ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
University Students&apos; Attitudes towards Distance Education
Author: Kaban, Abdullatif
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Students,Student Attitudes,Distance Education,Student Characteristics,Gender Differences,Instructional Program Divisions,Access to Computers,Internet,Student Participation,COVID-19,Pandemics,Ownership,Foreign Countries

This study, it was aimed to examine the attitudes of university students receiving distance education towards distance education in terms of various demographic characteristics. The survey method, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. 764 university students who were selected by the criterion sampling method and who received distance education in the COVID-19 pandemic participated in the study. In the collection of data, the Attitude Scale towards Distance Education was used and the data were collected online with the prepared form. Various statistical analyses were made on the collected data and the results were discussed within the framework of research questions. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that university students' attitudes towards distance education were low. It has been observed that the scores of the scale of attitude towards distance education differ in terms of gender and grade level. It was also observed in the study that having a computer and internet connection at home and the level of participation in the virtual classrooms had a positive effect on the attitude towards distance education. In this period when distance education is not a choice but a necessity, it is recommended that the education to be provided should be planned well to achieve the expected quality and to increase the level of success. It is thought that these results obtained from the study will contribute to distance education institutions and planners.
Investigating the Development of Speaking Skill through Language Games in Technologically Underequipped EFL Classroom
Author: Saha, Sujay Kumar
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Speech Skills,Communicative Competence (Languages),English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Educational Games,Game Based Learning,Instructional Effectiveness,Self Efficacy,Shyness,Anxiety,Classroom Communication,Classroom Environment,Educational Equipment,Rural Schools,Indo European Languages,Language of Instruction,Grade 7,Early Adolescents,Foreign Countries

In recent years, language games have become a matter of interest for educators not only because of their potential to enhance language learning experiences, but also in the support they give towards creating a multimodal and interactive classroom environment that leads children towards perceptual, behavioural, emotional and cognitive development (Reinders, 2016). The researchers in the present study have used various language games in the EFL classroom to investigate the effectiveness of language games to develop the speaking skill of learners, especially in a vernacular medium school using Action Research Model. The results of the study showed that there is a positive change in the classroom atmosphere where learners get opportunities to speak as well as develop the learners' speaking skill. The result is discussed using action research cycles. This particular study addresses the effectiveness of games to develop the speaking skill of learners in a vernacular medium school, located in Murshidabad, India.
Promises and Pitfalls of the Higher Secondary English Textbook of Bangladesh: A Critical Evaluation
Author: Islam, Md Shaiful
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Textbooks,Textbook Evaluation,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Secondary Education,Textbook Content,Language Skills,Learning Activities,Illustrations

The selection of a textbook, its evaluation, and the implementation of this evaluation are all processes integral to the improvement of students' learning. The current evaluation of the higher secondary English For Today (EFT) (Hani &amp; Siddika, 2018) textbook intends to examine if the textbook possesses the credentials and credibility necessary to achieve the aims and objectives of the higher secondary English curriculum. Using interview and document analysis, the current researchers analyzed the higher secondary curriculum, the textbook itself, and other relevant documents. The layout of the textbook, its contents, language level, organization, skills covered, classroom activities, methods of assessment, illustrations, and quality of print were considered. The strengths and weaknesses of the textbook have been identified by the critical evaluation conducted by the researchers. Although the textbook has strengths, such as diverse contents, and the writers' consciousness of &quot;glocal subjectivity&quot; (Khan &amp; Rahaman, 2019, p.169), it has some limitations, such as, exclusion of listening skills, inadequate communicative tasks and activities, overuse of traditional assessment methods, and poor quality of images and illustrations. To overcome the limitations, the researchers suggest to use high quality paper and images, to integrate diverse communicative tasks and activities, and assessment methods. The researchers also suggest that more attention is required by the policy makers in order to more effectively implement the goals and objectives of the higher secondary curriculum. Furthermore, integration of intended learning outcomes (ILOs) in each lesson, consideration of novelty in designing tasks and activities involvement subject experts in writing textbook, provision of recommended readings, and consideration of 21st century skills in designing tasks and activities will enable the textbook to help learners develop proficiency in English. The findings of the study may inspire the scholars, researchers, practitioners, and textbook developers in Bangladesh and beyond in various academic subject areas at the higher secondary level to be more aware of the curriculum goals and objectives while writing the textbooks.
Realization of English and Persian Congratulation Strategies in a Computer-Mediated Social Network
Author: Alemi, Minoo
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Networks,Computer Mediated Communication,Indo European Languages,Speech Acts,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Foreign Countries,Cultural Awareness,North American English,Native Language,Social Media,Content Analysis,Pragmatics,Intercultural Communication,Contrastive Linguistics

