ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Investigation on Chinese High School Students' Choice of Pursuing Undergraduate Education Abroad
Author: Chen, Jiankun
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,High School Students,Study Abroad,Undergraduate Study,College Choice,Student Surveys,Cultural Capital,Social Capital,Parent Influence,Self Efficacy

Globalization has greatly promoted student mobility around the world. Being a developing economy, China witnessed significant growth of students studying internationally, especially with the number of students study at undergraduate programs. However, empirical research on high school students' choice and the decision-making process of pursuing undergraduate programs abroad in the Chinese context is rarely found. Using a locally developed survey questionnaire, this study intends to explore this phenomenon. An analysis of the survey data reveals that cultural and social capital that parents possessed have significant impact on students' choice of pursuing undergraduate education abroad. This study also shows that these young Chinese high school students are quite rational education consumers. A majority of them have the self-efficacy to make informed decisions.
&quot;The Simpsons&quot;: Translation and Language Teaching in an EFL Class
Author: Pavan, Elisabetta
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Translation,Television,Programming (Broadcast),Communicative Competence (Languages),Intercultural Communication,Cultural Awareness,Role,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students

My point of departure for this paper is that translation, so long neglected in foreign language teaching, can not only improve students' linguistic competences in both a foreign language and their mother tongue, but also their awareness of cultural and intercultural elements. It is a widespread popular assumption, among those not involved in language teaching, that linguistic competences are the key to learning a language and to communicating in a foreign language; consequently, they assume that translation ought to play a major role in the study of a foreign language. Indeed, late 20th century theories of language teaching, apart from the grammar-translation method, have largely ignored or criticized the role of translation. I will focus on a translation course I taught to a class of a year three Italian undergraduate students studying foreign languages, and discuss the advantages of using translation to improve students' linguistic competences, in their mother tongue and in the foreign language, and to develop their intercultural communicative competences and their cultural (Bassnett, 2002, 2007) and intercultural awareness (Kramsch, 1993, 1998). The translated text was taken from &quot;The Simpsons,&quot; season 21, episode 16.
Ethiopian EFL Teachers' Perceptions and Utilization of Mediational Potentials of the Internet in ELT
Author: Boersma, Emily
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Internet,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Teacher Attitudes,Language Teachers,Barriers,Computer Attitudes,Technology Integration,Teaching Methods,Access to Computers,Technological Literacy,Faculty Workload,Time,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Statistical Analysis

The Internet has immense mediational potential in ELT in terms of providing learners with comprehensible input, a platform for social interaction, and opportunities to produce linguistic output. This study explores EFL teachers' perceptions and utilization of the Internet in ELT at Bahir Dar University (BDU) in Ethiopia; it also identifies the challenges and barriers to effective use of the Internet as a mediational tool. Twenty-one randomly selected instructors at BDU responded to a questionnaire. The results show that teachers have favorable perceptions of the mediational role of the Internet; however, they show fairly limited utilization of the Internet for teaching purposes. Therefore, there appears to be a mismatch between BDU instructors' positive perceptions and current practices. Furthermore, inadequacy of Internet access, students' lack of Internet skills, lack of skills of using the Internet for ELT purpose, extra work-load, time constraints were the major barriers to effective use of the Internet as a mediational tool. Based on these results, it is suggested that teachers' awareness be raised on how to leverage the Internet mediational artifacts in this limited technology context.
Women in Computer Sciences in Romania: Success and Sacrifice
Author: Ward, Kelly
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Females,Women Faculty,Computer Science Education,Qualitative Research,Interviews,Documentation,Social Influences,Political Influences,Politics of Education,Equal Education,Equal Opportunities (Jobs),Gender Bias,Educational History,Feminism,Career Choice,Masculinity

