ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Teaching Practice and Cultural Difference of an English as Foreign Language Classroom in Taiwan
Author: Liao, Hsien-Chung
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Communicative Competence (Languages),Grammar,Translation,High School Students,Student Attitudes,Language Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Cultural Differences,Teaching Methods,Textbook Content,Semi Structured Interviews,Teacher Attitudes

Uninterrupted interactions of merchants and travelers from different countries stress the significance of English. The purpose of the study was to investigate what cultures and teaching practices are different between native English-speaking teachers and Taiwanese senior high school students. Three native English-speaking teachers and six Taiwanese senior high school students in Taichung city participated in this study. Data were collected through native English-speaking teachers' and Taiwanese senior high school students' interviews and non-participant classroom observation. Results showed that American teachers lack of diversified cultures, not dealing with the complicated classroom situations. Students were accustomed to Grammar Translation Method &quot;GTM&quot; instead of the Communicative Language Teaching &quot;CLT.&quot; Scarcity of understanding diversified cultures and large classes were major difficulties for both teachers and students. The implications of the study were discussed and some recommendations were made to assist local English teachers and senior high school students in addressing their teaching or learning English.
C-Test vs. Multiple-Choice Cloze Test as Tests of Reading Comprehension in Iranian EFL Context: Learners' Perspective
Author: Ajideh, Parviz
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Multiple Choice Tests,Cloze Procedure,Comparative Analysis,Language Tests,Reading Comprehension,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Foreign Countries,Readability,Student Attitudes,Females,Institutes (Training Programs),Statistical Analysis,Scoring

Cloze tests have been widely used for measuring reading comprehension since their introducing to the testing world by Taylor in 1953. But in 1982, Klein-Braley criticized cloze procedure mostly for their deletion and scoring problems. They introduced their newly developed testing procedure, C-test, which was an evolved form of cloze tests without their deficiencies (Klein-Braley, 1982 cited in Baghaei, 2008). After that, the effectiveness of C-test and cloze test became the main interest of the scientists in the field of language testing. The present study aims to compare the results of multiple-choice cloze test with those of C-test as measures of reading comprehension. To this end, one traditional C-test and one fixed ratio (n = 7) multiple-choice cloze test were prepared from reading passages with similar readability level. The subjects of the study were 27 female EFL advanced learners. The results of the study revealed that multiple-choice cloze is a better measure of reading comprehension. Through a retrospective study which was done at the end of the tests, the students' impressions and opinions about tests and their own performance were recorded and taken into consideration. The implications of the findings and suggestions for more studies are discussed within a foreign language testing context.
The Elaboration of Cultivating Learners' English Communicative Competence in China
Author: Zhang, Yuxiang
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Asians,Communicative Competence (Languages),Middle School Students,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Language Teachers,Administrator Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Middle School Teachers,Interviews

The communicative competence is the ultimate goal of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which is thought to be the eclectic approach in the place of other approaches and methods and which begins to gain momentum in the recent years. Hence, the comprehensive understanding of the communicative competence is prerequisite to the cultivation of the students' communicative competence. This study did some investigation with a view to elaborating the cultivation of learners' English communicative competence in China. It did an investigation into 9 senior middle schools in Anhui, China. 9 schools in three areas were visited. About 400 students were asked to do a questionnaire on the self-assessment of their English communicative competence. 27 English teachers and 9 headmasters/mistresses were interviewed about their teaching practice in senior middle school. Based upon the data collected from the investigation, the paper puts forward some problems as well as some suggestions in the implementation of the cultivation of students' communicative competence.
Discrepancies between L2 Teacher and L2 Learner Beliefs
Author: Gabillon, Zehra
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Educational Research,English (Second Language),Literature Reviews

This state of the art article overviews the literature on discrepancies between foreign language teacher and learner beliefs. In the first section, the author draws the reader's attention to the significance of discrepancies between the L2 teacher and L2 learner perceptions and provides a synopsis of both practical-anecdotal and empirical evidence on the possible consequences of such discrepancies. In the second part of this paper, drawing upon relevant literature, the author suggests some ways of overcoming discrepancies between teachers and learners' understandings concerning foreign language practices.
Sense &amp; Meaning: A Second Order Analysis of Language
Author: Singh, Amrendra Kumar
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Semantics,Sociocultural Patterns,Anthropology,Psycholinguistics,Speech Acts,Linguistic Theory,Communicative Competence (Languages),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Philosophy,Native Speakers,English (Second Language),Cultural Influences,Language Usage,Social Environment

