ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Somers&apos; D as an Alternative for the Item-Test and Item-Rest Correlation Coefficients in the Educational Measurement Settings
Author: Metsämuuronen, Jari
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,Test Items,Scores,Difficulty Level,Statistical Analysis,Test Reliability,Educational Testing

Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between item g and test score X, known as item-test or item-total correlation (&quot;Rit&quot;), and item-rest correlation (&quot;Rir&quot;) are two of the most used classical estimators for item discrimination power (IDP). Both &quot;Rit&quot; and &quot;Rir&quot; underestimate IDP caused by the mismatch of the scales of the item and the score. Underestimation of IDP may be drastic when the difficulty level of the item is extreme. Based on a simulation, in a binary dataset, a good alternative for &quot;Rit&quot; and &quot;Rir&quot; could be the Somers' &quot;D&quot;: it reaches the ultimate values +1 and -1, it underestimates IDP remarkably less than &quot;Rit&quot; and &quot;Rir&quot;, and, being a robust statistic, it is more stable against the changes in the data structure. Somers' &quot;D&quot; has, however, one major disadvantage in a polytomous case: it tends to underestimate the magnitude of the association of item and score more than &quot;Rit&quot; does when the item scale has four categories or more.
Development of Instruments to Assess Students&apos; Spatial Learning Attitudes (SLA) and Interest in Science, Technology and Geospatial Technology (STEM-GEO)
Author: Bodzin, Alec
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Test Construction,Likert Scales,Spatial Ability,Student Attitudes,Science Interests,STEM Education,Secondary School Students,Science Careers,Geographic Information Systems,Grade 9,Test Reliability,Construct Validity,Item Response Theory,Urban Schools

Two new instruments were created to assess secondary students' (ages 14-18) spatial learning attitudes and their interest in science and technology, related careers ideas and perceptions about geospatial technologies. These instruments were designed to evaluate the outcomes of a geospatial learning curriculum project. During a two-year period, we explored the use of these instruments during the prototype testing and pilot testing of a series of socio-environmental science investigations. The instruments were implemented with 664 ninth grade urban students from a population traditionally underrepresented in STEM-related fields. Both classical and Rasch analyses were conducted each year to optimize the instruments. The resulting 24-item Student Interest in Science, Technology and Geospatial Technology (STEM-GEO) measure and 9-item Spatial Learning Attitudes (SLA) measure had high internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach's Alpha) as well as acceptable Rasch reliabilities. Content validity and construct validity evidence were also summarized and discussed.
Examining Leisure Activity Engagement of Students with Intellectual Disability
Author: Eldeniz Cetin, Muzeyyen
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Leisure Time,Recreational Activities,Intellectual Disability,Adolescents,Learner Engagement,Foreign Countries,Student Participation,Teacher Role

In this research, leisure activity engagement of students with intellectual disabilities was examined. This study aims to compare the engagement of students with intellectual disability in leisure time activities that they chose with the ones that were selected by their teachers. Four students diagnosed with intellectual disability at the age of fifteen participated in this study. While the dependent variable of the study is the students' engagement in the leisure time activities, the independent variables are the students' and their teachers' leisure time activity selections. The study was designed according to the alternating treatments model, which is one of the single subject research models. The study has revealed that enabling students to choose the leisure activities is more effective in increasing the engagement of three out of four participants in those activities.
Approaches for Implementing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering &amp; Mathematics) Activities among Middle School Students in Thailand
Author: Changtong, Nidawan
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,STEM Education,Middle School Students,Learning Activities,Scientific Concepts,Physics,Motion,Cooperative Learning,Engineering,Design,Instructional Effectiveness,Logical Thinking,Problem Solving,Sequential Approach

