between essentiality and effectiveness.
Graduate Students' Initial Exploration of Teaching Students with Disabilities in Physical Education
Author: Sato, Takahiro
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Graduate Students,Physical Education Teachers,Physical Education,Masters Programs,Severe Disabilities,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews,Journal Writing,Teacher Education,Individualized Education Programs,Special Education,Teacher Education Programs,Practicums

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning master's degree students ascribed to their first semester of experience teaching students with severe and profound disability (SPD) in a physical education (PE) practicum. This study utilized a narrative inquiry design and interviews were conducted with four graduate students focusing on their perceptions, experiences, and thoughts of teaching students with SPD in PE. Narrative research is used in the studies of educational practices and experiences, and conceptualizes teachers as storytellers who individually and socially lead storied teaching and professional lives (Connelly &amp; Clandinin, 1990). As part of their coursework, each participant completed hands-on practicum experiences teaching students with SPD. Data were collected through demographic questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, reflective journaling, and e-mail correspondences. Data were analyzed utilizing narrative analyses and three themes emerged; (a) learning about caring, (b) assessing students with disabilities, and (c) real life and daily realities. Overall, this study demonstrated that participants interpreted their experiences as difficult and challenging, yet rewarding. They reported that the experience helped change their perceptions about disability and caring relationships with students with disabilities, and understand concerns related to assessing and teaching students with SPD.
Error Correction in Oral Classroom English Teaching
Author: Jing, Huang
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Error Correction,Oral Language,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Asians,Language Teachers,Written Language,Teacher Student Relationship,Junior High School Students,Error Analysis (Language),Secondary School Teachers,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Pronunciation,Grammar

As is known to all, errors are inevitable in the process of language learning for Chinese students. Should we ignore students' errors in learning English? In common with other questions, different people hold different opinions. All teachers agree that errors students make in written English are not allowed. For the errors students make in oral English, opinions vary from person to person. Many teachers think we should mainly focus on fostering the students' competence of using the languages fluently, and errors the students make can be ignored. As far as I am concerned, we shouldn't teach students this way. In theory, there is no doubt that students are allowed to make errors while learning English. As Li Yang puts it, students should enjoy making mistakes. There is another saying that the more mistakes you make, the more you will learn. It shows that mistakes can unfold what students are poor in. The teacher can help them out in time. All students hope for teachers' help. They are willing to follow teachers' guidance when necessary. Only in this way can they improve their English little by little. On the other hand, if we ignore students' errors in spoken English, they will never be able to communicate well with other in English or do well in exams. In fact, the language error usually occurs in classroom English teaching at junior high school.This thesis will talk about language error correction in classroom teaching at junior high school through analyzing the types of errors and exploring the causes of errors. And it will put forward to some strategies to correct these errors.
Graduate Students' Needs and Preferences for Written Feedback on Academic Writing
Author: Singh, Manjet Kaur Mehar
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Graduate Students,Student Needs,Student Attitudes,Feedback (Response),Written Language,Preferences,Academic Discourse,Statistical Analysis,Questionnaires,Supervisors,Foreign Countries,College Faculty,Teacher Student Relationship,Writing (Composition),Instructional Effectiveness,Masters Programs,Doctoral Programs,Writing Evaluation,Masters Theses,Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this research is to examine graduate students' needs and preferences for written feedback on academic writing from their lecturers and thesis supervisors. Quantitative method via survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 21 respondents. The data collection involved Master and Doctorate students at a tertiary level institution in Malaysia. The data was analyzed and tabulated using descriptive analysis. Results indicate that graduate students regularly need written feedback on their academic writing and they preferred electronic method to obtain feedback from their supervisors. Findings also indicate that graduate students appreciated feedback which was straightforward, provided clear instructions, directed them to other related resources, and feedback which was detailed or specific. This research filled the gap in literature by providing awareness among thesis supervisors and lecturers on the students' needs and preference for written feedback on their academic writing. Apart from that, greater understanding of students' perceived needs for feedback and preferences of feedback is also vital for lectures and thesis supervisors to increase the effectiveness of providing constructive written feedback.
Reasons for the Slow Completion of Masters and Doctoral Degrees by Adult Learners in a South African Township
Author: Motseke, Masilonyana
Date: 2016-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Time to Degree,Masters Programs,Doctoral Programs,Graduate Students,Questionnaires,Interviews,Focus Groups,Student Attitudes,Computer Literacy,Research Skills,Racial Segregation,Access to Information,Stress Variables,Supervision,Student Employment,Stress Management,Foreign Countries,Libraries,Access to Education

