ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Language Learners' Attitudes toward Cultural Instruction and Pragmatic Comprehension and Production
Author: Rafieyan, Vahid
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Correlation,Questionnaires,Undergraduate Students,English (Second Language),Foreign Countries,Pragmatics,Cultural Awareness,Language Tests,Language Processing,Teaching Methods,College Students,Statistical Analysis

Development of target language pragmatic competence in language learners requires not only provision of cultural features of target language community in language classes but also language learner's willingness to learn and use those cultural features. To investigate the relationship between language learners' attitudes toward cultural instruction and their gains in comprehension and production aspects of pragmatic competence, the current study was conducted on 50 undergraduate Japanese students of English education at a university in Japan. The adapted version of the attitude questionnaire developed by Albirini (2009) was used to measure language learners' attitudes toward cultural instruction. A 24-item pragmatic comprehension test developed by Taguchi (2007, 2008) was used to measure language learners' pragmatic comprehension ability. Finally, a 32-item discourse completion task developed by Bardovi-Harlig (2009) was used to measure language learners' pragmatic production ability. The analysis of Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) revealed a strong positive relationship between attitude toward cultural instruction and pragmatic comprehension ability as well as attitude toward cultural instruction and pragmatic production ability. The pedagogical implications of the findings suggested incorporation of interesting cultural features of the target language community in language classes and presenting them in interesting ways to attract language learners' attention and interest.
Literary Translation, Translating Culture: The Case of Shahriyar, the Famous Iranian Azeri Poet
Author: Kianbakht, Saijad
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Translation,Poetry,Indo European Languages,Cultural Differences,Pragmatics,Linguistic Theory,Turkish,Foreign Countries

A literary translation is a device of art used to release the text from its dependence on prior cultural knowledge (Herzfeld, 2003). The present research investigates the use of pragmatic equivalence in two translations of the Azeri Turkish long poem &quot;Haydar Babaye Salam&quot; by &quot;Shahriyar.&quot; Based on Koller's theory of equivalence (2001) four elements were assigned for the pragmatic equivalence: 1) domestication rather than foreignization, 2) naturalness of the expressions, 3) focus on target-text reader, and 4) content-based product. Thirty six stanzas from the initial, middle and final part of the poem were selected and then their two translations were analyzed according to the aforementioned elements. Moreover, based on Newmark's model (1988) it is also investigated that whether a translation with all the four elements of pragmatic equivalence is a good one or not. According to Newmark's model (1988) three markers of a good translation are: 1) utilization of pragmatic equivalence, 2) naturalness, and 3) not sounding like a translation. The results suggest that a translator who has utilized all the elements of pragmatic equivalence is also successful in reproducing a better translation for the target language readers.
Online Tutoring Procedure for Research Project Supervision: Management, Organization and Key Elements
Author: Darder Mesquida, Antònia
Date: 2015-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Research Projects,Supervision,Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Tutoring,Research Administration,Case Studies,Course Organization,Course Objectives,Trainees,Needs Assessment,Educational Needs,Program Development,Program Design,Educational Practices

Research project tutoring appears as a crucial element for teaching; it is a planned action based on the relationship between a tutor and a student. This paper presents the findings of a design and development research which has as its main aim to create an organization system for the tutoring of online research projects. That system seeks to facilitate the tutoring and supervision task with trainee researchers, providing guidance for its management and instruments for its implementation. The main conclusions arising from this research derive from considering the need to offer a solution to the problem of distance research project supervision and has materialized in organization and sequencing through a model about the variables that influence the research project tutoring problem.
An Attack on Inclusive Education in Secondary Education. Limitations in Initial Teacher Training in Spain
Author: López-Torrijo, Manuel
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Inclusion,Mainstreaming,Secondary Schools,Teacher Education Programs,Secondary School Teachers,Statistical Analysis,College Credits,Teacher Competencies,Disabilities,State Standards,Masters Programs,Course Content

Inclusive education is hard to implement in secondary schools. Probably, one of the determining factors lies in teachers' initial training that determines their attitude, identity and professional practice. This research analyses the initial teacher education programmes for Secondary Education, Higher Secondary Education, called &quot;bachillerato&quot;in Spain, and Vocational and Artistic training in the five best valued Spanish universities in the education field, according to the ranking I-UGR, after the European convergence process in the European Higher Education Area. The study analyses the national regulations that govern this training. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the number of credits dedicated to inclusive education and also a review of the contents of these subjects was carried out. The study concludes that this initial teacher training provides sufficient theoretical basis regarding the conceptualization of inclusive education and the skills to deal with the tutorship and academic and professional orientation. However, important limitations in training prevent future teachers from identifying students' and context's special educational needs, and the attention to diversity through different methods and curriculum adaptations.
Linguistic Legitimation of Political Events in Newspaper Discourse
Author: Ali, Marwah Kareem
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Newspapers,Discourse Analysis,Current Events,Political Issues,Armed Forces,War,Metalinguistics,Journalism,Foreign Countries,Language Usage,English (Second Language),Data Analysis,Validity,Content Analysis,Journal Articles,Verbs

