Journal of Teaching Language Skills最新文献_第5页

A Biographical Narrative Analysis of the Challenges of Applied Linguists across Different Research Abilities to Conduct Qualitative Studies 不同研究能力的应用语言学家在进行定性研究时所面临的挑战的传记式叙述分析

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-05-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.37621.2846

Hussein Meihami

{"title":"A Biographical Narrative Analysis of the Challenges of Applied Linguists across Different Research Abilities to Conduct Qualitative Studies","authors":"Hussein Meihami","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.37621.2846","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.37621.2846","url":null,"abstract":"Conducting qualitative research in applied linguistics seems to have some challenges. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the challenges of applied linguists across different research abilities to conduct qualitative studies. To that end, the biographical narratives, authored by 13 applied linguists, were collected. Then, the narratives were analyzed through qualitative data analysis principles, including organizing and familiarizing, coding and reducing, and interpreting and presenting (Ary et al., 2014). The findings showed that applied linguists face four challenges: methodological issues, technical issues, ethical issues, and qualitative research dissemination while doing qualitative research. The findings also indicated similarities and differences among applied linguists' challenges across different research abilities. It can be concluded that teaching qualitative research is more than mere lecturing about qualitative concepts. Thus, there should be practice-based instruction on qualitative research for applied linguistics students. Moreover, there should be a community for addressing pedagogical dialogs among applied linguists about doing qualitative research.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130047702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 2

Investigating Foreign Language Enjoyment and Public Speaking Class Anxiety in the EFL Class: A Mixed Methods Study 外语课堂上的外语享受与演讲课堂焦虑:一项混合方法研究

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-05-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.37330.2835

F. Nemati, A. Roohani, A. Mirzaei

{"title":"Investigating Foreign Language Enjoyment and Public Speaking Class Anxiety in the EFL Class: A Mixed Methods Study","authors":"F. Nemati, A. Roohani, A. Mirzaei","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.37330.2835","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.37330.2835","url":null,"abstract":"Foreign language enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the classroom are two potential emotion-inducing factors for foreign language learning. This sequential mixed methods study investigated whether and to what extent Iranian EFL students experienced foreign language enjoyment and public speaking anxiety in their English classrooms, and how they characterize the sources of the enjoyment and speaking anxiety in such a context. To these ends, 128 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from several English language institutes, selected based on convenience sampling, took part in this research. They completed Dewaele and MacIntyre’s (2014b) Foreign Language Enjoyment and Yaikhong and Usaha’s (2012) Public Speaking Class Anxiety questionnaires, and write down about an episode in which they had experienced enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the EFL classroom. Quantitative and qualitative statistical data analyses were applied to examine foreign language enjoyment and public speaking class anxiety. Descriptive data analysis showed that the learners had a medium-to-high foreign language degree of enjoyment and a low level of public speaking anxiety. Besides, they reported more enjoyment than public speaking anxiety in class. Further qualitative data analysis revealed 12 sub-themes and four main themes of Teacher, Learning, Class Activities, and Class Atmosphere in explaining their enjoyment, as well as eight sub-themes and four main themes of Exam Phobia, Reaction/Feedback, Personal Failure, and Lack of Self-Confidence for speaking anxiety. The findings provide implications for language teachers and policymakers to gain better insights into factors underlying enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the field of foreign language learning.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"237 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123586074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 4

A Postcolonial Perspective towards Prefaces of Iranian English Language Textbooks: The Cases of Graded, Right Path to English, and Prospect/Vision Series 伊朗英语教材前言的后殖民视角:分级、正确的英语之路与展望/远景系列案例

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-05-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.37726.2853

E. Mehri, M. Amerian, M. Ahmadian, H. Yazdani

引用次数: 1

Using Multiple-Variable Matching to Identify EFL Ecological Sources of Differential Item Functioning 运用多变量匹配识别外语差异项目功能的生态来源

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.36702.2794

T. Jalili, Hossein Barati, A. M. Zadeh

{"title":"Using Multiple-Variable Matching to Identify EFL Ecological Sources of Differential Item Functioning","authors":"T. Jalili, Hossein Barati, A. M. Zadeh","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.36702.2794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.36702.2794","url":null,"abstract":"Context is a vague notion with numerous building blocks making language test scores inferences quite convoluted. This study has made use of a model of item responding that has striven to theorize the contextual infrastructure of differential item functioning (DIF) research and help specify the sources of DIF. Two steps were taken in this research: first, to identify DIF by gender grouping via logistic regression modeling, an inventory of mostly cited DIF sources was prepared, based on which a list of demographic items was appended to the TOEFL reading paper only to be administered to the intermediate Iranian undergraduates; second, using multiple-variable matching regression (Wu & Ercikan, 2006), a built-in sequence was followed to let every potential DIF source be considered as a covariate, over and above the conditioning variable, and specify whether a particular ecological variable could reduce DIF value/status. Then, all significant variables were analyzed together to show the final DIF predictors. The same procedures, i.e., individual/collective analyses, were employed after the purification of the test. The results indicated three ecological predictors affecting DIF before and after purification: income, administration convenience, and SES. The ultimate predictors helped create an EFL configuration of the ecological model of item responding. The implications for validity arguments are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132864700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 2

