ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Using Self-Regulated Learning Strategies in Enhancing Language Proficiency with a Focus on Reading Comprehension
Author: Abbasian, Gholam-Reza
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Metacognition,Correlation,Learning Processes,Reading Comprehension,Teaching Methods,Language Proficiency,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries,Learning Strategies,Statistical Analysis,Language Tests,College Students

Self-regulated learning strategies have recently received a remarkable attention by researchers. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and students' language proficiency as well as their reading comprehension. To do so, 115 Iranian EFL university students were selected. First, a TOEFL test was given to the participants so as to determine their language proficiency and reading comprehension. Then, they were asked to fill out Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Questionnaire (Al Asmari &amp; Mahmoud Ismail, 2012). To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were conducted. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the students' use of self-regulated learning strategies and their language proficiency. Also, a significant relationship between the students' use of self-regulated learning strategies and their reading comprehension was found. Finally, the pedagogical message of this study is that teachers and students should incorporate self-regulated learning strategies into their teaching and learning process.
Conjunctions in Argumentative Writing of Libyan Tertiary Students
Author: Hamed, Muftah
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Form Classes (Languages),Persuasive Discourse,Language Usage,Semitic Languages,Native Language,Measures (Individuals),Error Patterns,Error Analysis (Language),Questionnaires,Essays

The aim of this study was an attempt to investigate the use of conjunctions in argumentative essays written by English as a Foreign Language fourth-year undergraduate Libyan students majoring in English at Omar Al-Mukhtar University in Libya. A corpus of 32 argumentative essays was collected from a sample of 16 students in order to be investigated in terms of Halliday and Hassan's (1976) taxonomy of conjunction. Findings showed that the Libyan EFL students used the conjunctions inappropriately, and that the adversative conjunctions posed the most difficulty for the learners, followed by additives and causals. Of the adversatives, &quot;on the other hand&quot; was the most difficult conjunction for the participants, followed by but and in fact. With the use of additive conjunctions, &quot;moreover&quot; was the most problematic, followed by &quot;and&quot; and &quot;furthermore&quot;. Among the causals, the conjunction &quot;so&quot; was the most challenging, followed by &quot;because&quot;. The findings of this study confirm previous studies that learners of English as a foreign language have difficulty in using conjunctions in their writing. The difficulties encountered by participants in employing the conjunctions can be attributed to three reasons: 1) first language (Arabic) negative transfer; 2) overgeneralisation in the second language (English) and 3) the presentation of conjunctions in lists in ESL/EFL textbooks without showing the subtle difference between them in terms of semantic function. These findings are discussed in this paper with implications for teaching the use of conjunctions in the Libyan context.
Emirati and Saudi Students' Writing Challenges at U.S. Universities
Author: Al Murshidi, Ghadah
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Foreign Students,Mixed Methods Research,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Writing Assignments,Writing Difficulties,English (Second Language),Vocabulary,Grammar,Academic Discourse,Writing Skills,Interviews,College Students,Language Usage

The study examines writing challenges Emirati and Saudi students face at U.S. universities. Based on a sample of 219, a mixed methods approach was used to analyze responses from the participants. The results of the questionnaire reveal that Less than 31% Emirati and Saudi students feel &quot;comfortable&quot; in completing written assignments. The interviews results indicate that Emirati and Saudi students have different opinions regarding writing difficulties. An Emirati student, stated: &quot;I am worried a lot because writing is not easy. Writing is very difficult for us.&quot; However, a Saudi student expressed the easiness of her writing assignments. Emirati students stated that grammar, word choice and sentence construction are &quot;somewhat easy&quot;; however, Saudi students indicated that grammar, word choice and sentence construction are &quot;Somewhat difficult.&quot; An Emirati student, stated: &quot;Most Arabs students are told that we do not have vocabulary or grammar. For me, grammar is okay but my difficulty is how to choose the appropriate word for a sentence. A female Emirati student expressed her worry for grammatical mistakes, which she tries to correct: &quot;When I write my reports, I have to reread my report again because I am sure I will have some grammatical mistakes because English is not my first language. The study implies that the students need more coursework in academic writing to prepare them for their academic writing in their disciplines. U.S. universities need to increase the visiting hours of writing centers and design more workshops that teach the students about writing in various genres.
Video Review in Self-Assessment of Pharmacy Students' Communication Skills
Author: Volino, Lucio R.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pharmaceutical Education,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Communication Skills,Video Technology,Graduate Students,Counseling,Student Surveys