Language knowledge is not limited to linguistic competence; cultural norms of a society affect the way people communicate. In fact, culture, tradition, and values are realized and manifested through language and the use of units known as speech acts. The current study sought to explore the strategies used by 200 native Iranian speakers of Persian, 50 American native speakers of English, and 48 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in producing the speech act of congratulations through the social network of Instagram. Participants were asked to comment in response to the post and congratulate the celebrity for their birthday. The content analysis of the congratulations corpus led to the emergence of eight categories of congratulation strategies for Iranian native speakers of Persian (the most frequent one: &quot;statement of congratulations,&quot; n = 80, 58.39%), nine categories for the American native speakers of English (the most frequent one: &quot;use of address terms,&quot; n = 44, 30.34%), and seven categories for the Iranian EFL learners (the most frequent one: &quot;statement of congratulations,&quot; n = 28, 47.45%). Moreover, the results of Chi-square indicated that the three groups were different with regard to certain categories of congratulation strategies. The results can have important implications for EFL teachers and learners as well as textbook developers.
The Issue of the Reading Skills in Medical Schools during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Author: Alhumsi, Mohammad Husam A.
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,COVID-19,Pandemics,Medical Students,Reading Comprehension,Reading Skills,Knowledge Level,Reading Strategies,Content Area Reading,Medical Education,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction

Beginning in early 2020, the world began experiencing the first effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As with other new emerging infectious diseases, it had been noted that a medical student's ability to read about and learn the correct reactions to this kind of event is urgent (Al-Mohrej &amp; Agha, 2017). Therefore, medical school students should educate themselves and read the information provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to fully comprehend different features of the emerging disease as well as highlighting its early recognition and the important components of prevention. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to emphasize medical students' need to investigate new sources of information and how their success or failure in doing so depends on their reading comprehension strategies. For example, many medical students around the world lack the required knowledge pertaining to the recommended infection control measures. In Saudi Arabia, it has been revealed that medical students lack background knowledge in the basic sciences as well (Al-Mohrej and Agha, 2017). However, they showed a noticeable lack of awareness regarding the clinical features of MERS-CoV during the 2012 epidemic (Zaki et al., 2012). Additionally, problems relating to understanding the patient's medical condition, delayed diagnoses, and inadequate preventive services usage were complicated by their reading hardships. In addition, the medical college curricula lacked explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies skills because the programs in medical education only included limited constituents of research skills. Such programs even today include very little explicit instruction of academic literacy for medical research (Roberts &amp; Klamen, 2010; McNamara, 2010). Thus, medical students should educate themselves by reading the information provided by WHO and a call for more explicit instructional programs tackling the reading strategies pertaining to medical topics and research should be conducted.
The Prediction of the Responsible Determinants to Institutional Attributes for EFL Student Dropout at the Tertiary Level
Author: Hasan, Md. Kamrul
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,College Freshmen,Predictor Variables,Dropout Rate,Student Attrition,Student Characteristics,Institutional Characteristics,Family Characteristics,Socioeconomic Background,Private Colleges,Dropout Characteristics,Foreign Countries

