Category: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
English Language Teachers’ Motivation and Their Basic Psychological Needs: A Self-Determination Theory Approach
Teachers’ motivation has been linked to quality of instruction, teachers’ job satisfaction, teachers’ well-being, and students’ achievement. The current study aims to examine the relationship between Vietnamese university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ motivation and the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) using Self-Determination theory (SDT). A total …
A Distinguished Path to Teaching English in English: Teacher Agency of a Retired Japanese Teacher’s Professional Development
The newly issued and implemented Course of Study by the Japanese Ministry of Sports, Education, and Science and Technology reinforces the use of English in English classrooms at junior high and high school levels. However, the teachers are rather reluctant to use English in their classes all the time, especially at junior high schools. This …
An Ethnomethodological Case Study on Closed-Loop Communication at Sea by Japanese EFL Learners in Role-Plays
Maritime accidents, 80–85% of which are due to human errors (e.g., Hasanspahic´ et al., 2021), have been a serious problem in international shipping (e.g., Baniela and Rı´os, 2011). Among these errors, the grave risks posed by failures in verbal maritime communications (inter-ship/ship-to-shore/shore-to-ship/on-board communications) (Bocanegra-Valle, 2013) have long been recognized (e.g., Bocanegra-Valle, 2011). To prevent misunderstandings …
Empowering Multiculturalism: Community Interpreter Training Programme
This paper explores what the Community Interpreter Training Program should provide its objectives, features, assessment methods, and benefits. The program’s core mission is to cultivate interpreters who play an indispensable role in multicultural societies by elevating students’ language proficiency and communication skills fostering multicultural coexistence. A distinctive facet of this program is its adoption of …
Perception of Foreign English Speakers as Instructors in Elementary Schools in Japan Towards Various Attributions of Japanese Teachers of English
In elementary English education in Japan, Japanese teachers of English have heavily relied on foreign English speakers as assistant language teachers (ALTs). Kano and Hiratsuka (2023) highlighted the widening variety of the attributions of Japanese teachers in the recent few years. Nakazawa and Kano (2022) focused on the perceptions of Japanese teachers towards ALTs, both …
Unraveling Multilingual Identity: The Transformative Influence of Glocal Learning Contexts in Adult ESL Education
In the evolving domain of language education, our research delves into the multilingual identity development of adult ESL learners, guided by Sociocultural Theory. We probe the interplay between ‘glocal’ learning contexts—where ‘glocal’ denotes the blend of global and local influences—and the fluid multilingual identities of learners within this vibrant milieu. The robust longitudinal qualitative approach …
L2 Acquisition of the Word Order of a Mandarin Attributive-Head Construction May Not Be Affected by L1 or Word Frequency
Word order can be a difficult dimension for L2 learners to acquire, especially for learners whose L1 exhibits a different order pattern. For example, previous research reported difficulty in the acquisition of Mandarin [Attributive-Head] constructions for Thai learners with [Head-Attributive] constructions, and has attributed the difficulty to negative L1-to-L2 transfer. However, whether this difficulty is …
Foreign Languages and Internationalization: Analyzing of the Foreign Language Skills of Graduating Students at a Public University in Paraguay
The knowledge of foreign languages among final-year undergraduate students is important considering the local labor market’s competitiveness and the opportunities for academic studies abroad. This research focuses on obtaining data that informs on the knowledge or lack of knowledge of foreign languages for accessing competitive job opportunities and the possible application for scholarships for study …
Self-Actualization Through Personality Psychology and Goal Setting
Higher education is a mechanism through which academic success, worldly knowledge, and career preparation are prioritized. However, there is a significant void in the area of personal discovery and fulfillment, or, self-actualization. It could be argued that the primary purpose of a college or university should be to help students realize their unique capabilities. In …
A Comparison of High School English Textbooks in Japan, Korea, and China: Do the Differences Significantly Affect the Outcomes?
English education in Japan, Korea, and China may display certain similarities, since they are all fundamentally monolingual societies, where citizens may not have much need for English on a day-to-day basis. They are all now keen to take advantage of the opportunities of globalization and recognize the importance of English in this context. In all …
Exploring Face-to-Face vs. Online Feedback Approaches in Academic Writing Courses
There are various ways in which teachers and students provide feedback in L2 academic writing courses. This has been especially true over the past four years during and after the pandemic. This research presents two dimensions—how the teacher has changed his approach to giving feedback during and post-COVID interruptions, and key differences noted in students’ …
Transformative Effect of Reading Activities on Critical Incident Scenarios in Fostering Cultural Empathy
In response to the evolving political and social landscape of the 21st century, the focus in foreign language (FL) programs has transitioned from proficiency across skills to “transformation”. A key avenue through which this transformation can be achieved lies in FL classrooms, where the cultivation of “cultural empathy” is being pursued. However, this integration of …
How Does Adult Learners’ L1 Interact With Word Frequency in the Error Rates and Patterns of L2 Classifier Use: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison
Previous literature has reported mixed findings on the effect of L1 (classifier languages vs non-classifier languages) on the acquisition of L2 classifiers. This study aims to investigate whether any effect of L1 may be modulated by the word frequency of the target classifiers. Chinese classifiers were categorized into pre-established frequency bands A to C in …
Writing Conversations: Exploring How Metalinguistic Understanding Fosters Young ESL Learners’ Writing in Classrooms
The purpose of this article has two main objectives: firstly, to investigate and identify the syntactic structures employed by young ESL writers in their compositions; and secondly, to explore how ESL writers’ metalinguistic understanding of syntactical construction affect their writing. The study involved the analysis of essays from 92 ESL secondary students of advanced and …
Classroom Action Research Using Peer Assessment as a Tool to Improve EFL Students’ Speaking Skills
This study examines the impact of peer assessment and feedback on secondary school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ speaking skills. By providing a platform for students to evaluate each other’s performance, peer assessment can help overcome shyness and fear of making mistakes. The study employed CAR (Classroom Action Research) following Kemmis’ cycle process …
An Analysis of English Vocabulary in Hong Kong Textbooks for Bilingual Children
Vocabulary acquisition is central to building literacy, yet there is little research on the vocabulary component of textbooks for school children. Acquiring the vocabulary of a language is commonly interpreted as simply “knowing the meaning of the words and being able to use the words”, acknowledging the receptive and productive aspects of vocabulary. However, Nation …
Speaking the Language of Defence: Narratives of Doctoral Viva Examiners
This paper delves into the discourse of oral defence, unveiling the perspectives of doctoral examiners regarding their expectations of the candidates’ oral performance in the PhD viva. This investigation stems from the observation that candidates must adequately address questions posed by examiners to secure a favourable outcome in the oral examination. However, what constitutes a …
A Case Study of Chinese EFL University Learner’s Reading Motivation: A Complex Dynamic Systems Theory Perspective
Based on complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008), the present study adopted a longitudinal sequential mixed-method research (MMR) approach with a quan->QUAL design and a triangulation purpose (Riazi, 2017) to unravel a Mainland Chinese EFL learner’s reading motivational complexity and dynamism over a half academic year (six months). Alex, a male 20-year-old …
Reconnecting With New Zealand: There, Online, and Back Again for English for Specific Purposes Students With a Culture Focus, 2019–2024
Many programmes taught under emergency then planned online conditions from 2020-2022 are returning to face-to-face or blended teaching modes. This article relates and reflects on student experiences before, during, and after the pandemic, in original face-to-face, emergency-online, planned online, and blended modes, on an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) programme with a special focus on …
Exploring Artificial Intelligence as a Social and Literacies Practice: Students’ Academic Writing Experiences