This paper examines the discursive structures employed in legitimizing the event of U.S. forces withdrawal from Iraq and identifies them in relation to linguistic features. It attempts to describe the relation between language use and legitimation discursive structures in depicting political events. The paper focuses on the political event of U.S. forces' withdrawal from Iraq in the English newspaper issued in Iraq. The study shows the way in which journalists express their values and attitudes concerning this critical event. Consequently, this requires a critical discourse analysis (henceforth, CDA) to analyse news articles in the Iraqi English newspaper: The &quot;Kurdish Globe&quot; (henceforth, KG) newspaper. Accordingly, the study presents a qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles to identify the legitimation discursive structures and their linguistic features. It is found that the main discursive structures of legitimation employed in the KG newspaper are: authorization, rationalization, and moral evaluation. Besides, there were five verb processes used to represent this legitimation, including material, verbal, relational, mental, and existential.
Chinese College Students' Views on Native English and Non-Native English in EFL Classrooms
Author: Qian, Yang
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Students,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Standard Spoken Usage,Language of Instruction,Teacher Characteristics,Foreign Countries

With the development of globalization, English is clearly spoken by many more non-native than native speakers, which raises the discussion of English varieties and the debate regarding the conformity to Standard English. Although a large number of studies have shown scholars' attitudes towards native English and non-native English, little research is conducted from the point of college students until recently. This paper focuses on Chinese college students' perceptions of native English and non-native English in order to offer insights into the mainstream English language teaching in terms of its exclusive reference to English as a native language in China. This paper draws on the data contributed by 50 Chinese university students through questionnaires. The questionnaire responses displayed a superficial preference for native English and a potential inclination for non-native English in EFL classrooms. The article argues that factors behind the attitude point to the need of changing mainstream English teaching.
Questionnaire Evaluating Teaching Competencies in the University Environment. Evaluation of Teaching Competencies in the University
Author: Moreno-Murcia, Juan Antonio
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Test Construction,Validity,Reliability,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Evaluation,College Faculty,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Undergraduate Students,Factor Analysis,Correlation,Psychometrics,Rating Scales

The objective of this study was to design and validate a measuring instrument to evaluate the performance of university professors. The Evaluation of Teaching Performance (CEID [Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Docentes (Center for Teaching Studies and Research)]) questionnaire was administered to 1297 university students. Various factor analyses were performed (exploratory and confirmatory), of the internal consistency, descriptive statistics, and correlation of all of the items. The data obtained confirmed a suitable psychometric structure for the CEID scale, which was made up of three dimensions (planning, development, and result). It is therefore concluded that it is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating the performance of a university professor.
The Effects of Pre-Reading Activities on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners
Author: Moghaddam, Nahid Nemati
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,High School Students,Reading Strategies,Reading Comprehension,English Language Learners,English (Second Language),Films,Vocabulary Development,Documentation,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Comparative Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Statistical Analysis,Scores,Hypothesis Testing

This study investigated the effects of three types of pre-reading activities (movie-watching, vocabulary presentation, and pre-reading summarization) on the reading comprehension of 76 elementary-level EFL Iranian learners. The participants were randomly assigned to one control and three experimental conditions and then a pretest was given to them. After completing the initial stages, participants in all groups read the same passages under different conditions for seven sessions. Each group was then given a posttest. After that, Paired-samples T-tests were run to find out if the participants had made any significant gains from the pretests to the posttests, which proved to be the case. Results of a One-way ANOVA also revealed that students who had received treatments were better in performance than those who had not received any treatment. Finally, the Split-plot ANOVA test run on the results of the posttest and delayed posttest indicated that there was a slight decrease overtime in scores of the students in two of the experimental conditions which was the result of both instruction or class type and its interaction with time but not time itself.
Concept of Best Practices in English Language Teaching to Pakistani ELT Fraternity
Author: Soomro, Muhammad Arif
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Best Practices,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Language Proficiency,Sampling,Teaching Methods,Questionnaires,Language Teachers,State Universities,College Faculty,Teacher Attitudes,Statistical Analysis