The objectives of this study were to develop a student self-assessment activity of a video-recorded counseling session and evaluate its impact on student self-perceptions of specific communication skills. This activity was incorporated into a core-communications course within the third professional year of a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. Student counseling sessions were video-recorded and released to students for self-assessment review. After watching their recorded counseling sessions, students completed an eight-question, paper-based survey which evaluated the impact of self-assessment on communication skill perceptions. Most students (95.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that their self-assessment process was valuable in developing their communication skills. The greatest change in assessment was associated with the use of eye contact (49.5%). Approximately 40% of students noted changes in perceptions for appropriate rate of speech (42.1%), voice volume (39.8%), and facial expressions (37.2%). Overall, self-assessment of video-recorded counseling sessions impacted students' perceptions of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
The Effects of Communicative Grammar Teaching on Students' Achievement of Grammatical Knowledge and Oral Production
Author: Ho, Pham Vu Phi
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Communicative Competence (Languages),Grammar,Oral Language,Junior High School Students,Translation,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Student Characteristics,Foreign Countries,Pretests Posttests,Language Tests,Questionnaires,Course Content,Instructional Effectiveness

So far the students of Le Hong Phong Junior High School have been taught grammar with GTM (Grammar-Translation Method), which just prepares learners for conventional grammar-paper tests. Despite their considerable knowledge of grammar, the students fail to use the language they have learnt to communicate in real-life situations. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the communicative grammar teaching method was effective in terms of students' grammatical knowledge and oral communication, and their attitudes towards this teaching method. The results of the study highlight the treatment on both grammatical knowledge and oral communication as well as positive attitudes from the students. These lead to two major conclusions that the communicative grammar teaching indeed helped the students improve their grammar competence and use it effectively in communication, at least in oral production. Besides, this implementation appealed the students' interest in grammar lessons.
Islamic Teachers' Perceptions of Improving Critical Thinking Skills in Saudi Arabian Elementary Schools
Author: Alwadai, Mesfer Ahmad
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Elementary School Teachers,Critical Thinking,Thinking Skills,Mixed Methods Research,Islam,Teacher Surveys,Influences,Student Improvement,Elementary School Students,Barriers,Males,Teacher Attitudes,Questionnaires,Interviews

The intent of this explanatory sequential mixed-method study is to examine Islamic teachers' thoughts on improving critical thinking skills in elementary schools in the Southwestern province of Saudi Arabia. This study involves the collection of quantitative data and an explanation of the quantitative results with qualitative data. In the first phase, a survey was administered to Islamic teachers in Saudi elementary schools to assess their opinions on improving students' critical thinking skills and to identify the factors that influence or hinder their implementation of critical thinking instruction. In the second phase, qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with a number of Islamic teachers in order to explore more fully their perceptions toward improving students' critical thinking skills in Saudi elementary schools. In regard to the barriers for improving the critical thinking ability of elementary education students, the participants reported seven major obstacles, which are student ability, teaching methods, classroom structure, Saudi society and the school community, pre-service teachers preparation programs and in-service teacher professional developmental programs, and the Islamic studies curriculum. The highest ranked obstacle to improving critical thinking for elementary education students was student ability, with an overall mean of 4.31 on a 5-point scale while the Islamic studies curriculum was the lowest ranked obstacle with a total mean of 2.57. This study highlighted there is a need to examine female Islamic teachers' perceptions toward critical thinking in the Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia in order to identify the similarities and differences between the perceptions of male and female teachers.
Examining Writing Performance and Self-Perception for Low Socioeconomic Young Adolescents
Author: Barone, Toni-Ann
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing Achievement,Self Concept,Low Income Groups,Case Studies,Summer Programs,Literacy Education,Program Effectiveness,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Student Surveys,Interviews,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Correlation,Urban Youth,Urban Education,Preadolescents,Early Adolescents,Student Attitudes,Writing Instruction,Instructional Materials