The aim of the study was to investigate the reasons why adult learners took longer than required to complete their Master's and Doctoral degrees. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to collect data. Twenty adult learners who registered for the Master's and Doctoral degrees at one township campus of a university were targeted, and 16 responded. All 16 participants lived in the townships, and obtained their primary, secondary and tertiary education from the township schools. It was found that the lack of computer skills, poor research skills, inadequate access to the internet, stress, supervision problems, as well as employer's workload contributed enormously to the adult learners' inability to complete their studies within the prescribed period. The study also highlighted the impact of apartheid education on adult learners at postgraduate level. The apartheid education system, which was characterised by poor education provision, played a major role in the slow completion of Masters and Doctoral degrees by the African adult learners. It is recommended that African adult learners who enroll for Masters or Doctoral degrees should do training in research approaches, computer skills, information search and stress management prior to their study. The study duration for both the Masters and Doctoral degrees also need to be reviewed, especially for adult learners or students who obtained their education from the township schools.
Complexities of Shared Ethnicity, Immigrant Education, and Disabilities: Reconceptualizing Multicultural Special Education
Author: Poon-McBrayer, Kim Fong
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Immigrants,Ethnicity,Special Education,Cultural Differences,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Asians,Language Proficiency,Foreign Countries,Disabilities,Cultural Pluralism,Language of Instruction,Teaching Methods,Educational Policy,Teacher Education,Identification,Multilingualism,Inclusion,Interviews,Observation,Diaries,Teacher Attitudes,Special Education Teachers,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,Dialects,Chinese,Sino Tibetan Languages

This article draws insight from a narrative inquiry to examine the complexities of educating immigrant students with disabilities in which language, culture, and disability collide. Issues related to language-in-education policy, teacher preparation, and the proportion and identification of culturally and linguistically diverse students were primarily reviewed within multicultural and multilingual education conceptual frameworks in English speaking countries between English speaking teachers and non-English speaking students. Little is known about potentially more complicated situations such as those in which teachers and students have a shared ethnicity and dialects with different levels of proficiency. This article thus attempts to illustrate and map the complexity based on the insight from a narrative inquiry situated in an inclusive school setting of Hong Kong. Multiple sources of data were included for a thorough understanding of and analyses on the place, temporality, and sociality within the narrative inquiry framework. Data were drawn from interviews, classroom observations, teacher diaries, school data, and student input. Analyses indicated that shared ethnicity and languages could complicate rather than simplify the teaching and learning contexts. The lived experiences of the special educator demonstrated and contextualised the complex issues of educating CLD children with ADHD of shared ethnicity in multilingual environments. Findings of this inquiry added an important dimension to immigrant and multicultural special education studies and concluded that current inquiry paradigm should be expanded to include shared ethnicity and different proficiency in shared dialects/languages.
Principles and Implementation of Reading Activities in Primary School English Class
Author: Jinxiu, Jing
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Educational Principles,Curriculum Design,Curriculum Development,Learning Activities,Elementary School Curriculum,Curriculum Implementation,Barriers

Reading is an important skill in learning English. However, reading class is not emphasized in some primary schools in China, and there are various problems with the reading activities, which inadequately just focus on teaching of words, sentences separately from texts. This paper aims to bring out a whole system of principles in designing flexible English reading activities to help students form a good reading habit, apply reading skills, use language learned pragmatically and be familiar with the cultures covered in read materials. At last, some examples are offered to demonstrate how to implement these principles so as to enhance reading for Primary school students effectively.
An Empirical Framework for ePortfolio Assessment
Author: Kelly-Riley, Diane
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Publishing,Portfolio Assessment,Evaluation Methods,Accountability,Reliability,Validity,Data Collection,Scores,Demography,Evaluation Criteria,Disproportionate Representation,College Freshmen,Writing Instruction,Writing (Composition),Student Certification,Longitudinal Studies,Case Studies,Evidence,Justice,Statistical Significance,Correlation

This research focuses on ePortfolio assessment strategies that yield important accountability and reporting information. Under foundational categories of reliability, validity, and fairness, we present methods of gathering evidence from ePortfolio scores and their relationship to demographic information (gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status) and criterion variables (admission tests and course grades) as a means for stakeholders to ensure that all students, especially traditionally underserved students, strengthen their connection to the academy. Data is drawn from two sources: University of Idaho first-year writing program's ePortfolio student certification assessment (n = 1,208) and its relationship to the State of Idaho's K-20 longitudinal data collection system; and New Jersey Institute of Technology's longitudinal ePortfolio-based first-year writing program assessment (n = 210). Following results and discussion of these two case studies, we conclude by offering guidelines for quantitative reporting based on fairness as a framework for integrative and principled action.
Positive Character Traits of Special Education Staff: Commonalities and Applications
Author: Korn, Maggie A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Special Education,Semi Structured Interviews,Developmental Disabilities,Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Special Education Teachers,Surveys,Likert Scales,Personality Traits,Special Schools,School Personnel

The goal of the present study was to identify the positive character traits of staff working with a special education population and further understand how staff apply these traits in their work. Twenty-eight staff from a school/treatment program for students with autism and related developmental disorders completed the VIA Inventory of Strengths Survey. The five most highly rated traits included Kindness, Honesty, Humor, Fairness, and Love. Participants who rated these five traits the highest took part in a semi-structured interview. Responses indicated that staff used these positive traits to motivate others, foster other positive traits, maximize student progress, avoid negative outcomes, promote coping, build strong relationships, and meet the individual need of students. That these positive traits could be &quot;contagious&quot; and have reciprocal benefit was often noted, and overarching themes included a commitment to progress and doing the &quot;right&quot; thing. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Guidance for ePortfolio Researchers: A Case Study with Implications for the ePortfolio Domain
Author: Kennelly, Emily
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Portfolios (Background Materials),Electronic Publishing,Case Studies,College Students,Skills,Employment Interviews,Simulation,Statistical Analysis,Student Surveys

