ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Reconsidering English Grammar Teaching for Improving Non-English Majors' English Writing Ability
Author: Shen, Yuru
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Grammar,Writing Skills,Teaching Methods,Grammar Translation Method,College Students,College Faculty

With the globalization of world economy, English learners' writing ability has been attached less and less importance. As a result, many college students in China, especially the non-English majors, cannot express themselves effectively in written English. They make various kinds of mistakes, mostly grammar mistakes, such as writing sentence fragments, using dangling modifiers, and using punctuation marks inappropriately or incorrectly. Many factors are responsible for their weak writing ability, but teachers' neglecting grammar teaching and only teaching grammar knowledge are two critical factors. So, this paper is intended to call on teachers of English to reconsider grammar teaching for improving non-English majors' English writing ability. It first explores the role grammar plays in English learning and in English writing, then proposes a few practical and effective methods of instructing grammar, and finally concludes that to improve non-English majors' writing ability, we had better teach them the right grammatical concepts in the right way on the right occasion.
Using Stories in English Omani Curriculum
Author: Al Harrasi, Kothar Talib Sulaiman
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Story Telling,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Role Playing,Kinesthetic Methods,Curriculum Design,Class Activities,Elementary School Students,Grade 2,Grade 3,Grade 5,Grade 4

Learning a FL [foreign language] may be frustrating for some young learners; however, integrating fun in learning would encourage them to develop positive attitudes towards learning a language (Ellis &amp; Brewster, 1991). Stories are an effective and enthusiastic technique in teaching young learners; they inject lots of amusement and help children enjoy learning language in purposeful communication. This paper is an attempt to explore the effectiveness of the stories in Omani curriculum (&quot;English for Me&quot;) and eventually suggests some efficient techniques and activities in teaching stories based on the analysis. Preliminary findings show that stories in the textbooks are enthusiastic and suit learners' interest and level, and the follow-up activities increase their benefits. However, there are some stories or activities that are repetitive and too long, and need to be modified or replaced by others.
Using Action Research to Assess and Advocate for Innovative School Library Design
Author: Harper, Meghan
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Action Research,School Libraries,Library Development,Advocacy,Innovation,Facility Requirements,Educational Facilities Design,Partnerships in Education,Space Utilization,Observation,Focus Groups,School Surveys,Online Surveys,Library Research,High Schools

This article describes a collaborative project designed to use action research to assess and advocate for innovative design changes in a school library. The high school library was in its fifth year of service, and yet the layout of the library was not meeting the learning and technological needs of 21st-century high school students. The purpose of the codesigned study was to create a more useable space and make the school library an indispensable part of the school.
History and Heritage in Distance Education
Author: Anderson, Bill
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Distance Education,Educational History,Heritage Education,Educational Change,Educational Practices,Equal Education,Social Justice,Technology Uses in Education,Interaction,Teamwork,Scholarship

Distance education's history is a tremendous resource for all involved in distance education. Some aspects of that history provide enduring touchstones for present distance educators, creating a heritage that should not be overlooked as distance education continues to develop and expand. In this article we draw on the concept of generational frameworks to focus on particular developments that have shaped and continue to shape distance education. From those developments we identify and discuss seven elements that serve as the core features of the heritage that underpins our distance education practice. We challenge current distance educators to identify their own heritage elements and build on them as they contribute to the future of the discipline.
A Framework for Developing and Implementing an Online Learning Community
Author: Khoo, Elaine
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Electronic Learning,Models,Communities of Practice,Adult Learning,Postsecondary Education,Case Studies,Asynchronous Communication,Graduate Students,Program Development,Methods Courses,Educational Research,Surveys,Literature Reviews,Student Participation,Student Educational Objectives