What we know through language is whether the way things are or the ways the things are constructed through anthropological tradition and socio cultural shaping. Actually at the very outset, it is not very clear the settling point of this query. However, we can very well understand the point why a critical understanding of &quot;Bio-semanticism&quot; which is in some ways constructed and affected by the anthropological and socio cultural developments. What we are trying in this paper is to develop a notion of language psyche. What we mean by this term is the way a speaker is a communicator, who has a history belonging to a certain kind of anthropological character traits as well as socio cultural upbringing, having a certain kind of psychological mental states. The psychological mental states that naturally develop a linguistic psyche are actually &quot;constructed.&quot; Further when a speaker or a communicator performs a speech act s/he is having a &quot;private linguistic affair&quot; that we call linguistic experience. Language psyche and its natural outcome &quot;linguistic experience&quot; are the two very crucial concepts that need to be critically assessed.
Implementing Keyword and Question Generation Approaches in Teaching EFL Summary Writing
Author: Chou, Mu-hsuan
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Questioning Techniques,Program Implementation,Academic Discourse,English (Second Language),English Language Learners,College English,Instructional Effectiveness,Portfolios (Background Materials),Writing Strategies,Writing Instruction,Writing Skills,Writing Achievement,Semi Structured Interviews,Participant Satisfaction,Undergraduate Students,Foreign Countries,Pretests Posttests

Summary writing has been considered an important aspect of academic writing. However, writing summaries can be a challenging task for the majority of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Research into teaching summary writing has focused on different processes to teach EFL learners. The present study adopted two methods--keyword and question generation--to guide Taiwanese university students in writing summaries in English. To decrease the students' apprehension resulting from the difficulties in writing summaries, portfolios were used as a vehicle to help the students collect and reflect on the articles they read and the summaries they wrote. This paper investigated how much keyword methods and question generation helped Taiwanese EFL university students improve their English summary writing. The data showed that, with the help of keywords and question generation, the two approaches helped the majority of the participants increase their English reading and summary writing abilities.
Schema Theory and College English Reading Teaching
Author: Zhao, Xiaoguang
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Schemata (Cognition),Learning Theories,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Reading Processes,Second Language Instruction,Reading Improvement,Reading Interests,College Students,Asians,Reading Rate,Reading Skills,Reading Instruction,Teaching Methods,Learning Activities,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires,Foreign Countries

Reading plays a dominant role among the four skills in foreign language acquisition for college students. Unfortunately, over the past few decades, English teaching practice shows that Chinese students are vulnerable in it. Both their reading speed and their reading skills are far from being satisfactory. Schema theory presents a very efficient course in developing students' reading skills and improving their reading abilities. Based on a descriptive research, this paper aims to expound on the schema theory, its activation and construction on college English reading class. The research shows that the application of the theory is fulfilled throughout the whole reading process by designing various activities before, during and after the reading. The results testifies the assumption that its application is beneficial to cultivate students' reading interest, quicken their reading speed and make proper judgments.
A Measure of EFL Public Speaking Class Anxiety: Scale Development and Preliminary Validation and Reliability
Author: Yaikhong, Kriangkrai
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Public Speaking,Anxiety,Measures (Individuals),English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Communication (Thought Transfer),Factor Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Test Anxiety,Fear,Oral Language,Foreign Countries,Construct Validity,Student Attitudes,Item Analysis

The present study contributes to developing a Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) to measure anxiety in the EFL public speaking class in the Thai context. Items were adopted from previous scales: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz et al. (1986); Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) and Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA-34) by McCroskey (1970); and Speaker Anxiety Scale (SA) by Clevenger and Halvorson (1992) based on their critical appraisals. Some minor changes in wordings of adopted items were made to a preliminary PSCAS and were validated. The preliminary PSCAS yielded an internal consistency of 0.84 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient when administered to 76 participants and was factor-analyzed to establish the construct and the final version. The factor analysis revealed that the PSCAS included the components of communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and comfort in using English in a public speaking class.
The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Writing Ability of Iranian EFL Learners
Author: Sadeghi, Karim
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Multiple Intelligences,Writing Skills,English Language Learners,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Females,College Students,Hypothesis Testing,Correlation,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Writing (Composition),Scoring,Multiple Regression Analysis,Foreign Countries