STEM education is a pedagogical philosophy which aims to draw the interrelationship between science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve complex problems in real life situations. In order to use STEM education to foster students' learning, the researchers designed STEM activities for middle school students related to the concept of force and motion in three different approaches: a linear model, a jigsaw learning and a stand-alone engineering design activity. To compare the effectiveness of the three approaches, the researchers analysed students' reasoning and problem-solving scores gained before and after doing the activities. The result showed students participating in the linear model and in the jigsaw learning significantly outperformed those in the stand-alone engineering design activity. In addition, when comparing conceptual development between those attending the linear model and jigsaw learning, the result showed that the former significantly outperformed the latter. It is therefore suggested that to maximise the effectiveness of STEM activities in promoting conceptual understanding as well as reasoning and problem-solving skills, teachers should adopt the linear model. However, when instructional time is limited, the jigsaw learning can be considered as an alternative approach. The stand-alone engineering design activity although can promote students' enthusiasm to learn, it may not sufficiently lead to the development of reasoning and problem-solving skills as expected.
How Is Students&apos; Motivation Enhanced in English Classrooms in Unstable Socio-Political Contexts?
Author: Nra, Hkawn San
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Personal Autonomy,Foreign Countries,Student Motivation,Teaching Methods,Motivation Techniques,Social Influences,Political Influences,Faculty Development,Teacher Education,Language Teachers

In a situation where life is insecure and the future seems to hang by a thread, motivating students to learn a second language that has no immediate need in their daily lives could be challenging. This article explores the motivation to learn English as a second language of students and the use of motivational strategies of English teachers in one state of Myanmar, which has undergone civil wars for more than seventy years. Sequential explanatory mixed-method research was employed to investigate this complex phenomenon. Questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. A pleasantly surprised finding showed that the students could still remain a certain level of motivation to learn English amidst great hardship and fear in everyday life. As for the teachers' motivational strategies, most that were observed and reported did not tend to support students' autonomy. The findings lend support to previous studies on the effects of unstable sociopolitical situations on students and teachers and highlight the needs for effective teacher trainings for pre-service and in-service teachers in such areas.
Teachers&apos; Perceptions of Professional Learning to Increase Classroom Physical Activity: Supporting School Policy Implementation
Author: Bulger, Sean
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Attitudes,Faculty Development,Class Activities,Physical Activities,School Policy,Outcomes of Education,Student Centered Learning,Teacher Behavior,Student Behavior,Teacher Workshops,Teacher Collaboration

The purpose of this study was to determine classroom teachers' and school administrators' (N=146) perceptions of physical activity (PA) integration into the academic classroom after participating in a day-long professional development (PD) workshop, and one year following the workshop. A retrospective pretest survey was administered to all participants at the close of the PD and one year later to measure participant perceptions across two levels: reaction to workshop quality and personal learning. Indicators of quality supported that the workshop was well planned, managed, and delivered. Results of paired-sample t-tests indicated a statistically significant improvement in participant understanding, ability to demonstrate comprehension, and apply concepts. Overall results of the one-year follow-up revealed that the levels of learning remained favorable and provided insight regarding the longer-term outcomes of teacher and student behaviors. The discussion addresses the importance of student-centered instruction, content specificity, professional collaboration, and school support in teacher professional development.
Indirectness Markers in Korean and Persian English Essays: Implications for Teaching Writing to EFL Learners
Author: Rillo, Richard M.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Korean,Indo European Languages,Essays,Incidence,Native Language,Writing Evaluation,Language Usage,Discourse Analysis,Speech Acts,Pragmatics,Ambiguity (Semantics),Sociocultural Patterns,Literary Genres,Contrastive Linguistics,Writing Instruction,College Students,Foreign Students,Foreign Countries

This study investigated and analyzed the prevalence and presence of indirectness markers in Korean and Persian English Essays. The researchers analyzed the prevalence of the indirectness markers as a set of politeness strategies employed by the Korean and Persian university bound students in their English compositions. Furthermore, the researchers espoused the Politeness Strategies Theory proposed by Brown and Levinson as framework in the analysis of the indirectness markers in the texts. In the analysis of the English essays, it was found out that there were seven (7) categories of indirectness markers evident in the essays. The Persian English writers displayed a noticeable evidence of repetition and vagueness and ambiguity in their essays while the Korean counterparts on point-of-view distancing. The presence of these indirectness markers in their writing are attributed to socio-cultural factors, such as Persians have the tendency to be literary in their writing while the Koreans, prose-oriented resulting to lengthy descriptive accounts and indirectness. The results and findings of the study could be beneficial to English writing pedagogy in an English as Second Language (ESL) context.
Indonesian Poetry Translation: The Problem Within
Author: Saleh, Noer Jihad
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Poetry,Translation,College Students,College Faculty,English (Second Language),Language Proficiency,Semantics,Syntax,Error Patterns,Figurative Language