Developing online learning communities is a promising pedagogical approach in online learning contexts for adult tertiary learners, but it is no easy task. Understanding how learning communities are formed and evaluating their efficacy in supporting learning involves a complex set of issues that have a bearing on the design and facilitation of successful online learning experiences. This paper describes the development of a framework for understanding and developing an online learning community for adult tertiary learners in a New Zealand tertiary institution. In accord with sociocultural views of learning and practices, the framework depicts learning as a mediated, situated, distributed, goal-directed, and participatory activity within a socially and culturally determined learning community. Evidence for the value of the framework is grounded in the findings of a case study of a semester-long fully online asynchronous graduate course. The framework informs our understanding of appropriate conditions for the development and conduct of online learning communities. Implications are presented for the design and facilitation of learning in such contexts.
Always Feed the Clowns and Other Tips for Building Better Partnerships between School Librarians and Providers of Educational Programs
Author: Edwards, Jason
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Libraries,Librarians,Partnerships in Education,Interpersonal Relationship,Program Development,Interpersonal Communication,Cooperation,Librarian Teacher Cooperation

Jason Edwards travels to schools and libraries across the nation performing educational enrichment programs, such as his Monster Hunt Library Skills-Building Adventure Program, for librarians and students. In this article, he shares tips that he has gleaned that may help librarian/programmer partnerships function more smoothly. Three of the important elements for developing a good librarian/programmer partnership are the same as those for building any good relationship: communication, preparation, and cooperation. These elements are described in the context of improving the partnerships between librarians and those involved in library program development.
Learning to Teach: A Descriptive Study of Student Language Teachers in Taiwan
Author: Liaw, En-Chong
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Elementary Education,Teacher Education,Student Teachers,Student Teaching,Practicum Supervision,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Observation,Student Attitudes

Studies have shown that many training programs are relatively ineffective in preparing prospective teachers for classroom teaching. Such findings suggest that teacher training programs might require improvement and that prospective teachers should be more thoroughly assessed during the training period. This study examined the learning process of a group of EFL teachers during their practicum at elementary schools. Our findings indicate that prior language learning experience and peer student teachers play a critical role in this period. Overall, the results suggested that student teachers would benefit from greater integration between field experiences, practicum, and lecture courses, which would enable the students to link teaching theory and practice more effectively.
A Comparative Study of the Complaint Strategies among Iranian EFL and ESL Students--The Study of the Effect of Length of Residence and the Amount of Contact
Author: Mofidi, Marzieh
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Speech Acts,Native Speakers,Indo European Languages,Pragmatics,Interpersonal Competence,Foreign Countries,Transfer of Training,Interlanguage,Correlation,Study Abroad,English,Questionnaires,Language Tests,Rating Scales,Participant Characteristics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pragmatic transfer Iranian EFL and ESL learners of English showed when complaining in English. The study aimed to find out if there exists any relationship between the amount of contact with English and pragmatic competence of both EFL and ESL groups as well as the relationship between the duration of stay in English-speaking countries and the pragmatic competence of complaining in the ESL group, living and studying abroad for some years. For this purpose, the data were gathered from four groups: twenty Iranian native speakers of Farsi and twenty English native speakers of English, as the baseline groups, as well as twenty EFL and twenty ESL learners, as the interlanguage data groups. The data were elicited through a personal information form and a DCT in which they were asked to answer six imaginative situations including complaint-required situations. The DCT data were examined to see to what extent the time spent with English and the duration of stay in target countries and the pragmatic competence of EFL and ESL respondents were related. The findings revealed no significant relationship between the amount of contact, the time spent abroad and the pragmatic competence of Iranian EFL and ESL learners.
The Effects of Processing Instruction and Traditional Instruction on Iranian EFL Learners' Writing Ability
Author: Hashemnezhad, Hossein
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Writing Skills,Writing Ability,Quasiexperimental Design,Pretests Posttests,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Comparative Analysis,Grammar,Grammar Translation Method,Teaching Methods,Language Processing,College Students,Rating Scales,Measures (Individuals),Statistical Analysis,Nonparametric Statistics

The aim of the present paper was to investigate the effects of processing instruction and traditional instruction on Iranian EFL learners' writing ability. Thirty participants who were non-randomly selected out of 63 Intermediate EFL learners, taking English courses in a language institute in Khoy-Iran, participated in this quasi-experimental study. All the participants were female with the age range of 18-24. The participants were randomly assigned into two experimental groups of processing instruction and traditional instruction. Two different instructional packages were used as treatment and two free writing tasks were employed as pre-test and post-test in this study. The results revealed that although both instructions had positive effects on Iranian EFL learners' writing ability, processing instruction group performed significantly better than traditional instruction. Some pedagogical implications of the findings were presented. The results might be helpful in syllabus design and teaching methodology.
A Comparison of the Effects of Reflective Learning Portfolios and Dialogue Journal Writing on Iranian EFL Learners' Accuracy in Writing Performance
Author: Hemmati, Fatemeh
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Pretests Posttests,Second Language Instruction,Grammar,Accuracy,Writing Evaluation,Foreign Countries,Reflection,Portfolios (Background Materials),Essays,Language Tests,Scores,Mentors,Diaries,Writing Instruction,Course Descriptions