Advancements in technology have significantly transformed existing literacy practices. Students increasingly employ artificial intelligence (AI) assistants for academic writing, leading to noteworthy changes in their writing habits. Some students use AI for its various affordances for writing, which helps students identify their writing issues (Lin & Chang, 2020), correct errors (Dodigovic, 2007), and provide autonomy …
Cognitive Discourse Function and Multimodal Conceptualization: The Interactive Usage of Language, Multimodality, and Cognition in Bilingual Teaching Context
This study aims to examine the realization of Cognitive Discourse Function and multimodal conceptualization in the context of bilingual teaching materials in Taiwan elementary schools. Based on a usage-based cognitive analysis, our data will classify how different categories of Cognitive Discourse Function (CDF) can be realized through language and multimodality in bilingual teaching and learning …
Lexical Density in Academic Writing: Lexical Features and Learner Corpora Analysis in L2 Tertiary Students’ Essays and Didactic Implications
Academic writing is crucial for communicating ideas among scientists, researchers and academics across various disciplines. It may be an arduous process for students when composing academic texts to meet the university requirements and academic discourse conventions. This research study investigates lexical features of the independent technical essays related to academic writing proficiency in students of …
Students’ Responses on Using Interactive E-module Based on Multimodal Text as a Self-Study Learning Resource for an English Structure Course
This study aimed to see how English students at one university in Indonesia responded on the use of an interactive e-module based on multimodal text as a self-study learning resource for an English Structure course, this e-module was developed in supporting digital-based learning at one public university in Indonesia. The research followed a systematic Research …
Exploring Students’ Engagement, L2 Grit, Enjoyment and L2 Anxiety in CLIL in the Japanese Context
In this presentation, I will describe how Japanese university students’ engagement (behavioral, social, emotional and cognitive), enjoyment (teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment, and social enjoyment), L2 grit (perseverance of effort and consistency of interest), English motivation and L2 anxiety inter-relate to each other. The study was conducted in December 2022, and 123 students aged between 18 …
Incorporating Media Literacy Into Foreign Language Classrooms to Advance Kazakh Students’ Critical Communication Skills
This paper outlines the results of the study that surveyed whether incorporating media literacy into English as a second language teaching promotes Kazakh students’ critical communication. We reflect on media literacy practices in language classrooms as modes of teaching that foster students’ awareness of media content to recognise and resist fake news and disinformation. The …
Contextualization – an Effective Tool to Improve Efficient Listening Skills Among Adult ESL Learners
Effective Listening is a must for the acquisition of any target language. But unfortunately, such a vital language skill is always neglected even in language classrooms. Listening as a language skill is not simply hearing of aural stimuli, but is an active process of receiving aural as well as visual stimuli attentively. It involves attention, …
Using Incentive Autonomous Learning Strategies to Enhance EFL Chinese Undergraduate Learning Motivation and Speaking Performances: A Proposal
It is well known that Chinese EFL learners face considerable challenges in speaking English. Affective factors such as learning motivation could be a reason for this issue as motivation plays a vital role in language acquisition. Regrettably, Chinese EFL students lack the motivation to prioritize and improve their speaking as speaking is often neglected at …
Feedback Practices, Dialogic Teaching, Adolescent-Writer Identity: A Pedagogic Trifle in the Writing Classroom
This paper, through the use of a thought-framework, explores the harmonising of feedback practices, dialogic teaching and writer-identity development in the Singapore writing classroom. In framing writing as a medium promoting coherence, organisation and logic-presentation (Barnes, 2016), this paper has a two-fold aim. First, it seeks to reflect on the use of PEEEL in writing …
Algerian Lecturers’ Views on English Language Teaching in Algerian Higher Education
Due to its huge popularity and acceptance in the field of English language teaching (ELT), communicative language teaching (CLT) has extended beyond western countries to non-western countries (Littlewood 2007), such as Algeria. This shift towards a communicative way of teaching English as a foreign language in Algeria was made at the secondary level. As far …
The Implication of Subconscious Approach in Stimulating the English Language Knowledge for Interpreting-Majored Students
This study investigated the implication of the subconscious teaching approach in stimulating the English language knowledge for Interpreting-majored students. The researcher analyzed some relevant theories: Universal Grammar of Noam Chomsky and Stephen Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition. After examining these theories, a proposed subconscious teaching approach was developed to improve the situation of lacking English knowledge …
Learning the Principles of Narrative Frames: A Pilot Study
This study explored the strengths and weaknesses of using narrative frames when conducting qualitative research. The focus was on eliciting information regarding participants’ (N = 11) beliefs as they entered a postgraduate program at a major university in Japan. The theoretical underpinnings of narrative frames are discussed, the specific narrative frame employed is introduced, lessons …
Using Technology to Teach English Communication for Repeaters
Eight students (n=8) attending a required course called English Communication at one university in Japan were taught during fall AY2020 (i.e., from September 2020) after the instructor reviewed literature from January 2017 to August 2020 on teaching EFL learners who are repeating their courses. When class began in September, the instructor started teaching 15 sessions …
Advantages and Disadvantages of AI in the EFL Classroom
Undoubtedly, the conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) has recently intensified, fostered by the rapid development of technology. Learning institutions have joined in the debate, with teachers and learners on the frontline of this conversation. This study particularly explores the direct impact of AI applications such as chatbots (ChatGPT), personalized learning experiences, and predictive analytics on …
Place-Based ESL Learning: Designing a “Beyond ESL” Study Abroad Program
Universities in Japan and South Korea resumed sending students abroad to improve their English skills, to experience new cultures, to acquire global perspectives, and so forth. An international program at a state university provides a 3-week English as a Second Language (ESL) program focusing on oral communication skills and cultural competency. I received a program …
The Effect of English-Medium Instruction on the Advancement of Students’ English Language Proficiency
One of students’ main motives for enrolling on English-medium instruction (EMI) – the use of English as a medium of higher education in countries where the first language of the majority of the population is not English (Macaro et al., 2018) – is an improvement of English language proficiency. Nevertheless, very few studies examine students’ …
The Impact of Student-Versus Teacher Led Error Correction in the EFL Classroom: Validity and Reliability Considerations
Corrective Feedback (CF), defined by Lightbown and Spada (1999) as, ‘Any indication to the learners that their use of the target language was incorrect’, can be classified as being either teacher- or student-led. Empirical evidence suggests that student-led correction is more effective (Lyster and Ranta, 1997); however, it has been found that teacher-led correction is …
A Contrastive Study Between Aboriginal Languages & Chinese: From the Writing System to the Second Language Teaching in the Framework of Australian Curriculum
In Australia, both Aboriginal languages and Chinese are the oldest but still alive languages taught as first and second languages in the Australian Curriculum. Although the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are supposed to be the “First Nation” in Australia, in fact, their languages are spoken dialects and languages without their own writing system. …
The Effectiveness of Online Teaching Activities: A Case at UFLS – UD, Vietnam
Universities have been very interested in implementing online teaching activities, which is the optimal choice in a modern society. University of Foreign Language Studies (UFLS) belonging to the University of Danang (UD), Viet Nam have focused on implementing this activity in many recent years through a variety of work such as investing in information technology …
Developmental Stages of L2 Syntactic Acquisition: An Empirical Study in Thai EFL Context
This research aimed to identify the predominant developmental stages in which the majority of Thai EFL university students were currently operating. The empirical study of L2 syntactic acquisition was conducted within the framework of English question formation developmental stages, designed to address challenges in EFL learning. In this qualitative investigation, a purposive selection process was …