Literature occupies unique position in the society and it has high status in the civilized community. Each ethnic group has unique culture and the culture presents a variety of literary works. Literary works deliver social messages to build harmony in the society. One of the genres of literary works that has vital role in our society is poetry. Based upon the benefit of understanding poetry, this study aims at investigating students' ability in translating poetry and the problem faced by students in translation practices in poetry. The subjects of the study were the students and lecturers of English Department Faculty of Cultural and Humanity Hasanuddin University and English Department Faculty of Languages and Literature Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia. There were 60 students who took part in this study, they were in the 2017/2018 academic year. In this study, we assessed students' translation results of poetries from Horison monthly literary magazine in International Poetry Festival, Indonesia 2002. The research findings revealed that even though the students have passed the English Semantics and English Syntax, they still have problems in poetry translation production. The linguistics difficulties they experienced are lexical and syntactical errors. The educational implication of the study therefore suggests that the students need to be familiarized with literary works, especially poetry which employs figurative languages.
The Use of Complimenting Expressions in Palestinian Arabic: A Descriptive-Analytical Perspective
Author: Shbietah, Ghada
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Semitic Languages,Speech Acts,Foreign Countries,Language Variation,Positive Attitudes,Social Behavior,Cultural Awareness,Metalinguistics,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Place of Residence,Educational Attainment,Context Effect,Teaching Methods,College Students,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction

Compliments are expressions of positive evaluation that commonly occur in everyday conversational encounters. This paper aims at raising second language cross-cultural pragmatic awareness through investigating the use of complimenting expressions in Palestinian Arabic which are related to certain social variables, namely, gender, age, education and the place of living. The results show that females use more variation in giving compliments than males and that age, place of residence, and level of education are key factors in expressing compliments; both education and age are inversely proportional with the most intimate expressions. However, the results necessitate a detailed explanation of the expressions of compliments that are used when performing the speech act in different contexts or situations. The findings provide essential pedagogical implications in second language teaching, avoiding miscommunication as much as possible so as to fulfil the purpose of communication.
Assessing Vietnamese EFL Students&apos; Writing in the Light of World Englishes
Author: Devanadera, Aprillette C.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Vietnamese People,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Instructional Materials,Writing (Composition),Writing Processes,Narration,Western Civilization,Literary Genres,College Students,Consciousness Raising,Language Patterns,Language Variation,Contrastive Linguistics,Writing Instruction,Language Teachers,Metalinguistics

This study is anchored on Swale's Theory of Genre Analysis and employed Labov and Waletzky's Personal Experience Narrative (PEN) as a narrative framework in analyzing Vietnamese EFL students' patterns of writing. The study reveals that Vietnamese student's rhetorical structure follows a three-step-pattern which is introducing the character, introducing the situation and finally telling what happens. This pattern deviates from what is perceived standard or western's style of writing which is preferred in most universities in the Philippines. The result may be a good basis for planning new prospectus and teaching materials suited for Vietnamese and other EFL students. This study also hopes to raise awareness among language teachers to the different rhetorical patterns of EFL students.
Intercultural Understanding in Foreign Language Learning in an Indonesian Higher Education
Author: Saud, Syukur
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Cultural Awareness,Intercultural Communication,Case Studies,Barriers,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Student Attitudes,College Students,Teaching Methods,Learning Activities

This research paper aims to explore: a) learners' perceptions of intercultural understanding within foreign language learning; b) challenges to promote intercultural understanding within foreign language learning. This qualitative case study uses semi-structured interviews and observation of 15 learners who have participated in intercultural understanding training for six months. Data are analyzed through thematic analysis approach. The findings show that there are four categories of learners' perceptions on intercultural understanding: a) high support of intercultural understanding promotion; b) medium support of intercultural understanding; and c) low support of intercultural understanding. The finding of this study extends the debates of intercultural understanding issues within foreign language contexts. The implication of this study is that learners who have limited and non-supportive to promotion of intercultural understanding should be invited to intercultural understanding programs so that they become intercultural minded persons.
The Modal Must in Philippine English: A Corpus-Based Analysis
Author: David, Aika Carla M.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Variation,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Computational Linguistics,North American English,Foreign Countries,Verbs,Phrase Structure,Language Usage,Graduate Students,Linguistic Theory,Semantics,Research Papers (Students),Agricultural Colleges