The present case study investigated the impact of a short-term summer literacy approach on writing performance and self-perception of writing for young adolescents of low-income families residing in urban housing projects. The approach offered intensive literacy engagement to offset summer achievement loss; assisted ethnic-minority, low socioeconomic youth achieve state benchmarks in the English language arts; and pioneered research on writer self-perception for this population. Findings from pre/post use of a normed writer self-perception scale, Chi-square analysis of a camp experience survey, participant interviews and a program exit survey revealed that the 250 youth entering grades five through seven and engaged in extensive writing prompted by reading, discussion, and use of graphic organizers believed their progress and ability to write positively improved. Progress in writing was objectively measured by pre/post writing accounts of a favorite experience evaluated by calibrated raters using the state rubric system. The results of a dependent t-test evidenced a significant increase in writing performance with 157 participants increasing, 56 decreasing, and 37 achieving the same score between pre/post evaluation. A bivariate correlation comparing post-writing scores with post-results of four self-perception sub-scales revealed significant correlations at the 0.01 level.
Initiating Culturally Responsive Teaching for Identity Construction in the Malaysian Classrooms
Author: Idrus, Faizah
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Culturally Relevant Education,Identification (Psychology),Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Language Teachers,English (Second Language),Observation,Foreign Countries,Student Diversity,Secondary School Teachers,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Reading Materials,Story Reading,Teaching Methods

This article presents evidence to the need for Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) to construct students' identity in the Malaysian classrooms. Since an important objective of education is to prepare individuals to exercise efficaciously in their environment, all students in multicultural society could benefit from exposure to CRT (Gay, 2000). In this study, a specific text (Ah Khaw Goes to Heaven) was used in the English literature classroom, which depicted conflicts in multicultural Malaya in the 1940s. A qualitative inquiry employing semi-structured, in depth interviews with 9 English language teachers in 6 schools around Kuala Lumpur were carried out. Classroom observations were conducted, and group interviews with 6 groups of students were also carried out. Thematic analysis were performed and the findings suggest that students' interpretation of CRT were influenced by an orthodox perception of their identity in the classroom and in the teaching and learning process, while teachers were more skeptical and reserved in developing CRT.
Gender Difference in the Use of Thought Representation--A Corpus-Based Study
Author: Riissanen, Anne
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Gender Differences,Knowledge Representation,Language Usage,Oral Language,English,Hypothesis Testing,Discourse Analysis,Masculinity,Femininity,Feminism,Discourse Modes,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

This study (Note 1) investigates potential differences in language use between genders, by applying a modified model of thought representation. Our hypothesis is that women use more direct forms of thought representation than men in modern spoken British English. Women are said to favour &quot;private speech&quot; that creates intimacy and nearness through discourse, which involves direct forms of speech, and thought, representation. Men are said to prefer a more distancing &quot;public speech&quot; style, in order to maintain independence and to hold and negotiate status, which often involves the display of skill and knowledge. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we examine a slightly modified form of the Lancaster SW &amp; TP Spoken corpus, which has been tagged for the full spectrum of the primary categories of thought representation. The results of this study prove our thesis to be correct, there are statistically highly significant differences between the genders' use of direct forms of thought representation. British women use the direct forms more than their male counterparts. This greater use of direct thought categories in their daily discourse depicts a lucidity and consciousness, supposedly faithfully repeating the actual thoughts of the speaker, and it often occurs in a moment of heightened emotional or cognitive state. Therefore, because women seem to be able to express their emotions more lucidly then men, and are more inclined to express their thoughts in more detail, they tend to use more direct forms of thought representation than men in daily discourse.
Perceptions of Parents of Young Children with and without Disabilities Attending Inclusive Preschool Programs
Author: Hilbert, Dana
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Parent Attitudes,Disabilities,Preschool Children,Inclusion,Preschool Education,Parent Surveys,Individual Characteristics,Severity (of Disability)

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of parents of children with and without disabilities whose young children attend an inclusive, early childhood education program that influence their perceptions of inclusion and inclusive preschool programs. Participants included parents of preschool children without disabilities (n=64) and parents of preschool children with disabilities (n=84) attending inclusive preschool programs. Participants completed a 120-question survey examining parental characteristics and the impact they have on parent perceptions regarding inclusion and inclusive preschool programs. In addition, child variables (disability status, type of disability, severity of the disability and disability category) were examined to determine their significance regarding parental perception. Analysis revealed that parents of children with disabilities were less likely to favor an inclusive program that served children with severe disabilities, such as autism and behaviour disorders.
On the Viable Linkages between Extroversion/Introversion and Academic Iranian EFL Learners' Writing Proficiency
Author: Alavinia, Parviz
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Foreign Countries,Extraversion Introversion,Correlation,Majors (Students),English Literature,Personality Measures,Questionnaires,Writing Skills,Essays,Personality Traits,Statistical Significance,Gender Differences,College Students,Persuasive Discourse,Personal Narratives,Descriptive Writing,Language Tests