Language Learning Motivation Among Vietnamese EFL Students
This study investigated the degrees of language learning motivation among Vietnamese EFL full-time and part-time students, focusing on their instrumental and integrative motivations. The study’s results, involving 271 students from a public higher education institution, revealed that Vietnamese students have high levels of language learning motivation. Full-time students, particularly, have higher levels of integrative motivation, …
‘Accept This Change’: Corrections to English Academic Writing of Advance Non-native Graduate Students by English Native-Speaking Editors
Native-speaking (NS) editors’ amendments and corrections to texts written by non-native-speaking (NNS) graduate students were analyzed considering two theoretical stances: error correction and editor’s role. Proofreading and editing studies have given much attention to editors’ role in detecting and correcting flaws in NNS scholarly writing against a set of conventions and standards. However, the native-speaking …
Study Abroad Program Design From a Positive Psychology Perspective
Empirical research within the past several decades has established study abroad (SA) as a high impact practice for university students’ academic development, retention, and global education skills development (Redden, 2012; Tillman, 2005, 2014). Five major theoretical frameworks have been identified (Ogden, 2015). However, current research evidence from a positive psychology perspective in study abroad program …
Attitudes of Students Towards Lessons Using Video Materials
This paper examines the attitudes of students toward lessons using video materials in the context of teaching the Japanese language to foreign students. Previous teaching methods in the field have shifted from grammar lectures to communication-based student-centered learning approaches. Consequently, the use of video content has gained popularity due to its effectiveness in enhancing learning …
Teaching Goal-Setting in English Learning
Effective goal-setting is essential in language learning strategies for becoming autonomous learners. However, in countries where English is a foreign language, required practical English skills are not self-evident. In addition, being surrounded by many extrinsic motivators such as English test scores, it is not simple for learners to find realistic and meaningful goals of their …
Exploring the Technology-Writing Connection Through Collaborative Writing in Google Docs
A strong connection between Technology and Writing is seen by many researchers in the field of Foreign Language Learning. They point out the importance of putting the thoughts into words via technology. It provides many tools for students to write online and offline. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between writing …
Effectiveness of Video-Based Flipped Classroom on Students’ English Achievements: A Meta-Analysis
Today, flipped classrooms (FC) effectively blend traditional education with social networks, encompassing both in-class and out-of-class environments. The popularity of FC increased its research numbers in many particular contexts and medium. The study specifically focusses on video usage as FC’ medium of learning. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the impact of using the …
Teaching Peace Linguistics in ESL Classrooms: A Catalyst for Global Peace
Peace Linguistics is a branch of Linguistics aimed at helping users of languages to create conditions for communicating peacefully in varied contexts by humanizing the use of language and raising awareness of individuals’ communicative roles to interact in a dignified manner. This field of linguistics is borne out of the need for the use of …
Cultivating a Social Justice Pedagogy in an Introductory Japanese Language Course Through Pronunciation Instruction
Foreign language programs in the US are increasingly urged to cultivate a social justice pedagogy in order to address social issues surrounding language use including gender, race, social class, and identity. One of the social issues in language learning and teaching is the ideology of native-speakerism. This ideology often leads to negative attitudes towards those …
Lensing the Impact of English as a Lingua Franca
We are living in the first quarter of the 21st century, which has made tremendous progress in transforming the lives of human civilization in every sphere of life from science and technology to medicine, space, and communication, to name a few. However, the century will be remembered in history for the setbacks to civilization in …
Regular Past Inflection and Pluralisation Morphemes in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
The study on the regular past inflections and pluralization morphemes in children with autism spectrum disorders was a survey of 20 children between the ages of 5 – 12 years at Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG) Health Foundation and Autism Centre, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study investigated to document the level of severity …
An Investigation of University Students’ English-Speaking Problems and Needs
International trends, compounded with the effect of globalization, have made English communication skills become much more crucial for university students. Of the four aspects of English skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing, speaking instructions have not been adequately provided to university students in Taiwan. Nonetheless, there is a national educational goal that university students …
Student-Produced Podcast in an Arabic as Foreign Language Classroom
Scholars in Digital Humanities have pointed out that using digital tools, such as podcasts, in language learning plays a positive role (Burdick et al., 2012; Travis & DeSpain, 2018). In particular, Birgit Philips (2017) found that podcasting involves students in higher-level cognitive processes, which facilitates language learning, creative thinking, increases learner confidence, supports collaborative learning, …
A Longitudinal Case Study on Transformational Videoconferencing-Based EFL Teacher Education for Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Development
New technologies and digital learning have opened up a wide range of learning possibilities for language learners. Even though traditional, face-to-face foreign language teaching remains predominant, there is a growing interest in teaching foreign languages (especially English as a Foreign Language – EFL) on videoconferencing (VC) platforms such as Zoom and MS Teams. Using the …
Speak Better: A Meta-Analysis of Language Learning Modalities for Improving Speaking Proficiency
Whether it is to improve one’s job opportunities or understand the lyrics of your favorite KPOP band’s latest single, the importance of knowing a second or third language is becoming more vital. Despite foreign languages being a compulsory subject in many countries’ K-12 education, many language learners are unable to exceed low intermediate speaking proficiency. …
Factors Influencing Motivation and Demotivation in the EFL Classroom for Taiwanese College Students
Learning a foreign language is not an easy task and sometimes it is overwhelming. Therefore, enhancing learner’s motivation so as to elevate English proficiency has been a critical issue for educators and researchers over the past decades. Learners are motivated differently, and the motivators for English learners nowadays might not be the same as they …
Challenges and Approaches in Adopting EIL in a Japanese EFL: Internal and External Factors
This study explores how the English education policy in Japan (external factor) and Japanese EFL learners’ mindsets toward their dialects (internal factor) affect their attitudes toward Japanese English. Also, we discuss how their attitudes toward dialects influence their self-esteem and self-confidence. First, the Japanese English education policy focuses on American or British English and strongly …
Strengthening Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills of C1 Level Students in a Classroom Environment
Higher-order critical thinking skills are essential in university settings because they enable students to succeed in their studies. However, they cannot be learned solely by course materials and articles; nevertheless, they must develop a critical thinker’s attitude or disposition. The two main objectives of this study were to examine whether students were enhancing their higher-order …
Taiwanese University Teachers’ Motivation and Language Choice for Scholarly Publishing
Within a global trend of academic publishing in English, publication in indigenous languages, nevertheless, in many contexts, continues to thrive. Multilingual scholars often need to negotiate international engagement and local commitment by publishing both in English and their first language. The study, based on individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with university bilingual teachers from social sciences …
A Comparison of Student Self-Assessment in Online and Face-to-Face Learning Environments
With the recent migration to online learning due to the global pandemic, the need to foster autonomous learners in English language courses has elicited much attention. Inherent to autonomy is the ability to assess one’s process and progress in learning. However, little research in student self-assessments has reviewed how online learning can impact this practice …