Teaching industry of English as a second or foreign language has grown massively in recent times in Pakistan. There are many public sectors universities and English academies established all over Pakistan offering English language proficiency courses. Therefore, this wave led to conduct this research. The purpose of conducting this study was to investigate contemporary pedagogical techniques used for teaching and learning English and to introduce the concept of ESL/EFL Best Practices for effective language teaching in Pakistan. Purposive Sampling method was used to collect the information from respondents regarding their contemporary-used teaching techniques in ESL/EFL class. The questionnaire was implied as the main tool for data collection among twenty English language teachers from two public sector universities. The results of the study indicated that teachers were attached with some outdated techniques and activities; secondly, they also faced problems applying new techniques while teaching in a large multilevel classrooms; thirdly, teachers' had willingness to adopt and employ innovative techniques in classrooms; and lastly, the notion of ESL best practices was uncommon among them. Most of the teaching strategies do not create better learning environment, and learners do not interestingly participate due to outdated activities. Therefore, the suggested solution was utilizing best practices that are based on modern techniques, approaches considerable for multiple levels depending upon the needs and developmental state of the individual learners.
Motivation to Learn English Language: A Survey on Parents' &amp; Teachers' Influence on L2 Learners in Sindh, Pakistan
Author: Wadho, Saeed
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Learning Motivation,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Parent Influence,Teacher Influence,College Students,Questionnaires,Language Attitudes,Rewards,Feedback (Response),Teaching Methods

Motivation is, without question, the most complex and challenging issue faced by English language teachers today (Schiedekr &amp; Freeman, 1999). It is a key contributing factor for L2 learning (Cheng &amp; Dornyei, 2007; Gardner, 1985b). It is an established fact that no motivation means no learning. Motivation comes from different sources. Freeman (1999) holds teachers and parents to be influencing forces for learners' motivation. The present study was conducted at college level in Kambar Shahdadkot and investigates the influence of parents and teachers on L2 learning. The study is quantitative in nature. The survey was conducted and data was collected through questionnaire. The study found that students were heavily influenced by parents and teachers. Most of the learners learn English language due to the respect they owe to their parents and teachers. The parents and teachers have positive attitude towards English language, thus, they influence L2 learners' motivation and decisions considerably. The study also found that most L2 learners learn English language due to the rewards given to them by their parents. Besides, teachers' positive relation with learners also motivates them to learn English. It was also found that a lack of feedback from teachers contribute a demotivating factor for the L2 learners. The study suggests that teaching methodology plays crucial role in L2 motivation and brings positive results for the learners.
William Golding's Iconoclastic Views about the Neanderthal Man in &quot;The Inheritors&quot;
Author: Youssef, Sayed Mohammed
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Authors,Social Attitudes,Novels,Evolution,Anthropology,History,Archaeology,Literary Criticism,Stereotypes,Moral Values,Narration,Language Styles,Language Usage,Life Style

William Golding has been identified as a nonconformist whose opinions always go contrary to what is customarily accepted or established. This is shown in all his novels, more specifically &quot;The Inheritors&quot;, in which he defies long established opinions held by anthropologists, historians, archaeologists as well as many others about the Neanderthals and their immediate successors the Homo sapiens. Though my PhD was about some of Golding's novels, no single word is mentioned in my PhD dissertation about his challenging novel &quot;The Inheritors&quot;, which is still regarded by both critics and readership as most complicated. Golding's intention in this novel is not merely to rebut the clichés and stereotypes of the Neanderthals, but also to describe them as enjoying uniquely far sublime qualities that make them outdo their rivals, the Homo sapiens. Therefore, he portrays them very sympathetically, and their plight tragically, thereby demonstrating his scepticism about the moral superiority of the Homo sapiens, the real &quot;inheritors&quot; of the earth. The aim of this article is to discuss Golding's repudiation of such convictions by examining in some detail the novel's thematic structures, characterisation and settings. Likewise, the present article will focus on the clarity of the novel's narrative style that shows the simplicity, if not naivety, of the Neanderthal man's life juxtaposed to the complexity and maturity of his rivals' language and life style.
&quot;Broken-Off Like Limbs from a Tree&quot;: Fractured Identity in Caryl Phillips's &quot;Crossing the River (1993)&quot;
Author: Labidi, Abid Larbi
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Concept,Novels,Slavery,Family (Sociological Unit),Memory,Blacks,Language Usage,Language Styles,History,Discourse Analysis,Trauma,Narration