The purpose of this article is to more fully understand the professional lives of women academics in computer sciences in six Romanian universities. The work is exploratory and relies on a qualitative framework to more fully understand what it means to be a woman academic in high-tech disciplines in a second world economy. We conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews and reviewed a number of documents to create a context for the major social and political changes in Eastern Europe that affected the professional journeys of women academics in Romania. Results convey the ways in which gender, technology, and higher education are bound together by a multiplicity of conscious and unconscious inclusionary and exclusionary practices at universities. Findings also suggest that further research is needed on the theoretical underpinnings and practice of gender equality in Romanian higher education institutions. Women academics in computing face a complex interplay of discouraging factors, including severe financial austerity and the masculine domination of the disciplines, necessitating the establishment of structures and mechanisms to foster honest debate around the dilemma regarding equality of opportunity or equality of outcome.
Web-Based Language Learning Perception and Personality Characteristics of University Students
Author: Mirzaee, Meisam
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),College Students,Blended Learning,Internet,Extraversion Introversion,Personality Measures,Neurosis,Interviews,Questionnaires,Attitude Measures,Student Characteristics,Personality Traits,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research

The significance of learners' personality in language learning/teaching contexts has often been cited in literature but few studies have scrutinized the role it can play in technology-oriented language classes. In modern language teaching/learning contexts, personality differences are important and should be taken into account. This study determined university students' introvert/extrovert personality types and examined their perception/attitudes towards web-based language learning. The participants of the study who were selected through purposive sampling were 40 BA students of EFL, 22 female and 18 male. The participants attended blended classes that incorporated use of the Internet (Edublogs). Quantitative data were collected via the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) (1975) and two modified web-based language learning attitude/perception questionnaires (Gilmore, 1998; Slate, Manuel, &amp; Brinson, 2002). Interviews were conducted to reveal insights concerning the advantages/disadvantages of integrating use of the Internet from the participants' perspectives. T-test analyses did not indicate significant differences in attitudes between extroverts and introverts. Qualitative results indicated most of the participants considered internal, external, and psychological factors associated with the Internet use to be motivating, exciting, and stimulating. The study has implications for teachers and practitioners, particularly in blended, language learning classrooms.
Enhancing an Intermediate Syllabus for ESL Students with BYOD Interventions
Author: Kilar-Magdziarz, Ewa
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Case Studies,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Ownership,Foreign Countries,Laptop Computers,Focus Groups,Questionnaires,Online Surveys

Mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones have entered education and started being used by teachers and learners for studying. This evidence-based case study focuses on the enhancement of a syllabus with BYOD classes and the role it played in boosting motivation and classroom engagement. It shows how to enhance a syllabus for Intermediate students of English and how to implement any syllabus changes, furthermore, it shows the impact of the changes on the staff members and learners. The study was carried out in an Irish, middle-sized language school, concluding that the enhanced syllabus had a positive impact both on the learners and the teachers.
Instant Messaging Language in Jordanian Female School Students' Writing
Author: Rabab'ah, Ghaleb A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Synchronous Communication,Computer Mediated Communication,Females,Adolescents,High School Students,Writing (Composition),Private Schools,Academic Discourse,Literacy,Language Usage,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Language Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Questionnaires,Letters (Correspondence),Content Analysis,Discourse Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Memory,Spelling,Visual Aids,Phrase Structure,Nouns,Verbs,Form Classes (Languages),Expressive Language,Writing Attitudes

This study seeks to examine the existence of Instant Messaging language phenomenon among female teenagers in some Jordanian private schools and its influence on their learning experience, mainly literacy. It also raises questions about the characteristics of textese as well as teachers' attitude towards their students' use of SMS language in their academic writing. The methodology used in this study involves the descriptive and quantitative analysis of writings taken from 320 female teenagers in four different private schools in Amman, Jordan following National and International Programs as well as the responses to a questionnaire filled out by 100 EFL teachers. Upon the examination of these writings, it becomes clear that Instant Messaging language appears in students' writing, and teachers have reservations towards its use by their students in their writing. Data suggest that teachers should raise students' awareness of this issue to help them effectively control and enhance the influence of Instant Messaging on their academic writing.
Quizlet in the EFL Classroom: Enhancing Academic Vocabulary Acquisition of Japanese University Students
Author: Dizon, Gilbert
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Likert Scales,Vocabulary Development,Language Tests,Scores,Second Language Instruction,Computer Assisted Instruction,College Students,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Positive Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Pretests Posttests,Word Lists,Academic Discourse,Telecommunications,Computer Software,Learning Strategies