Effects of Involvement Load of the Task on Japanese EFL Learners’ Lexical Network Changes
This study investigated the effects of task-induced involvement load (the Involvement Load Hypothesis; Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), Search and Evaluation in particular, in an extensive reading on a change of lexical network perceived by EFL learners. Fifteen words from a reading material were chosen as target words. Ninety-five Japanese university students were divided into four …
Role of Study Abroad in the Path to Teaching English in English Among Japanese Teachers
Even with the newly issued and adopted Course of Study by the Japanese Ministry of Sports, Education, and Science, and Technology (MEXT), the use of English in junior high and high school English classrooms is far from 100 percent. The current project used individual interviews to investigate the professional development of English teachers at public …
Promoting Learner Autonomy Through Extensive Reading
This study focused on 165 Japanese medical university students who engaged in extensive reading (ER) activities outside the classroom for two semesters. It aimed to see if ER could enhance their capacity to become more autonomous learners. This was because ER was designed as an activity to be done outside the classroom and primarily left …
Learners’ Perceptions of Difficulties in Orally Producing English Sentences
Japanese English learners struggle to speak English as they have few opportunities to use it in a truly immersive setting. We attempted to develop a new system for English-speaking practice to address this challenge. Our research suggests that Japanese students feel challenged when using English words and phrases orally, even if they know them. This …
Latino Parents’ Knowledge Affects Their Understanding of Incoming Kindergarten Students’ Needed Educational Knowledge to Succeed Academically
The problem being addressed by this study is the lack of Latino parental knowledge of prekindergarten resources available to students in Central Ohio that will help the students be prepared for kindergarten. In Ohio, 1/3 of students start kindergarten underprepared (Fischbein et al., 2016). The inability to speak English at the appropriate grade level can …
A Comparative Analysis of the Self-Perceived and Actual Grammatical Competence in English of Filipino Grade 12 Students in Metro Manila
Is there a difference between a person’s self-perceived and actual grammatical competence in English? This descriptive study uses a quantitative approach to compare the levels of self-perceived and actual grammatical competence in English of Filipino Grade 12 students in Metro Manila according to sex, income class, type of school attended, foreign travel experience, movie preference, …
The Development of the ESP Process-Genre Writing Course for Thai Business Administration Undergraduates: The Closer Look at the Student Experiences
In Thailand, English writing is crucial for career advancement and workplace communication. Nevertheless, empirical evidence has suggested that English writing is not typically emphasized in English language curricula offered at Thai universities, and there are limited English writing courses tailored to specific needs of business administration students. Thus, this study aims to develop the ESP …
Examination of Peace Values in Japanese EFL Textbooks for Peace Education: From the Perspectives of the Language of Peace Approach and Systemic Functional Linguistics
This presentation introduces a study that examined peace values inherent in Japanese EFL textbooks for lower secondary schools (LSS), aiming at incorporating peace education into English education. Peace education is educational practice that provides learners with skills in understanding the causes of violence, and finding alternative solutions to it, to promote peace. It should be …
Empowering Teachers to Become Peacebuilders
This qualitative study analyses the perceptions that a group of TEFL trainees at a private university in Santiago, Chile have on violence, conflict, and peace during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study is framed within the theories of Johannes Galtung (1996, 2004) whose main contribution to the field of peace research deals with the concepts of …
Fostering Social Communication Skills Through Small Talk Practice in Post-pandemic Japan
Small talk is often said to be like a lubricating oil in human relationships. However, the Japanese appear to be influenced by its high-context culture (Hall & Hall, 1987). People often need help to decide on good topics to initiate conversation, even in business settings (Murao, 2021). 3rd-year college students who enrolled at the onset …
English Immersion Programs for Science and Engineering EFL Students
Existing studies on English immersion programs for Asian university students have shown mixed results: either significant (Cho, 2006) or no significant improvement (Chang et al., 2015) in participants’ English skills; and significant improvement in participants’ willingness to communicate, language use anxiety and motivation for language learning (Grant, 2020). This study analyzes the immersion program for …
Reforming English Curriculum for Students With a Low Level of English Proficiency
In Japan, the government has emphasized the importance of English skills and of working on various improvement measures for the English curriculum. Even with such emphasis, Japanese proficiency scores are not showing the desired results. According to Education First (EF), the Swiss international education company, Japan’s English proficiency Index ranking has been dropping since they …
English Instruction Practice for Students of an Early Childhood Education Course: Aiming to Develop Students’ Metalinguistic Ability
This study examined the English teaching method’s effect on improving metalinguistic ability. Metalinguistic ability refers to the ability to perceive language analytically and to take it as an object of thought. In this study, the author compared the class comment papers of students who took classes designed to improve their metalinguistic abilities (experimental group) with …
Multilingual Learners’ Resilience of Navigating the Culture Shock of Online English Instruction
This study examines how international students faced the double culture shocks of learning within a new culture as well as learning in an on-line environment (Sadykova & Meskill, 2019). Additionally, multilingual learners often face linguistic and cultural challenges in their efforts to participate online (Harrison et al, 2020). This study examined how the students described …
Picture Book Categorization Charts: Introducing South East Asian Themes to Young Learners
Picture books are an important part of early language education, they can be used to teach children about countries and cultures as well as for language learning. This presentation reports on the use of picture books with Asian themes and locations in Japanese young learner (YL) classrooms. Although the Japanese government provides guidelines indicating objectives …
How to Support ESL Learners’ Writing by Using Mentor Texts
To write effectively is a crucial but challenging skill from which everyone could benefit (Kane, 2012). In this article, I report on action research where I utilized mentor texts and mini-lessons to teach writing to an English as a Second Language (ESL) learner who was experiencing writing anxiety because of his dislike of academic writing …
A Study on the Effectiveness of Integrating Digital Media Audio-visual Materials Into Japanese Listening Courses: Taking the Japanese Listening Course of One University in Taiwan as an Example
The purpose of this study is to find out whether the incorporation of “digital media materials” in Japanese listening courses has a positive impact on students. Non-Japanese learners of Japanese do not have a full Japanese environment after leaving the classroom, so it is important to continue to learn with willpower and self-discipline. In this …
Advancing Educational Equality: Using AI Technology in K-12 English Language Education in Rural China
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies provides the opportunity for students from disadvantaged areas to have equal access to educational resources. This paper applies the theory of educational equality to examine AI technology as an alternative to the current ICT practices for the improvement of English language education in rural China. A systematic review …
Animated Songs in English to Develop Effective Listening Skills Among Adult ESL / EFL Learners
Listening as a language skill is often neglected on the ground that we could hear everything. But Listening is not simply hearing, it is an active process of receiving aural as well as visual stimuli attentively through ears and eyes, followed by comprehension and retention of the message or intention of the speaker and finally …
Linguistic Redundancy: Cases Studies by Evaluating Oral Performances for Chinese Students in TEM-4
Oral proficiency of EFL students has been deeply investigated in bilingual studies. This research aims to investigate discourse features of repetition and redundancy of Chinese students in English oral tests. Research concerning repetition and redundancy in bilingualism tends to understand how do they serve as teaching methods in classroom settings. In addition, repetition and redundancy …
From Self-regulated Learning to Computer-Delivered Integrated Speaking Testing: Does Monitoring Always Monitor?