This study examined whether or not students using a career ePortfolio, including a matrix for identifying and reflecting on transferrable skills, enabled them to rate their skills more confidently and positively after a simulated (mock) job interview. Three groups were studied: those completing the skills matrix in the ePortfolio; those using the ePortfolio but not the skills matrix; and those not using the ePortfolio. Results of a one-way ANOVA indicated no significant score differences among groups on a self-reported skill survey. However, other findings pertained to difficulties in conducting research on the effectiveness of online career ePortfolios and suggestions for correcting such problems in the future.
How Authors and Readers of ePortfolios Make Collaborative Meaning
Author: Benander, Ruth
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Authors,Reader Response,Electronic Publishing,Portfolio Assessment,Case Studies,Protocol Analysis,Research Universities,College Students,College Faculty,Professional Personnel,Audience Response,Audience Awareness,Audience Analysis,Navigation (Information Systems),Interviews,Reading Motivation,Reflection

This article reports on a case study, using a think-aloud approach (Boren &amp; Ramey, 2000; Jaspers, Steen, van den Bos &amp; Geenen, 2004; Kilsdonk et al., 2016), to investigate how different types of audiences interpret ePortfolios. During recorded viewing, students, instructors, and business professionals narrated their experience of reading two ePortfolios. Consistent with findings by Conrad and Bowie (2006), Ramirez (2011), and Gallagher and Poklop (2014), interpretation of an ePortfolio's purpose varied depending on the audience reading the ePortfolio. Navigation through the ePortfolio was most consistent across all 3 groups, with participants interpreting the navigation menu order as a recommendation of reading order by the author of the ePortfolio. Motivation to continue reading, interpretation of personalization, and perception of reflective writing also varied depending on the audience reading the ePortfolio. This study provides evidence that an important element of teaching students how to build an ePortfolio is awareness of the purpose of the portfolio and the intended audience. In addition, the responses of the 3 different audiences suggest that multi-purpose ePortfolios may not be as successful in engaging audiences as targeted, single purpose ePortfolios.
Teachers' and Students' Attitudes towards L1 Use in EFL Classrooms in the Contexts of Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia
Author: Shuchi, Israt Jahan
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Native Language,Language Role,Teaching Methods,English (Second Language),Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Questionnaires,College Students,College Faculty,Semitic Languages,Indo European Languages,Language Usage,Learning Processes,Outcomes of Education,Language Attitudes,Surveys,Teacher Student Relationship,Classroom Communication,Universities,Foreign Countries

The role of a mother tongue (L1) in the teaching and learning of a foreign language (FL) has been the subject of much debate and controversy. This paper reports on a piece of research carried out in our own teaching environments (at universities both in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia) and presents an analysis of the attitudes of students and teachers towards the use of learners' mother tongue (in this case Bengali and Arabic) in English language classrooms at the tertiary level where English is taught as a non-major subject. For the study, two surveys with the same questionnaires were conducted in two universities each from Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with the participation of 1000 students and 30 teachers. Results suggest that a judicious and moderate use of L1 does not hinder learning; rather, it assists, aids and facilitates the teaching and learning process thus providing the teacher with an effective pedagogical tool for maximizing the learning outcomes.
The Cart before the Horse? Exploring the Potential of ePortfolios in a Western Australian Medical School
Author: Bate, Frank
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Medical Education,Portfolios (Background Materials),Electronic Publishing,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Focus Groups,Interviews,Qualitative Research,Integrated Learning Systems,Medical Students,Student Attitudes

In 2014, the School of Medicine Fremantle of the University of Notre Dame Australia initiated a study to explore the curriculum underpinning portfolios used by first-year medical students. The School had used portfolios since 2005 and judged it timely to consider digital technologies as a mechanism to enhance student learning and improve efficiencies. A qualitative approach was adopted that investigated how the curriculum intersected with two ePortfolio platforms: Blackboard and Mahara. Data pertaining to the way in which Blackboard and Mahara ePortfolio platforms supported existing curriculum were collected from students through focus groups and tutors via interviews. As a measure of comparison, data were also collected from students and tutors who used the existing paper-based portfolio system. Findings confirmed that the curriculum should shape the way in which technology solutions are interpreted and implemented. It is posited that low-tech solutions are sometimes most appropriate for the curriculum context. However, exploring the potential of digital technologies helped the School to imagine other possibilities for curriculum renewal. Indeed, one outcome of the research was the development of a plan to re-invigorate portfolios, shifting the current task-based emphasis to one which recognizes the key role of reflection. The study may be of interest to teachers and managers seeking to explore ePortfolios as part of broader curriculum renewal initiatives.