The current study was aimed at investigating the relationship between academic Iranian EFL learners' extroversion/introversion and their writing performance. The participants of the study were some 52 BA learners majoring in English language literature in Urmia and Tabriz state universities. The chosen sample comprised of both males and females and as convenience sampling was utilized, all the participants took part in the study on a voluntary basis. The major instrument used in the study was the online version of Eysenck's personality questionnaire, which was exerted as the means of determining the learners' extroversion/introversion. Furthermore, to gauge the learners' writing performance, they were asked to write three types of essays (argumentative, narrative and descriptive). Through the final analysis of data, it was revealed that no significant correlation held between the participants' personality types and their writing performance in terms of all three modes referred to. A statistically significant difference was, however, observed between the writing performance of male and female students.
Challenges of Blended E-Learning Tools in Mathematics: Students' Perspectives University of Uyo
Author: Umoh, Joseph B.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Blended Learning,Electronic Learning,College Mathematics,Student Attitudes,Undergraduate Students,Student Surveys,Questionnaires,Access to Computers,Computer Literacy

An in-depth knowledge of pedagogical approaches can help improve the formulation of effective and efficient pedagogy, tools and technology to support and enhance the teaching and learning of Mathematics in higher institutions. This study investigated students' perceptions of the challenges of blended e-learning tools in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The study is a descriptive survey design conducted with thirty undergraduate students of the University of Uyo, Nigeria. A research questionnaire of students' perceptions on the challenges of blended e-learning tools in mathematics was used to elicit responses. The questionnaire has three sections of the perceived challenges of blended e-learning tools in mathematics; availability, accessibility and students' ICT skills towards utilization of blended e-learning tools. Data were analyzed using SPSS at the 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed non-availability, non-accessibility and inadequate students' ICT skills towards the utilization of blended e-learning tools for the teaching and learning mathematics. The overall results revealed that there is significant difference on students' perceptions towards the challenges of blended e-learning tools. Based on the research findings, the institution and instructors need to identify the perceived challenges and opportunities of blended e-learning and provide practical support such as provision of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to diversified students learning of mathematics. The study could be used as proactive response towards the institutions' preparedness on the development of blended e-learning approaches in terms of content design models and pedagogical approach for the teaching and learning of mathematics.
Investigating Conditions for Student Success at an American University in the Middle East
Author: Hassan, Karma El
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Academic Achievement,Higher Education,Educational Practices,Benchmarking,Universities,Gender Differences,Grade Point Average,College Credits,Educational Attainment,Outcomes of Education,College Students,Student Surveys,Satisfaction,Time Management,Learner Engagement,Factor Analysis,Regression (Statistics),Correlation,Goodness of Fit,Models

It is of great significance to an institution of higher education to meet its goals and to establish its institutional effectiveness and that it has a framework for discussing its institutional performance results, accordingly this study aims to investigate a) the conditions for student success at the University with respect to the five benchmarks of effective educational practices (Kuh, 2009); b) significant differences in conditions for student success across important student populations (gender, GPA, number of credits completed, and academic year); and c) how do these conditions contribute to outcomes valued by the institution (students' growth, satisfaction, and recommendation of the University). Responses of 1853 students' on the College Outcomes Survey (COS) for years 2007-2010 were used to answer the various research questions of the study. COS Items were selected that measured students' time allocations and engagement in various activities reflecting effective educational practices, in addition to valued outcomes. Data analysis involved first testing the measurement model and estimating overall fit of the data using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Descriptive statistics, and correlations were reported for the benchmarks of effective educational practices, and differences in benchmark experiences by subgroup were investigated. Finally, a structural model tested the influence of benchmarks of academic practice on valued outcomes and a regression was conducted to investigate relationship between student activities and the benchmarks. Results revealed good fit of the data for the model, identified University's performance on benchmarks of effective educational practices and their relationship to outcomes valued by the University. Implications for practice were discussed.