Despite the salience of monitoring in self-regulated learning (SRL) and L2 speech production in non-testing conditions, little is known if the metacognitive construct functions in testing contexts and whether it affects learner performance. Given the reciprocal and paramount effects that have been extensively recognised between learning and testing, namely, the fundamental goal of language learning …
Kanban Methodology to Assess ESL Students’ Learning Process
Kanban boards are a visual form of project management very popular among software, Engineering and product development teams, although we claim that its principles can greatly help ESL students learning to perform language tasks with proficiency, as defined by ease, speed, and accuracy of performance, acquired through practice, in order to improve both receptive skills …
Motivation and Challenges in Learning Japanese Language as a Foreign Language Among Malaysian Academia
Due to the success of Look East Policy and Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025, learning Japanese as a foreign language among Malaysian academia has become more common. Accordingly, there are more than 39,247 Japanese language learners in Malaysia and the number is increasing. Despite the steady growth of Japanese language learners, the language proficiency is not …
Producing Travel Vlogs as a Collaborative Task in English Classes With a Soft CLIL Approach
Producing travel vlogs is a way to record events and memories of a trip and share them with others. Takahashi (2022a) analyzed YouTube-style videos of six genres made individually by EFL university students and pointed out the necessity of adjusting the task for more collaborative learning and language learning. In response to this, the current …
The Relationship Between Cognitive Linguistic Approach and Right-Hemisphere of the Brain in Developing EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Proficiency
The present study explored how the metaphor awareness-raising approach affects the involvement of the right hemisphere in developing EFL learners’ knowledge regarding the different degrees of politeness embedded within different request expressions. The study results show that the metaphor awareness-raising group performed significantly better than the control group with regard to acceptability judgment and speaking …
Politeness Principle in Business Correspondence and Language Teaching
One of the indispensable contributors for effective communication is politeness. It works as the lubricant to reduce frictions especially in business conversations. Politeness is also a compulsory lesson for language learners to take since it can bridge people from diverse backgrounds together. This essay firstly makes a brief review of the significant development of Politeness …
Multimedia Application for Improving Chinese Language Skills for International Students
In the last decade, research on Chinese as a second language teaching and learning has yielded significant advancement through state-of-the-art technology. This paper addresses the major difficulties that students face in recognizing Chinese characters. To solve the problems, the study proposes the online multimedia application for teaching Chinese characters. The needs analysis was conducted beforehand …
Learning Experiences of Online English Learning With Pedagogical Redesign for Complementing Formal Face-to-Face Learning
The use of online learning in education has increased rapidly during the pandemic. Both teachers and students are more familiarized with technologies in online teaching and learning. With the readiness of technology, some educational institutes started adopting more blended learning after the resumption of face-to-face learning. However, some institutes consider the online mode as a …
Teacher Identity Construction: A Narrative Inquiry into English Postgraduate Student Teachers
Teaching is a complex activity that needs a long-term process for shaping the identity of the teacher. This study explores the process by which English learning experiences have shaped the identities of two postgraduate student-teachers. A narrative case study approach was conducted through personal narratives written by the writer and a semi-structured interview with the …
Tunisian EFL Students’ Awareness and Use of Metacognitive Strategies in Academic Reading
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the metacognitive reading strategy awareness and use of second language learners majoring in English in a Tunisian university. For this purpose, a sample of 113 Tunisian tertiary education students volunteered to answer an online survey based on a modified version of the MARSI inventory (Mokhtari et …
Feedback in L2 Academic Writing: Prescriptive or Developmental?
In Academic Writing Courses, there are various ways in which students can receive feedback on their writing: teachers can provide prescriptive feedback (direct error correction), guided developmental feedback (inquiry-based learning process), a combination of both or they can encourage collaborative peer feedback. Constructive peer feedback provided at the opportune time, helps learners to clarify their …
Ten Months Around the World’ – Promoting English Language Acquisition in the Early Years of Childhood Education
For a Bilingual Generation (FBG) is a new emerging enterprise promoting English language acquisition in the early years of childhood education. During their ten-month-long programmes, the teachers and children travel around the world and visit countries where they discover and learn about the local culture, flora and fauna. Studying different countries not only enriches and …
The Use of LLT Materials in China’s EFL Classrooms: Making Learner Engagement in Classroom Talk Visible
Language learning and teaching materials (LLT) are crucial parts of language classrooms. However, how these materials are used by students and teachers during EFL classroom interactions is still understudied. In response to calls for empirical research on materials use in language classrooms, this classroom-based study examined the use of LLT materials in China’s integrated English …
The Motivation of Chinese Students in Learning Foreign Languages Other Than English
This paper investigates the motivation of Chinese university students in learning Languages other than English (LOTEs) through the lens of Self-determination Theory, exploring the difference in motivational types among different subjects of 75 university students who are English, LOTE and non-language majors who took part in the questionnaire-based study. Students’ motivation was measured using Noels …
English for Conference Interpreting Purposes: A Corpus-driven Study on Multiword Constructions
Interpreters sometimes work from their A language (their native language) into their B language (their non-native language of which they have a perfect command). This direction is called retour interpreting. Retour into English as a B language is now generally expected and even a norm in parts of Asia. The market demand has driven training …
Identifying Ideologies of War and Peace in EFL Reading Material for Peace Education: Transitivity Analysis Within Systemic Functional Linguistics
Peace education has contributed to world peace, illuminating direct, structural, and cultural forms of violence and equipping individuals with information and experiences that help them develop the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and values required to promote peace. However, little research has been conducted by TESOL professionals into this realm. This study suggests that a useful form …
University Students’ Perceptions of Using a Communication Platform for English Speaking Courses
Attributable to the fast pace of globalization, demand for effective English speaking skills has been growing rapidly. It is clear that a greater enhancement of the communication skills of university students is a critical mission of English educators. At the current time, an array of communication platforms is being used across different education levels. The …
The Translation and Dissemination of Wuthering Heights in China from the Perspective of Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Theory
The reception of foreign literary works in other counties experiences translation, publication and dissemination. This study’s objective is to explore the reception of Wuthering Heights in China by adopting Descriptive Translation Studies and Empirical Research studies. The Historical and Archival Research methods and Close Reading methods were applied. The materials were two versions of Wuthering …
Exploration of Native Speaker Teachers and Non-native Speaker Teachers Within the English Learning Communication
The present research zeros down to the unending and much-debated topic of native speaker teachers (NST) and non-native speaker teachers (NNST). Nonetheless, this critical debate has always revolved around English language teaching (ELT) and fails to look at the different attitudes and preferences between the two sets of teachers in the ETL frameworks and how …
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Trauma-Informed English Language Teaching to Adults
This qualitative paper examines trauma-informed teaching of English as a second language (ESL) to adults. Trauma is highly prevalent worldwide, and post-traumatic stress negatively affects language learning. A review of the literature identified five major principles for trauma-informed learning: safety, agency, a foregrounding of student identities, recognition of strengths, belonging, and meaning. However, very few …
Learning and Teaching TESOL Online During the Pandemic – Experiences From Chinese International Students and Their Lecturer in New Zealand