This study examined the efficacy of using Quizlet, a popular online study tool, to develop L2 English vocabulary. A total of 9 Japanese university EFL students participated in the study. The learners studied Coxhead's (2001) academic vocabulary list (AWL) via Quizlet over the course of 10 weeks. Results of the pre- and post-tests revealed that the learners were able to make statistically significant gains. Moreover, a questionnaire administered by the researcher indicated that the students had positive perceptions of Quizlet to study L2 vocabulary. Specifically, all three constructs studied--perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and behavioral intention to use Quizlet--had mean scores greater than 4 on a 5-point Likert scale, indicating a high-level of agreement. Based on these findings, the author supports the use of Quizlet in the EFL classroom.
The Application of Technology in Teaching Grammar to EFL Learners: The Role of Animated Sitcoms
Author: Saeedi, Zari
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Animation,Comedy,Teaching Methods,Grammar,Sentences,Student Attitudes,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Instructional Effectiveness,Video Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Males,Adolescents,Language Tests,Pretests Posttests,Interviews,Reading Comprehension,Reading Tests,Vocabulary

Building upon previous research into the effectiveness of using videos for language teaching purposes, this study utilized an English animated situation comedy (sitcom) as an authentic type of multimedia to teach a particular grammatical structure, namely conditional sentences. This study also aimed at investigating the learners' attitudes toward this approach to grammar instruction. To achieve these purposes, 34 participants were selected and divided into two groups. In the control group (N = 17) conditional sentences were taught through the explicit way of teaching grammar whereas the participants of the experimental group (N = 17) learned about the conditional sentences through exposure to the animated sitcom. The results pointed to the effectiveness of using the aforementioned animated sitcom in teaching conditional sentences. Moreover, students showed a positive attitude to the animated sitcom as well as its use in teaching conditional sentences. The findings of this study have implications for L2 learners, encouraging them to change their view of grammar and looking at it from a more communicative perspective.
Examining the Effectiveness of Digital Video Recordings on Oral Performance of EFL Learners
Author: Göktürk, Nazlinur
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Video Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Oral Language,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Language Fluency,Language Skills,Foreign Countries,Pretests Posttests,Language Tests,Scores,Evaluation Methods,College Students,Second Language Learning

This study reports the results of an action-based study conducted in an EFL class to examine whether digital video recordings would contribute to the enhancement of EFL learners' oral fluency skills. It also investigates the learners' perceptions of the use of digital video recordings in a speaking class. 10 Turkish EFL learners participated in this study. To determine the impact of digital video recording on EFL learners' oral performance, the speaking module of IELTS was modified as pre- and post-test. In addition to the analysis of the scores assigned to the learners by two raters using an analytic scale, an analysis of learners' discourse in pre- and post-test was undertaken to determine whether measures of fluency in learners' output differ as a result of the video recording. The results suggest that the incorporation of digital video recordings into speaking classes improved the learners' overall speaking proficiency; however, it did not lead to a significant improvement in learners' oral fluency. Yet, the analysis of the qualitative data showed that the utilization of digital video recordings may not only bolster the learners' self-confidence, but also encourage them to take risks with the target language.
E-Learning in Business English Course--Results of the Questionnaire Survey
Author: Kucírková, Lenka
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Business English,Foreign Countries,Information Technology,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Qualitative Research,Language Planning,Student Attitudes,Management Development,Economics Education,College Students,Action Research,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Statistical Significance

The paper reflects the real needs and priorities within foreign language teaching at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS), which include the reduction of the lecturer's direct teaching load and the use of modern ICT technologies within e-learning courses offered to students of all forms of studies. For the purposes of the research, the e-learning Business English course was developed. The objective of the research was to find out students' opinion on e-learning based on the frequencies of their responses and on their qualitative signs. The research was conducted in accordance with the long-term aim of the CULS Prague, as well as in accordance with the language policy of the European Union, with the national policy of language education and with the long-term aims of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.
Analysis of Social Media Influencers and Trends on Online and Mobile Learning
Author: Shen, Chien-wen
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Media,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Online Courses,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Trend Analysis