This study aimed at comparing the effects of reflective learning portfolio (RLP) and dialogue journal writing (DJW) on the Iranian EFL learners' grammatical accuracy in writing as well as their overall writing performance. 60 Iranian EFL learners between the ages of 17 to 30 who were studying at general English courses were selected based on their performance on the Nelson English Language Test. They were assigned randomly into two experimental groups: DJW and RLP. Each group received 14-sessions of treatment. Two samples of Task 2 of General Module of IELTS were used for the pretests and posttests. Each essay was scored independently by three raters. The final score consisted of the average score of the three raters.The findings revealed that the gains in the RLP group's grammatical accuracy and overall writing performance were significantly better than that of the DJW group. This could have been due to the influence of reflection with support of a mentor or collaborator as well as the efficacy of intentional learning over incidental one and explicit learning over implicit one. The results have some main implications for syllabus designers, material developers, and language teachers.
A Mixed Approaches Method Used to Investigate Teacher Cognition of English Language Teaching
Author: Hung, Nguyen Viet
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mixed Methods Research,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teacher Attitudes,Schemata (Cognition),Guidelines,Task Analysis,Language Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Educational Quality,Textbooks,Beliefs,Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,Case Studies,Questionnaires,Semi Structured Interviews

This paper is a part in a bigger research project related to ELT quality in secondary schools in Vietnam since the implementation of the new series of English textbooks was officially passed by in 2006, and the innovated direction was paid to task-based language teaching (TBLT). The purpose of this paper is to make argumentation on why, what and how to use mixed approaches method to investigate two subdomains of teacher cognition - teacher perception and teacher belief. Firstly, an introduction in the research project and research questions about secondary school teacher perception of TBLT and teacher belief of textbooks is shortly made. Secondly, the question what the mixed approaches method are like is dealt with. Next, the question why the mixed approaches method should be used in investigating teacher cognition in general and teacher perception as well as teacher belief in particular is answered and illustrated by writer's framework of research paradigm for the suitability and applicability. Lastly, the question how the mixed approaches method should be implemented to answer the research project questions is clarified and argued for its suitability.
Assuring Quality in Promoting Generic Skills in the Higher College of Technology (HCT), Muscat: Challenges &amp; Realities
Author: Ali, Holi Ibrahim Holi
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Quality Assurance,Basic Skills,English (Second Language),English Instruction,Second Language Instruction,Teacher Attitudes,Barriers,Questionnaires,Beliefs,Change Strategies,Likert Scales,Educational Practices,College English,Vocational Education,Foreign Countries

This paper explores EFL teachers' perceptions in relation to the pedagogical and conceptual challenges that they face in promoting generic skills in the Higher College of Technology (HCT), Muscat, in the context of post foundation level provision. A questionnaire was administered to 17 EFL teachers at HCT, at post foundation levels to investigate their views and beliefs about challenges in assuring quality in promoting generic skills. The study reveals that assessment and teaching provide the most obvious pedagogical challenges; whereas teachers' understanding and interpretations of generic skills are the most common conceptual challenges. Recommendations on how generic skills could be enhanced and promoted and how these challenges can be overcome are presented.
Willingness to Communicate in Iranian EFL Learners: The Effect of Class Size
Author: Khazaei, Zeinab Moradi
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,Class Size,Correlation,Classroom Communication,College Students,Measures (Individuals),Statistical Analysis