My major purpose in studying Caryl Phillips's widely acclaimed novel &quot;Crossing the River&quot; is to examine, through a close textual analysis, the severe identity crisis inflicted upon slaves under the three-century long slavery institution. I explore how slaves' tragic rift of separation from their African homelands led to a disastrous loss of identity. I particularly call attention to the ways slavery profoundly &quot;shattered&quot; such identity-shaping factors as home, family, belonging, memory and roots. Quite curiously, this identity destruction was not only undergone by African slaves who experienced The Middle Passage firsthand, but has been &quot;transmitted&quot; to their descendants in the contemporary realities of the black diaspora. I, therefore, look into the historical and psychic continuum that binds the slaves' experience of home loss with their descendants' exilic identity and space impermanence. Central to this paper is also the exploration of how the slaves' identity fracture is reflected at the level of the language, narrative forms, genre mixing, and the temporal and spatial fragmentation Phillips freely experiments with in his narrative.
The Effect of Oral Interactive Feedback on the Accuracy and Complexity of EFL Learners' Writing Performance: Uptake and Retention
Author: Akbarzadeh, Roya
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Oral Language,Accuracy,Feedback (Response),Statistical Analysis,Metalinguistics,Cues,Pretests Posttests,Language Teachers,Role,Teacher Student Relationship,Writing (Composition),Language Tests,Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Revision (Written Composition),Error Correction,Writing Instruction,Teaching Methods,Quasiexperimental Design,Language Proficiency

The role of teacher-student interaction and collaboration in solving linguistic problems has recently been in the center of SLA research. Accordingly, this study investigated the effect of Oral Interactive Feedback (OIF) on the accuracy and complexity of Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing. After ensuring the homogeneity using Preliminary English Test (PET), the researchers randomly assigned 50 sophomores into OIF group and Explicit Feedback (EF) group, with 25 students in each of them. The participants in the OIF group received oral interactive feedback, including elicitation and metalinguistic clues, on their written errors, while those in the EF group received oral explicit correction on their written errors. Data collection was based on immediate revisions of compositions and a post-test. Using ANCOVA, the researchers found that the OIF group outperformed the EF group in terms of both accuracy and complexity in both revised compositions and post-test. The findings from the study may encourage language teachers' further use of OIF, using elicitation and metalinguistic clues, in treating EFL learners' errors in written discourse.
Attitudes of Undergraduates towards Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching in EFL Context: A Case Study of SBK Women's University Quetta, Pakistan
Author: Durrani, Hina
Date: 2016-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,College Students,Case Studies,Females,Grammar,Translation,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Communication Skills,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction

CLT and GTM have been popular and much practiced methodologies in classrooms worldwide in teaching English language. The purpose of the current research is to examine students' attitude towards Grammar Translation Method and CLT in Pakistan at graduate level. The data for the current study was collected through questionnaire from undergraduate students of Baluchistan, Pakistan. The questionnaire was adapted from the studies of Palacios (2006) and McClintock (2011). Theoretical framework of Richard and Rodger (2001) was used as a guide for the study. However the data was analyzed quantitatively in SPSS. The overall results show that the students had a positive attitude towards GTM and their attitude was less favorable towards CLT.
The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Iranian EFL Learners' Speaking Proficiency
Author: Ansarian, Loghman
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Language Tests,Problem Based Learning,Language Proficiency,Foreign Countries,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Schemata (Cognition),Statistical Analysis,Teaching Methods,Task Analysis,Cooperative Learning,Teacher Role,Adult Students

The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks on speaking proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners in comparison to the effect of objective-based tasks. To this end, a true experimental research design was employed. Ninety five (N = 95) language learners studying at a language institute in the city of Esfahan, Iran were given an IELTS listening and speaking test as the proficiency test and 75 learners were selected. In the next phase of the study, a second IELTS speaking test was administered as the homogeneity test and the pre-test to seventy five (N = 75) learners chosen from the population and forty-eight (N = 48) homogeneous intermediate learners were selected for the study (i.e., 24 learners in control group and 24 in experimental one). The results of an independent-sample t-test gained from the study proved that not only does implementation of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks significantly increased intermediate participants' speaking proficiency, but also it had more positive effect in comparison to objective-based tasks on participants' speaking proficiency. Therefore, it is suggested that problem-based learning ought to be taken into account by educational scholars, those in charge of syllabus, material producers, language teachers and language learners.