Many of the first-year undergraduate students who enrol in universities, particularly in top-ranked private universities in Bangladesh, struggle with getting good grades. As a result, many students look forward to a bleak future, dropping out midway through their studies. Thus, improving the rates of graduation and reducing the rates of attrition is extremely important at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. The predominant determinants (whether personal or family related) that predict the institutional causes of student attrition before graduation need consideration and investigation. In order to investigate the strongest predictor from the above mentioned determinants, a survey questionnaire (with a five-Likert scale) was designed and applied to 390 EFL students who were pursuing their degrees in four disciplines at a university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The current study employed multiple regression analyses and found that family related determinant causes not only closely correlated with institutional determinant attributes, but contributed the most in predicting student dropout rates. The results of the current study will have further implications for researchers, educational administrators, and policy makers at the tertiary level.
What Hinders English Speaking in Thai EFL Learners? Investigating Factors That Affect the Development of Their English Speaking Skills
Author: Sha'ar, Mohammed Yassin Mohd Aba
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Barriers,Language Skills,College Students,Language Usage,Native Language,Language of Instruction,Second Language Instruction

Speaking skills help students to articulate and express their knowledge, feelings, thoughts, and ideas. In many situations, language proficiency is socially judged through productive skills, especially speaking. This paper examines the factors that hinder English speaking competencies of students at Nakhon si Thammarat Rajabhat University (NSTRU) Thailand. A convenience sample of thirty participants consisted of eighteen students from a Demonstration School and twelve from a Business English program in the same university. Data were collected through a questionnaire and participant observation. The results indicate that educational stakeholders, including administrators, curriculum designers, policymakers, teachers, and parents, should raise their awareness of these obstacles, help the students to overcome these factors in English language learning, and seek countermeasures to develop students' speaking skills.
A Beginner&apos;s Guide to Applied Educational Research Using Thematic Analysis
Author: Peel, Karen L.
Date: 2020-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Research,Content Analysis,Research Methodology,Data Collection,Data Analysis,Data Interpretation,Novices,Researchers

Interest in applied educational research methodology is growing as educators and researchers strive to seek empirical evidence about what is effective teaching within distinctive contexts. However, for beginner researchers who are interested in conducting case studies within educational settings and are looking for an appropriate starting point, there is limited literature that shapes comprehensively the theory and application of a rigorous research design. This article outlines the theoretical foundation, philosophical assumptions and application of a research design suitable for implementation in educational settings. For researchers and educators pursuing a case study approach within a specific context, an inquiry framework provides the roadmap to navigate the journey. The main components of this systematic inquiry framework include the interconnected practices for: identifying the issue; collecting the data; preparing and engaging with the data; analysing thematically the data; interpreting the data analysis; and composing the research findings and generalisations. Throughout the discussion, examples are drawn from a case study to illustrate how the innovative design and the six-stage qualitative data collection and thematic analysis were implemented to investigate the prevalent roles that teachers play in generating environments for self-regulated learning. Finally, research design considerations are discussed to reflect high standards of ethical practice for reporting research findings and interpretations that can be trusted and contribute practically, theoretically and methodologically to educational research.
A Framework for Evaluating Stopping Rules for Fixed-Form Formative Assessments: Balancing Efficiency and Reliability
Author: Basaraba, Deni L.
Date: 2020-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Formative Evaluation,Test Format,Test Items,Difficulty Level,Efficiency,Test Reliability,Testing,Middle School Students,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Mathematics Tests,Algebra

Stopping rules for fixed-form tests with graduated item difficulty are intended to stop administration of a test at the point where students are sufficiently unlikely to provide a correct response following a pattern of incorrect responses. Although widely employed in fixed-form tests in education, little research has been done to empirically evaluate the stopping rules in these tests that often have important instructional and/or placement implications for students. In this manuscript, we propose and research a framework for evaluating stopping rules with respect to two important and sometimes conflicting criteria: (1) efficiency; and (2) reliability. Using this framework, we provide an example in which we apply three increasingly complex methods for evaluating efficiency and two methods for examining reliability.
A Practical Comparison of Selected Methods of Evaluating Multiple-Choice Options through Classical Item Analysis
Author: Malec, Wojciech
Date: 2020-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,Evaluation Methods,Multiple Choice Tests,Item Analysis,Test Items,Correlation,Classification,Language Tests,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Spreadsheets,Guidelines,Evaluation Criteria,Item Response Theory,Adolescents