The relationship between multiple intelligences and learning of L2 language skills is a burgeoning area of research. This study aimed at finding the relationship between Multiple Intelligences (MI) and the writing ability of EFL learners. For this purpose, the body of female BA sophomores in TEFL at Urmia University (N = 47), within the age range of 18-25, was given a close look using an intact group research design. The proposed hypothesis predicted no significant relationship between MI and writing ability of the participants. The participants were given Armstrong's MI questionnaire which used a Likert Scale. The participants' writing samples were also obtained using an IELTS writing task and were correlated with the scores on the MI questionnaire. The scoring of writing was done analytically following pre-specified criteria. The writings were scored by two raters yielding an inter-rater reliability of 0.8. Results obtained through Multiple Regression indicated that the components of MI did not have a significant relationship with the writing ability of the participants. Detailed results and implications are discussed in the paper.
The Effect of an Intensive English Program on Malaysian Secondary School Students' Language Proficiency
Author: Mukundan, Jayakaran
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Secondary School Students,Language Proficiency,English (Second Language),English Instruction,Intensive Language Courses,Quasiexperimental Design,Scores,Pretests Posttests,Teaching Methods,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Achievement Gains,Statistical Analysis

Intensive English programs are courses in which students participate in a higher number of classes in a shorter period. The available literature on intensive English courses indicates inconsistent results necessitating further research in this area. This study investigated the effect of an intensive English program on a group of Malaysian Secondary School students (n = 30) following a single group quasi-experimental design. Paired samples t-test was used to analyze the students' scores before and after the treatment that lasted four weeks. The results indicated that the students scored significantly higher (p = 0.000 &lt;0.05) at post-test. The study has useful implications for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, researchers, and curriculum developers. Further research is required before the findings of the study can be generalized.
The Improvement of Foreign Language Teachers' Affective Variables in Universities for Ethnic Minorities
Author: Li, Kun
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Ethnic Groups,Second Language Instruction,Affective Objectives,College Faculty,Teacher Improvement,Predictor Variables,Interviews,Minority Group Students,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Qualifications,Classroom Techniques,Teaching Methods,Faculty Development,Teaching Skills,Instructional Innovation,Student Diversity,Foreign Countries

This paper states the current situation of foreign language teachers' affective variables in universities for ethnic minorities when teaching a foreign language. It emphasizes the urgent need of improvement of affective variables in such universities based on relevant research results and an interview performed in a university for ethnic minorities. Its purpose is to arouse people's attention on teachers' quality development, especially teachers' affective variables. Several methods are mentioned to help teachers build a harmonious atmosphere in the classroom and improve teachers' quality and future language teaching.
Developing a Non-Language Related Span Test for the Use in Language-Specific and Cross-Language Studies
Author: Shahnazari-Dorcheh, Mohammadtaghi
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Research,Native Language,Second Language Learning,Scoring,Mathematics Tests,Short Term Memory,Test Construction,English (Second Language),Item Analysis,Test Items,Indo European Languages,Test Validity,Computer Assisted Testing,Pilot Projects,Cognitive Processes,Foreign Countries

Due to the lack of span test for the use in language-specific and cross-language studies, this study provides L1 and L2 researchers with a reliable language-independent span test (math span test) for the measurement of working memory capacity. It also describes the development, validation, and scoring method of this test. This test included 70 simple math problems, and was developed based on Salthouse and Babcock's (1991) and Robert and Gibson's (2002) math span tests. The shortcomings of the test were identified and removed over five pilot studies on 48 participants. The final test was used in an experimental study with a group of L1 Persian EFL learners. Results of an item analysis, as indicated by Cronbach's Alpha, indicated an internal reliability of 0.850 and 0.863 for the math span test processing and recall respectively. This suggests that the newly developed test is reliable enough and could be used to measure working memory capacity in L1 and L2 studies. This study also provides a clear procedure for the development and scoring of a math span test for the use in L1 and L2 studies.
Investigation of Teachers' Attitudes towards Computer Use in Primary Education in Kurdistan
Author: Balisane, Hewa
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Investigations,Computer Uses in Education,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Teaching Methods,Teaching Experience,Teaching Skills,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Educational Practices,Educational Change,Factor Analysis,Regression (Statistics)