This study focuses on challenges for students and lecturers adapting to online teaching and learning during the pandemic. The project reports on two international student cohorts from China who had expected to be immersed in an English-speaking country for their undergraduate degree but were forced to study online. In July 2019, the Bachelor of Education …
Use of Comics for Enhancing Productive Skills and Motivation in Dental Students
The present work demonstrated how comic strips can improve both writing and speaking competencies. The first phase, regarded as quantitative, consisted of a pre-test where were assessed 30 fifth-year dental students belonging to the Stomatology Faculty of Universidad César Vallejo- Piura-Peru. Afterward, they participated in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program, where was used …
Enhancing Online Post-secondary Learning Experiences Through Meaningful Interactions in FSL
Interaction and active participation are key elements in any second language classroom (Hiver, P., Al-Hoorie, A. H., & Mercer, S. Eds., 2020). In an online setting, students may tend to be less engaged in their learning, which makes effective planning, teaching, and assessing more challenging for the post-secondary instructor (Khan, A., Egbue, O., Palkie, B., …
The Relationship Between Phonological Awareness in Japanese Language and English Learning Experience
Many previous studies have reported that experiences of learning a second language promote a learner’s development of phonological awareness of the second language. However, there have been still few papers discussing the impact of second language learning on phonological awareness in the native language. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine whether there is a difference …
Reflecting EFL Learners’ Writing Experience Through the Thematic Analysis: Genre-based Approach of L2 Writing
This mixed-methods study explored how 23 first-year university English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Japan improved their understanding of how to write academic essays in both exposition and discussion genres during a 15-week course. The study applied a genre-based approach combined with the teaching and learning cycle to writing. In Phase 1, students’ …
Public Service Announcement In Indonesia and Malaysia: A Semiotic Analysis
The purpose of this study was to analyze how public service announcements: social media and newspapers were applied in Indonesia and Malaysia. The method of this study used a qualitative research approach. Social media and newspapers were analyzed as the objects of this study. The researchers used documentation and observation in collecting data and used …
Improving EFL Students’ Argumentative Essay Writing Self-efficacy through Knowledge Building Based Instruction
Argumentative essay writing is essential for English as Foreign Language (EFL) students but complicated and challenging to learn. Besides the difficulties, students often do not have belief in their argumentative essay writing skills. One approach that may facilitate students’ self-efficacy is knowledge-building-based (KB-based) instruction based on knowledge-building pedagogy. The KB-based instruction aims to provide a …
Students’ Perceptions Toward Dyads and Triads in the English Classroom
Collaborative learning such as pair work and group work, has been widely discussed and proven to be an effective tool for teaching English. This study exclusively focuses on a dyad (a pair) and a triad (a group of three), and the students’ perceptions toward these collaborative interactions because few studies have investigated the difference between …
Speaking Anxiety: Japanese Students in the EFL Environment
The present study was carried out as a means of investigating and understanding the nature and sources of speaking anxiety in the EFL classroom. In order to determine which speaking activities students find to be the most anxiety producing, a qualitative questionnaire was administered. Participants consisted of 140 Japanese students in the first and second …
English Language Learning Anxiety in East Asian Classrooms
Second language anxiety is a known barrier to English language learning for tertiary students in East Asia. This study compares the experiences of students from three different countries in East Asia; Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Each of these countries has had different exposures to English language use, with Japan being the least, and Malaysia the …
Exploring the Effects of a YouTube-Style Video Making Task in Online English Communication Courses
This study investigated the effects of a YouTube-style video making task in an English communication course with a soft CLIL approach. The primary purpose was to explore its effects for language learning and content learning, and the subsidiary purpose was to examine its feasibility in an online format. Participants were 53 students from four English …
“Blended” in the Online Classroom! Technology Acceptance of EFL Students
In the digital era, blended learning (BL) has become a new normal in language education. Students who fail to learn remotely may have difficulty achieving academic success (Neumeier, 2015). English instructors now attempt to integrate traditional face-to-face class meetings with a technology-enhanced environment that encourages student engagement. Previous studies have shown that BL brings learning …
Secondary ESL Teachers’ Beliefs, Strategies, and Experiences in Teaching Vocabulary
The importance of vocabulary in language learning cannot be ignored, due to the significance that it brings into the core foundation of second or foreign language learning. Due to the declining and poor performance of learners in language subjects in recent international and national standardized examinations, this study explored the beliefs, strategies, and experiences of …
An Investigation into Student Writers’ Improvements on English Article Usages Across Different Learning Modes
Most digital educational games have been developed to facilitate second/foreign language learners’ vocabulary acquisition (Hung, Yang, Hwang, Chu, & Wang, 2018; Tsai & Tsai, 2018). Few has been found to improve students’ grammatical competence. A digital game which served as a virtual business context in which learners acted as an entrepreneur to conduct interviews with …
Measuring Articulatory Distance for Consonants Towards a Learner-language-sensitive Pronunciation Training Tool Development
This study introduces the theoretical basis for the articulatory distance in foreign language learning context, which serves to find the efficient and optimal path to correctly pronounce the consonants of the target language in a learner-language-sensitive way, i.e. taking into account the operational difficulties for different learners who already have their own specific phonological system. …
A Within-Asia Comparison of Anxiety in English Language Classrooms
Anxiety in English language classrooms is often considered as one of the major sources of students’ reticence and shyness, frequently reported as one of the common characteristics of Asian learners. But, do all Asian students share the same characteristics in the setting of language learning? There might be some differences even if they share the …
The Wand of Mnemosyne: Sparkles Created on Vocabulary Learning
Language learners are constantly looking for a magic wand to wipe off all the learning pains on memorizing vocabulary. Fortunately, the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, came to the mortal world to rescue those who suffer from severe vocabulary retention difficulties. When the wand of Mnemosyne is waved, learners’ burden on memorizing vocabulary may be relieved. …
Intelligibility of Korean-accented English: Effects of Listener’s Familiarity
The current research examines the Korean-accented English (KoE) intelligibility to give an account of the listener familiarity benefits (Interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit, Bent & Bradlow, 2003; Shared-L1 advantage, Harding, 2011). This study compares the intelligibility of KoE between four listener groups with different levels of the accent familiarity: two groups familiar with KoE (Korean-speaking learners …
The Influence of Immersion Education in China on Students’ English Learning Motivation
This study investigated the motivation of English learning among high school students in China. Half of the 40 participants received traditional English education and the other half received immersion education. The study compared the learning motivations of the two groups and analyzed the differences between the two sets of data. In addition, the research examined …
Action Research on Note-taking Instruction
The importance of note-taking skills for English for academic purposes (EAP) students and teachers is growing due to a rapid increase of English-medium instruction (EMI) courses offered in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Note-taking is a complex process that involves comprehending aural input, identifying important information, and recording information. All of which is …
Enhancing Pragmatic Competence Through Pedagogical Intervention
The development of pragmatic competence is essential for foreign language learners to be able to produce meaningful communications in the target language. Studies addressing the realization of speech acts by second- or foreign-language learners (Bardovi-Harlig, 2001;Bardovi-Harlig & Hartford, 1990; Olshtain & Blum-Kulka, 1985) have found that even advanced language learners still often face challenges in …