Willingness to communicate can be considered as one of the important factors in modern language pedagogy which put emphasis on meaningful communication. The present study investigated the effect of class size on the Iranian EFL students' willingness to communicate among three different class sizes. The researcher collected the data through observation of three classes in terms of students' turn of talk and talk time. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation and one way ANOVA were run to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that class size had a substantial effect on the students' willingness to communicate. Students were found to be more willing to communicate in small classes where they had more opportunity to practice oral skills and communicate. The current study had some pedagogical implications for both second language teaching and learning at the end.
Awareness of Reading Strategy Use of Indian ESL Students and the Relationship with Reading Comprehension Achievement
Author: Madhumathi, P.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,Reading Strategies,Statistical Analysis,Gender Differences,Reading Comprehension,Indians,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Language Proficiency,Teaching Methods,Classification,Reading Tests,Language Tests,Achievement Tests,Preferences,Foreign Countries,College Students,Engineering Education,Student Attitudes

This paper reports findings from the study that assessed the first year Indian ESL students' awareness of reading strategy use. It also investigated the relationship that exists between reading strategy use and the reading comprehension achievements of the Indian ESL students. The study utilized two instruments such as SORS and RCT which is the modified version of TOEFL reading comprehension. The reading strategies are classified into the global, problem solving and supporting. The results showed that the students employed problem solving strategy the most and they least preferred to use global strategies. The difference in the strategy use is statistically significant except for supporting strategy. The high proficiency students over performed the middle and the low proficiency students in terms of strategy use. Overall, the reading strategy use moderately correlated with the reading comprehension achievement of the Indian students. There is a significant difference in the use of strategy by Gender, in which the female students reported using more strategy than that of male students. The pedagogic implications of these findings are discussed in terms of practices in the Indian society. Thus, the study identifies the Indian ESL students, reading strategy preferences and suggests remedial measures for classroom teaching.
Teaching English as a Global Language in Smart Classrooms with PowerPoint Presentation
Author: Oommen, Abraham
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English Instruction,Global Approach,Classroom Techniques,Language Skills,Questionnaires,Action Research,College English,English (Second Language),Delivery Systems,Intermode Differences,Technology Integration,Instructional Effectiveness,Courseware,Participant Satisfaction,Likert Scales,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Foreign Countries

The current study, as part of an ongoing investigation to examine teacher perceptions about the teaching of English as a global language at the tertiary level education, aims at examining learner perceptions about PowerPoint presentations used in English classroom instruction for enhancement and integration of four language skills and effective use of PowerPoint presentation as a teaching technique in smart classroom settings. A classroom action research and a questionnaire survey were conducted in a class consisting of 50 learners of Preparatory Year English Programme at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. The results showed that learners preferred PowerPoint Presentations over traditional methods of lecture delivery and had positive attitudes towards PowerPoint presentations and lecturers who use them in their lessons. The result of this study conforms to previous studies to find the efficacy of PowerPoint presentations in university classroom instruction.
The Relationship between Experiential Learning Styles and the Immediate and Delayed Retention of English Collocations among EFL Learners
Author: Mohammadzadeh, Afsaneh
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,Experiential Learning,Cognitive Style,Phrase Structure,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Difficulty Level,Retention (Psychology),Language Tests,Statistical Analysis,Measures (Individuals),Foreign Countries,Institutes (Training Programs),Adults,Young Adults,Task Analysis

This study was carried out to find out if there was any significant difference in learning English collocations by learning with different dominant experiential learning styles. Seventy-five participants took part in the study in which they were taught a series of English collocations. The entry knowledge of the participants with regard to collocations items of the treatment as well as the difficulty level of the items were controlled. Upon the completion of the treatment, participants' retention of the items was measured in an immediate and a delayed recognition type tests. The results showed a statistically significant difference among the four experiential learning style groups. The findings offer a number of implications with regard to the teaching and learning of English collocations.
Self-Access Language Learning for Malaysian University Students
Author: Tse, Andrew Yau Hau
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Independent Study,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,College Students,Foreign Countries,Interviews,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Technical Education,State Universities,English (Second Language),Qualitative Research

Just a few Malaysian universities offer self-access language learning activities to students. The objective of this study is to investigate if self-access learning can promote self-directed or autonomous learning in a public Malaysian technical university. Data collection is by means of interviewing the Director, lecturers, and students in a self-access language learning centre (SALLEC). The findings revealed students find it helpful and useful to exploit the self-learning materials in the centre. Lecturers strongly agree that the centre can promote autonomous learning. To conclude, self-learning should be promoted in Malaysia to enhance language learning and acquisition.