Technological advances have pervasively changed our behaviours, beliefs and approaches in working, socialising and entertaining. Educators, including those in primary education, have acknowledged the positive effects of computer use in the classroom in various ways. With regard to pedagogical consideration, primary school teachers have adopted computer use in teaching pupils with emphasis on student-centred teaching techniques. The integration of computers in the primary curriculum has been applied in many countries, from developing (Chile) to developed nations (the US and UK). With regard to Iraqi Kurdistan, in particular, the education sector has undergone a major reform in order to improve the regional education standards and, as part of a new curriculum, the computer element has been embedded alongside the mathematics subject. Since the reform occurred, no academic study has been conducted to not only evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of computer use in primary schools in Kurdistan, but also to investigate teachers' attitudes towards the use of computers in their teaching approach. Hence, the present study aims primarily to explore the general background of primary school teachers as well as their experiences, skills and pedagogical attitudes towards computer use in primary education.
Uprising of Creation in Education
Author: Hatamleh, Habes Mohamed
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Creativity,Creative Thinking,Education,College Role,Critical Thinking,Innovation,Novelty (Stimulus Dimension)

This research (Uprising of Creation in Education) aims at defining the importance of creativity in education, and its reflection on the elements of the educational process. Creativity is regarded an important element in the nations progress, which depends on the minds of their sons. Creativity became the language of the present age, after the transformation of the educational and psychological scientists interest from studying the intellectual student to the study of creative student, and the factors that contribute in his creativity, and the role of university and the educational institution in developing and promoting the students' capacities in creativity, innovation, novelty, originality, elasticity, and criticizing thinking. The researcher concluded a group of results like: Technological, perceptive and pragmatic revolution, discoveries, and modern inventions are fruitful results of the creativity of scientists. The researcher recommended conducting studies about employing the achievements of creative revolution in education, and its role in solving social problems.
Universal Primary Education in Kenya: Advancement and Challenges
Author: Ngugi, Margaret
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Equal Education,Access to Education,Educational Development,Educational Trends,Barriers,Elementary Education,Enrollment Rate,Graduation Rate,Educational Quality,Educational Change,Educational Practices,Educational Policy

Universalisation of primary education (UPE) has been a global issue since the early sixties, yet several decades later and even in the 21st century, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are still grappling with it. Unlike their counterparts in the developed world, its realisation in developing countries has been faced with a myriad of constraints. Kenya has a long standing commitment to providing educational access to its primary school going children. This has been reflected in the country's Economic Plans, Sessional papers and other development plans. Most importantly, Kenya acknowledges provision of basic education for its citizens as a human right, as is enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya (2010). Furthermore, Kenyan citizens have a right to free and compulsory education as is stipulated in the Basic Education Bill of 2012. Moreover, Vision2030 has acknowledged education as a component of the social pillars. Although the first step towards this was articulated by the Kenyan government immediately after independence in 1963 and later in 2003, little has been done to establish the extent to which Universal Primary Education has been advanced in Kenya. Therefore, there is need to do stock taking of the advancements made towards this goal. Furthermore, examining of the obstacles that have persistently hindered its success over the years is critical for realisation of universal education. This paper will therefore address the extent to which universalisation of primary education has contributed to advancement of access to basic education and the obstacles that have hindered its success.
Personal Health Risks Behaviour Profile among University Students in the South East Nigeria: Implication for Health Education
Author: Ilo, Cajetan I.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Surveys,Health Behavior,Risk,Profiles,College Students,Mental Health,Nutrition,Physical Activities,Substance Abuse,Gender Differences,Health Education,Life Style,Health Promotion,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries

This descriptive survey was carried out in order to determine the personal health risks behaviour profile among university students in the south east of Nigeria. A random sample of 900 students completed the questionnaire designed for the study. Out of this number 821, representing about 91.2% return rate, were used for data analysis. Means and standards deviations were used to describe the personal health risks behaviour profile of the students. T-test was used to test the entire hypotheses. Results showed that the respondents had no identifiable mental health-related, nutrition-related, physical activity-related, substance abuse-related and personal health care-related risks. T-test showed that no significant differences existed in most of the personal health risks behaviour profile between male and female respondents. Where significant differences existed, they inclined towards favouring the females. The study supports the need for compulsory health education curriculum activities to help educate the students in making healthy behaviour choices and leading a healthier lifestyle in order to improve or at worst maintain the status quo in their personal health risks behaviour profile.