The main objective of the article is to compare several methods of evaluating multiple-choice options through classical item analysis. The methods subjected to examination include the tabulation of choice distribution, the interpretation of trace lines, the point-biserial correlation, the categorical analysis of trace lines, and the investigation of choice means. The comparison was performed on the basis of a data set created at the pre-operational stage of developing a test of English as a foreign language for teenage learners. The main analysis of a pool of 910 multiple-choice pilot items was carried out in Excel, which was found to be a versatile tool allowing for the application of user-defined formulas and convenient manipulation of the data. It was found that the methods differed in terms of their stringency in rejecting malfunctioning items, with the chi-square test operating in the most rigorous manner. The study also revealed that some of the evaluation methods had a similar effect on item selection, which suggests that it may not be necessary to apply all of them to multiple-choice item analysis.
Collapsing Scale Categories: Comparing the Psychometric Properties of Resulting Scales
Author: Colvin, Kimberly F.
Date: 2020-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Psychometrics,Measures (Individuals),Self Concept Measures,Self Esteem,Comparative Analysis,Test Reliability,Test Validity,Factor Structure,Adults

This study compares a scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, that was administered with four response categories to versions of the same scale that were administered with six and eight response categories. Respondents were randomly assigned to take one of the three versions of RSES. A rating scale utility analysis was conducted on all three versions creating two new four-category versions after collapsing (or combining) adjacent categories. The three different four-category versions were compared on such properties as average scores, correlations with external variables, and factor structure. While most of the psychometric properties were similar across all versions, there were moderate differences related to criterion validity: the scale that did not need to be collapsed had the strongest relationship with external variables, even though there were slightly stronger correlations for the collapsed versions compared to their original scales. A recommendation is made that if it is found that too many categories are being used for a scale then new administrations of the scale should also use the new format, however, an argument could be made to continue administering the survey in its original format, but then collapse responses before analysis.
An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study: FlipQuiz as a Digital Tool for Learning English Vocabulary in Language Classroom
Author: Jabali, Mohsen
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Game Based Learning,Educational Technology,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Vocabulary Development,Academic Achievement,Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Instructional Effectiveness,Grade 7,Foreign Countries,Middle School Students,Pretests Posttests

The study was carried out to investigate the impact of a digital review tool had on students' grades, learning motivation, and engagement. An exploratory cross-sectional study was accomplished with two groups of students. The Experimental Group was taught using the digital tool FlipQuiz while the Control Group was taught with the conventional method. Pretests, posttests, and surveys on the students' learning motivation and engagement toward gamification in language learning were the instruments used in this study. The data of Posttests of both groups were analyzed using Paired Sample t test. The results revealed no statistically significant differences with regard to FlipQuiz on English vocabulary exam scores. The data of two surveys were analyzed using descriptive analysis, parametric data analysis, and nonparametric data analysis. Findings indicated that there was a strong relationship among students in both groups regarding the importance of including technology in the classroom as well as the overall experience of utilizing FlipQuiz in learning English vocabulary.
An Investigation of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Competencies of Pre-Service Visual Arts Teachers
Author: Kara, Sema
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Technological Literacy,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Art Teachers,Visual Arts,Teaching Methods,Art Education,Gender Differences,Academic Achievement,Preservice Teachers,Comparative Analysis,Student Attitudes,Teacher Education Programs,Foreign Countries

This study aimed to examine TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) competencies of pre-service visual arts teachers. Based on the descriptive and comparative survey model, TPACK competencies of pre-service visual arts teachers were compared on variables of gender, year of study and academic achievement. The participants of the study were 253 pre-service teachers studying in department of visual arts in Education Faculties of Atatürk, Karadeniz Teknik, Mersin and Necmettin Erbakan Universities. TPACK Competencies Scale was used to collect research data. The findings showed that TPACK competencies of pre-service visual arts teachers were low in terms of technology knowledge, but high in content knowledge. In addition, their TPACK competencies vary based on gender, year of study and academic achievement.