The present study investigated the dominant verb-phrase structure and the semantic functions of the modal &quot;must&quot; in research papers. It also determined whether the modal &quot;must&quot; conforms to or deviates from the standard modal usage in American English. A total of 122 graduate research papers were analyzed. The findings revealed that the dominant-verb phrase structure of the modal &quot;must&quot; was must + base form of the verb and Filipino graduate student researchers most favor the obligation/compulsion/advisability function of the modal must. Moreover, the results of the present study substantiated Morales' (2015) linguistic assumption that the obligation function of the modal must has a continuous usage in Philippine English and further confirmed the findings of Gustillo (2011) that the modal &quot;must&quot; in Philippine English maintains its conformity to the standard modal usage in American English.
The Relationship of Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Motivation, and Writing Performance of Indonesian EFL Students in Higher Education
Author: Sahril
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Self Efficacy,Student Attitudes,Student Motivation,Writing Skills,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Correlation,Writing Instruction,Undergraduate Students

One of the cornerstones of academic achievement and the foundation for success across the curriculum is learning to write proficiently (Wilson &amp; Trainin, 2007). Therefore, becoming proficient writer is a key objective for English students at university. There are a wide variety of factors that might influence foreign language writing. In this study, self-efficacy beliefs and motivation are two important factors which may enhance students' writing performance are studied. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship of students' self-efficacy beliefs, motivation, and the EFL English writing performance in Indonesian Higher Education. Questionnaire-based data were obtained from 50 students, 30 females and 20 males of English Department, Faculty of Languages and Literature Universitas Negeri Makassar. The students' writing performance was obtained from the writing subjects: Basic Writing, Paragraph Writing, Argumentative Writing, and Essay Writing. The research findings address that 1) there was a significant correlation between students' self-efficacy belief and EFL students' writing performance and, 2) there was a significant correlation between motivation and students' writing performance while attending Writing Courses at State University of Makassar. Educational implications of the importance of students' self-efficacy beliefs and motivation in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia from secondary schools to universities are discussed in detail in this paper.
Fluidity and Variation in Lexical Stress Placement in Ghanaian English Discourse: A Case for Systematicity in Communication in World Englishes
Author: Lomotey, Charlotte Fofo
Date: 2018-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Language Variation,College Students,Foreign Countries,Phonology,Pronunciation,Intercultural Communication,Intonation,Speech Communication

Lexical stress is recognized in the literature as an important feature in English interactions. For instance, Hahn (2004) and Field (2005) argue that misplaced stress may lead to comprehensibility and ultimately, communication problems. In spite of this acclaimed importance, Jenkins (2000) excludes lexical stress from the Lingua Franca Core (LFC), a set of features that speakers of English as a Lingua Franca should focus on because it does not hinder intelligibility in English communication. This study investigates lexical stress placement by speakers of Ghanaian English. Data consisting of 13 hours of English conversations from 200 Ghanaian university students were analyzed both auditorily and acoustically. Results suggest that similar to outer and expanding Englishes, Ghanaians show fluidity and variation in lexcial stress placement. From the results, it is argued that stress placement appears to be systematic in both outer and expanding circle Englishes, and this does not appear to negatively affect intelligibility in communication in world Englishes. The paper also concludes that it is crucial for all speakers of English to become accustomed to one another's stress patterning in order to sound intelligible and comprehensible in communicating in world Englishes.
An Analysis of Instructors&apos; Perspectives to First Language (L1) Use in Monolingual Japanese University Contexts
Author: Chichon, Jagon P.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Native Language,Second Language Learning,Teacher Attitudes,Language Proficiency,Teaching Experience,Public Schools,Course Content,Learning Motivation,Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,Language Teachers,College Faculty,Language Usage,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Teaching Methods

A multi-method approach was used to understand the attitudes of English Language Teachers working in universities in Japan to first language use (L1) in the second language (L2) classroom. Findings indicate that instructors recognise the benefits of the L1 and have awareness of current empirical findings, though, their approach is highly dependent on contextual factors such as the maturity and motivation of learners, learner proficiency and the complexity of content. Prior teaching experience in the Japanese public school system also had a significant effect on their present state suggesting teachers' attitudes are in part driven by the realities of their present and past contexts. The study concludes by suggesting strategies for utilising the L1 in a more systematic manner to maintain engagement levels and scaffold content.