No Identical Paths to Japanese High School Teachers’ Teaching English in English: What the TEM Analyses Tell Us
The Trajectory Equifinality Modeling (Valsiner & Sato, 2006) is an analytical method to identify the path taken by those who have reached a goal such as teaching English in English (TEE). The current research individually interviewed three female high school teachers in Okinawa, Japan, and investigated what events occurred and influenced them to carry out …
Explore Alternatives in On-line/On-Demand Type of Language Teaching – The Case of TOEIC Preparation Course in a Japanese University
With the spread of Covid-19, many of the universities in Japan were required to introduce on-line/on-demand courses all the sudden in 2020 academic year. Concerning this new teaching system, there has been a strong debate whether the above stated educational system has a positive influence on the students. Last Spring semester in the 2020 academic …
A Study of the Mutual Phonetic Resemblance Between Japanese Kyoiku Kanji and Chinese
This study investigated the mutual phonetic resemblance of Chinese ideograms between Japanese and Chinese using the official list (expanded in 2020) of Kyôiku kanji (Chinese ideograms in Japanese, taught at elementary school). The aim of this analysis was to determine ways to help learners from non-kanji backgrounds to quantify the phonetic gap between these two …
Preservice Teachers’ Clinical Experience With ESL Literacy Instruction via Popular Culture
The purpose of this virtual presentation is to highlight how one small liberal arts university in the United States’ Midwest partnered with a local school district to support preservice teachers’ understanding of ESL engagement techniques. This partnership provided opportunities for preservice teachers to gain valuable experiences with planning and implementing writing lessons focused on English …
Learner Responses to Language Exchange Activities in a Technology-mediated Environment in the COVID-19 Era
In response to the pandemic, language teachers around the globe are transforming their face-to-face courses into online courses and developing technology-mediated online activities has become one of the pressing tasks. While the body of research on online teaching addressing current day issues is rapidly growing (e.g., Foreign Language Annals. 2020; 53), research exploring students’ reactions …
Attitudes of Filipino Senior High School Students Towards English: Implications for Teaching English
Attitude towards a language is a crucial factor in learning the target language. Language attitude can be behavioral, cognitive, or affective. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of senior high school students towards English according to their dimensions and compare them according to the learners’ gender and type of school, which could provide valuable …
University Speaking Assessment as Collaborative and Self-effective Skill Development
Educators generally agree that the mastery of speaking skills is a necessity for most EFL and ESL learners (Ounis, 2017). While scholars debate which aspect of speaking should be a priority, interactional or transactional, Klingen links both usages. 3 of Klingen’s (2000) 12 functions of speaking: personal, descriptive and explanatory are relevant to this project. …
The Effects and Challenges of Adopting the CLIL Approach at a Japanese University: Exploring Ways to Provide Language Support Effectively
This study reports on the results and challenges of implementing the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach in an all-English lecture course for Japanese university students who took a content course in English for the first time. Specifically, this study illustrates the language support as well as language related activities included in the course …
Learning International Literacy and News English Through Cross-disciplinary Instructional Modules
Discussing international affairs demands multidisciplinary knowledge and communication strategies from partakers. The demand is elevated for nonnative English speakers when critical ideas are exchanged for controversial topics in English. This research explores the value of an innovative ESP training featuring interactive educational technology and cross-disciplinary team-teaching, to introduce international literacy to 26 college-level Taiwanese English …
Investigating the Impact of Acquiring Formulaic Language on Improving the Written Skills of Intermediate Level Students in a Bridge Programme
This presentation introduces to the audience the outcome of a study that investigated the impact of teaching formulaic Language on improving the written skills of intermediate level students in a Bridge Programme at an American University in Dubai. Formulaic Language forms an integral part of the lexicon (e.g. Martinez and Schmitt, 2012); they have been …
(Re)thinking English Teacher Education in Brazil: Undergraduate Students and Teacher Educators’ Perspectives on Multiliteracies and English as a Lingua Franca
Globalization has challenged distribution and understanding of knowledge causing instability and uncertainty for teacher education. This paper presents the results of a doctoral research on teacher education and the challenges posed to educators involving multiliteracies, English as a lingua franca – ELF and translingual practices. Seven teacher educators and twenty-one undergraduates of the Portuguese-English languages …
Stories on YouTube: Can This Be an Effective Learning Tool to Improve Listening and Reading Comprehension Skills?
Use of online learning opportunities among language teachers and learners has become one of the commonly utilized tools as they provide effective means (convenient, accessible, authentic and sometimes free) to learn a foreign language. Research shows that online learning opportunities, particularly YouTube – a popular video sharing and viewing platform creates more meaningful and independent …
Homework Worksheets Designed to Promote Learner Autonomy
Developing learner autonomy can be a long and arduous journey but it is what language educators aspire to achieve. Discover a simple tool that streamlines learning and self-assessment and prompts learners to take ownership of learning by examining their own comprehension, identifying areas for improvement and setting goals for each learning task. With a simple …
Field Trips in English Teaching in Vietnam
It’s years since the dawn of field trips which have been widely used as an effective tool in foreign language teaching and learning. With their advantages, field trips perform the functions of improving the language skills for learners. To find out the positive effects of field trips, the paper focuses on giving an overview on …
English Language Teaching Innovation from the Learning Strategies of High-performing Students in a Government University in Ayutthaya, Thailand
This study aims to (1) investigate students’ English learning strategies, (2) analyze the learning strategies of high-performing students, and (3) construct innovative lesson plans based on successful learners. The purposive sample included 35 students majoring in English for International Communication who enrolled in 22 English-related subjects at Rajamangala University of Technology Suvarnabhumi. This study used …
Renovating Language Labs to Facilitate Classroom Interaction in Language Education
Language labs are widely used in language education. The labs enable teachers to listen to individual students through headsets connected to computers. They also enable students to practice listening and speaking using their individual workstation. In recent years, peer interaction has been demonstrated as an effective pedagogy in language education. Yet, since traditional labs were …
Identifying Variables in English as Medium of Instruction: A Trajectory Equifinality Modeling Analysis of Two English Teachers in Japan
The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has long tried to change the medium of instruction (MI) for secondary school English education. Released in March, 2018, a new course of study states that junior high school English should be taught in English. This reinforces an earlier announcement for MI in senior …
Transferring Results of Intercultural Communication Research to Business English Classroom: Structure and Register Fluctuation in Business Emails from British, Polish, and Spanish Companies
Emails are the most common communication means in the present business world. A broad range of email studies focused on cultural variations in business email writing, but very few approached intercultural business communication in Europe. In one of them, Gómez-Moreno and Skorczynska (2013) described variations concerning the prototypical move structure and register in a corpus …
Oral Discourse Analysis in a Master’s Classroom: A Cross-Cultural Approach
The purpose of this communication is to present the results of a study about some teaching experiences applying oral discourse analysis in a Language and Technology Master’s Degree classroom in Spanish with Chinese students. We take into consideration the studies on oral specialized language and theories related to communication strategies. In conjunction with the invocation …
Teaching English to Refugees in Greece: The Case of Lexena School – Challenges and Possibilities
In the last year Greece has experience an influx of refugees, this has been associated with forces having a highly destructive character, resulting in a continuing transformation of existing notions concerning the proper forms of teaching and boundaries of such fundamental phenomena as culture and education. Integration processes have also involved dramatic changes in national …
Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis of Modal Auxiliary Verb Usage by Japanese Learners of English in Argumentative Essays
This research concludes that Japanese non-native English speakers (JNNSs) use modal auxiliary verbs in a way that differs from what native speakers (NSs) use from two perspectives: frequency of occurrence and verb phrase structures (VPSs) where modals occur. To lead this conclusion, JNNSs’ usage of nine central modals (‘can’, ‘could’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘shall’, ‘should’, ‘will’, …
An Exploratory Study about Korean Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of English Medium Instruction Courses and Their Use of Language Learning Strategies
English Medium Instruction (EMI) in university courses is expected to have positive effects on university students’ English language learning in non-English-speaking countries since they can learn English on campus (Macaro, 2018). For successful second language learning, efficient use of L2 learning strategies is essential (Oxford, 2017; Cohen & Wang, 2018). The goal of this study …
A Critical Discourse Analysis of English Listening Sections of Korean College Scholastic Tests
I conducted a critical discourse analysis of the English listening sections of the 2019 and 2018 Korean College Scholastic Ability Tests (hereafter CSAT), which are national college entrance examinations in Korea for the year of 2019 and 2018 with the following two research questions: 1) Are the ways of speaking socially determined and appropriate in …
Exploring CLIL Tasks in EFL Classrooms: Development of Mock English Television Advertisements for Raising Intercultural and Media Awareness
This study aimed to investigate the effects of having Japanese university students create mock English television advertisements as a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) task for developing intercultural and media awareness in English communication classes. After a preliminary study in a different class, an advertising development task was introduced as a part of the …
Language Learning Behind the Screen: Movies for Second Language Acquisition
Teaching English through movies, TV-shows, and video clips is a relatively modern way of enhancing language acquisition. The benefits of using American movies for improving students’ English language proficiency have been studied by many researchers (e.g., Webb, 2011; Gormly, 2013; Lavaur & Bairstow, 2011; Etemadi, 2012) who supported the idea that, unlike traditional ESL instruction, …
Utilizing U.S. TESOL Undergraduate Internship Students to Improve Japanese College Students’ English Skills and the TESOL Students’ Teaching Skills
The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how utilizing U.S. TESOL undergraduate internship students can help improve Japanese college students’ English skills effectively in an EFL environment as well as help develop the interns’ teaching skills. The internship students spend about six weeks at Konan University during the spring semester during which they are …
Annexation of Co-curricular Activities: Experiencing and Assessing Grammar Competence in EFL Context
Over the past few years the annexation of co-curricular activities (CCAs) in experiencing learning and assessing grammar competence have increasingly been filtered into educational discourse in EFL context. The empirical evidence based on questionnaires shows that traditional methods in grammar learning do not foster learners’ potential development and confidence in assessment tests. Learners are taught …
No-Level Brick Japanese Language Education: Understanding Learning as Participation in Practice Through a Communities of Practice Perspective
Drawing upon No-Level Brick (NoLBrick) Japanese Language Education (JLE) project at an Italian university, this study explores how a group of undergraduate students interested in JLE develops their JLE Communities of Practice (Wenger 1998; CoP) and what effect the CoP comes to have on their view of JLE. CoP which views learning as participation in …
No-Level Brick Foreign Language Education: Definition of the Field and Explanation of the Purposes – Japanese Language Classroom as Case Study
Today, we frequently observe social discriminations. These are tightly connected to stereotypes and intolerance toward others’ values differing to ours. Many of us do not have/take the chance to become aware of and question even our own values and ideologies behind them. Dialogue through a (foreign) language is considered as a ‘must’ toward social cohesion …
No-Level Brick Japanese Language Education: Expectations Toward Language Teaching
This study explores dynamic relationships between students and student-facilitators, aiming to explore how student expectations influence their relationship and thus language learning experience and outcomes in No-Level Brick (NoLBrick) dialogic Japanese as a foreign language course at an Italian university. This research focuses on participants’ expectations toward language education as they profoundly influence their learning …
A Study of the Mutual Phonetic Resemblance between Japanese and Chinese: Quantification of the Difficulty of Phonetic Cross-comprehension
This study investigated mutual phonetic resemblances of Chinese ideograms in both Japanese and Chinese by analyzing a database of 1078 kanji (Chinese ideograms in Japanese) extracted from the two volumes of the Japanese grammar textbook Minna no Nihongo. The aim of this analysis was to help learners of Chinese (or of Japanese, or both simultaneously) …
A Review of Foreign Language Education Policy Researches in China Through Bibliometric Analysis of CSSCI: History, Content and Trend
This research investigates the structure and dynamics of foreign language policy and planning research in China over the last twenty years by using CiteSpace, a well-established software for bibliometric analysis. The purpose is to aid researchers and policymakers overseas and domestic to attain a clear picture of current state of this field. 203 articles were …
Using Mobile Games to Enhance English Vocabulary Knowledge: A Case Study of Thai Employees in an International Workplace
Vocabulary knowledge is significantly important for English language communication. However, research studies have reported that English as a foreign language (EFL) were lack of sufficient English words to use for speaking and writing. The issue is currently also being problematic for employees in many international workplaces who specialized in other skills rather than English, but …
The Challenges of Implementing Task Based Language Approach in ESL Classes
This presentation introduces to the audience the outcome of a study that compares the Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) approach and the Traditional Form-Focused approach when embedded within an Intensive English language learning programme for university students (IELP). It attempts to detect which of the two teaching approaches can be considered as both engaging and applicable …
A One Semester Research Study on the Effects of Extensive Reading on Students’ Receptive Vocabulary Size
Extensive Reading has been touted as beneficial for improving students’ reading fluency, speed, confidence, and vocabulary. This paper examines whether some of these claims are true for a group of students over a 14-week semester. Administering vocabulary level tests at the start and end of the semester does not indicate that there is a greater …
Perceptions of EFL Instructors on Negotiation of Meaning Strategies from a Global Perspective
The world has had a major shift to more communicative approaches in English Language Teaching. As new perspectives are adopted such as WEs (World Englishes) and ELF-aware pedagogy in language teaching, the demands for more authentic and real-life tasks and activities are increasing in English language teaching classes. In this regard, employment and teachability of …
What is Expected of Us? – Study Abroad and Expected Roles of Native and Local Teachers
As study abroad with English has become popular for university students in Japan, in-country language preparation courses have become a popular option. These courses allow Japanese students to acquire not only English but also academic skills before they actually progress into foreign universities. Although the demand for these courses are increasing, the number of studies …
The History of English Education in Japan: Focusing on Its Dawn
How did the English education start in Japan? A strong need to foster human resources to handle situations in the English language (instead of Dutch) arose from “the Nagasaki Harbour Incident” of HMS Phaeton in 1808. Facing a foreign power, the Japanese saw that a simple fact – nobody understood English – might have led …
Comparing Vocabulary Profiles of Asian L2 Written English in the ICNALE Corpus
This brief study examines the vocabulary profiles of Asian EFL students’ written English in the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE; Ishikawa). The ICNALE corpus is a collection of written and spoken texts from 2800 learners of English across 10 different Asian countries. The texts included in this corpus were composed under …
Basic Research and Ethical Inquiry for EFL Students: Implementation and Reflection
Ethical inquiry and reasoning are essential types of critical thinking. Developing and understanding research skills are necessary components of a university education. This presentation will detail the rationale, design, implementation, and instructor reflection of an integrated research skills, ethical inquiry, and essay writing unit in an undergraduate, low to low-intermediate proficiency, English as a Foreign …