Although educational practitioners have adopted social media to their online or mobile communities, little attention has been paid to investigate the social media messages related to online or mobile learning. The purpose of this research is to identify social media influencers and trends by mining Twitter posts related to online learning and mobile learning. We identified the influencers on Twitter by three different measures: the number of tweets posted by each user, the number of mentions by other users for each user, and the number of retweets for each user. We also analyzed the trends of online learning and mobile learning by the following perspectives: the descriptive statistics of the related tweets, the monthly and hourly line charts of the related tweets, the descriptive statistics of the related retweets, the volume trends of the most retweeted tweets, and the top 10 hashtags of the related tweets. The results of this study can provide educational practitioners different ways of understanding and explaining the public opinions toward online learning and mobile learning.
Social Web Content Enhancement in a Distance Learning Environment: Intelligent Metadata Generation for Resources
Author: García-Floriano, Andrés
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Distance Education,Social Media,Metadata,Classification,Automation,Educational Resources,Foreign Countries

Social networking potentially offers improved distance learning environments by enabling the exchange of resources between learners. The existence of properly classified content results in an enhanced distance learning experience in which appropriate materials can be retrieved efficiently; however, for this to happen, metadata needs to be present. As manual metadata generation is time-costly and often eschewed by the authors of the social web resources, automatic generation is a fertile area for research as several kinds of metadata, such as author or topic, can be generated or extracted from the contents of a document. In this paper we propose a novel metadata generation system aimed at automatically tagging distance learning resources. This system is based on a recently-created intelligent pattern classifier; specifically, it trains on a corpus of example documents and then predicts the topic of a new document based on its text content. Metadata is generated in order to achieve a better integration of the web resources with the social networks. Experimental results for a two-class problem are promising and encourage research geared towards applying this method to multiple topics.
Exploring &quot;DIALANG&quot;&apos;s Diagnostic Feedback in Online L2 Dynamic Assessment
Author: Ebadi, Saman
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Feedback (Response),Psychometrics,Web Based Instruction,Synchronous Communication,Computer Mediated Communication,Structural Grammar,English (Second Language),College Second Language Programs,Language Tests,Computer Assisted Testing,Diagnostic Tests,Transcripts (Written Records),Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries

Dynamic assessment (DA) as an alternative to psychometric-based testing focuses on the collaborative dialogue between the learners and the mediator to move the learners from their current capabilities. This study represents a web-based qualitative inquiry in online DA which aims at addressing the inadequacy of the diagnostic feedback of the web-based &quot;DIALANG&quot; test in reflecting learners' potentials for future development. Applying microgenetic analysis as the general framework for data analysis, this study intended to uncover two university students' zone of proximal development (ZPD) of English grammar structures through mediation in a synchronous computer mediated communication (SCMC) context. The findings of this study revealed the shortcomings of &quot;DIALANG&quot; test results and diagnostic feedback, which are not attuned to the learners' ZPD, and the effectiveness of online DA mediation, which can highlight the learners' microgenetic developmental trajectory to obtain a richer and more accurate understanding of the learners' potential level of future development.
Quality Assurance for Postgraduate Programs: Design of a Model Applied on a University in Chile
Author: Careaga Butter, Marcelo
Date: 2017-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Quality,Quality Assurance,Graduate Study,Masters Programs,Doctoral Programs,Program Design,Models,Accreditation (Institutions),Self Evaluation (Groups),Mixed Methods Research,Benchmarking,Evaluation Methods,Educational Indicators,Computer Software,Validity,Expertise,Questionnaires

The quality of Education in Chile is a controversial topic that has been in the public debate in the last several years. To ensure quality in graduate programs, accreditation is compulsory. The current article presents a model to improve the process of self-regulation. The main objective was to design a Model of Quality Assurance for Postgraduate Programs in order to constitute a theoretical, mathematical, and informatics reference that would optimize the processes of self-regulation, self-evaluation, and accreditation of master and doctorate programs from the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile. This descriptive research is based on a mixed methods approach. The proposal was intended through theoretical and empirical references related to the accreditation systems. The analysis process was conducted with key informants, and the informatics instrument was created and validated through expert judgment. After the analysis, the model was optimized considering the expert's suggestions. As a result of the optimization process, a matrix of eight dimensions was obtained and it is available online in order to be used by the heads of postgraduate programs. Finally, a model with four main stages was achieved in order to install a self-regulation and a self-evaluated culture that leads to accreditation as evidence of the quality of postgraduate programs.