The Effect of Open vs. Closed Tasks on Improving Iranian EFL Learners’ Oral Performance 开放式任务与封闭式任务对提高伊朗英语学习者口语表现的影响

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.37075.2814

Mohammad Zohrabi, Sahar Hassanpour

{"title":"The Effect of Open vs. Closed Tasks on Improving Iranian EFL Learners’ Oral Performance","authors":"Mohammad Zohrabi, Sahar Hassanpour","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.37075.2814","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.37075.2814","url":null,"abstract":"Among the latest efficient approaches in language teaching, Task-based Language Teaching has turned up to be the main approach in a way that it is currently recognized as the leading teaching approach in language instruction (Ji & Pham, 2017). Using the proper tasks based on the proficiency level of the learners can facilitate the process of language learning. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of open and closed tasks on improving Iranian EFL learners’ oral performance at intermediate and advanced levels. This study is a quasi-experimental research with pretest and posttest design. The participants of the study included 55 female EFL learners at Jahadeh Daneshgahi language institute in Tabriz city, who were selected through cluster random sampling method. The data were collected through 10 open tasks and 10 closed tasks along with an oral pretest and an oral posttest checklist that examined grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, breakdown-response, interaction, and speech flow of learners’ oral performance. The tasks were selected from the Four Corner series (Richards & Bohlke, 2012). The data were analyzed by a two-way MANCOVA test and ANCOVA. The obtained results indicated that open and closed tasks can improve EFL learners’ oral performance and there is no significant difference between open and closed tasks in developing learners’ oral performance in both levels. Besides, at the advanced level, the amount of oral performance development is greater than the intermediate level. The outcomes of this study can be useful for EFL teachers and learners regarding using the optimal kind of tasks in improving oral performance.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133339975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Exploring the Factors Iranian EFL Institute Teachers Consider in Grading Using Personal Construct Theory 用个人构念理论探讨伊朗英语学院教师评分时考虑的因素

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.36293.2780

Majid Nowruzi, M. Amerian

{"title":"Exploring the Factors Iranian EFL Institute Teachers Consider in Grading Using Personal Construct Theory","authors":"Majid Nowruzi, M. Amerian","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.36293.2780","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.36293.2780","url":null,"abstract":"Although grades are the most ubiquitous currency of educational measurement around the globe, their meaning, particularly in understudied settings as in Iran, is still shrouded in mystery. The purpose of this study was to investigate EFL teachers’ class grades by focusing on the less verbalized aspects of grading to see what a grade means. Five Iranian English language teachers working part-time in a private EFL institute were interviewed using the repertory grid interviewing technique, Kelly’s (1955) unique data collection instrument used extensively in personal construct theory (PCT). The results of the content analysis revealed that of the 92 elicited constructs, over 70% were categorized as non-academic, pointing to a heavy reliance on such criteria for grading, and consequently leading to the invalidity of assigned grades. Further, the results of principal component analysis (PCA) of each teacher’s elicited constructs endorsed hodgepodge grading by demonstrating single main components that accounted for the most variation in teacher grading and that comprised both academic and non-academic factors. However, this phenomenon was interpreted slightly differently when seen from the PCT perspective. Implications of this study for teacher professional development and teacher education programs are discussed.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"129 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133940408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 4

Learner-Centered Education in the Iranian EFL Context: A Glance through the Impediments 伊朗英语语境中以学习者为中心的教育:障碍透视

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.36716.2796

M. Moradi, Parviz Alavinia

{"title":"Learner-Centered Education in the Iranian EFL Context: A Glance through the Impediments","authors":"M. Moradi, Parviz Alavinia","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.36716.2796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.36716.2796","url":null,"abstract":"Though learner-centered paradigm of education has long been introduced to pedagogy in general and language teaching in particular, it seems that scant heed has been given to its implementation as well as the restrictions and challenges on its way. In an attempt to shed more light on the status of learner-centered instruction in Iranian language schools, particularly as regards the impediments hindering its proper application, the current researchers selected a cohort of 240 teachers and 450 students for the questionnaire phase through convenience sampling, as well as 29 male and female language school learners and 30 EFL teachers for interview. Due to its mostly qualitative nature, the study made use of data gathered via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. As the findings revealed, students referred to resource constraints and teachers’ tendency toward applying traditional practices as the two overriding barriers restricting proper LCE implementation. The other two prominent factors singled out by the findings obtained out of students’ attitudes were lack of clear definition of LCE and lack of familiarity resulting from improper training. As regards teachers’ perspectives of impediments, however, poor motivation on the part of teachers and parents’ lack of receptivity for LCE were identified as the most prominent barriers. Finally, in line with the interview findings, all three categories of teacher-induced, learner-induced, and context-relevant factors were reported to be responsible for limiting LCE implementation with variable degrees of influence. The study findings are thought to have practical implications for English language pedagogy in the Iranian context.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130481769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 2

Agile Development of a Custom-Made Vocabulary Mobile Application: A Critical Qualitative Approach 定制词汇移动应用程序的敏捷开发:关键的定性方法

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.36398.2786

Faramarz Kazemainy, Hamed Barjesteh, Nassim Golagahei, Atefeh Nasrollahi Mouziraji

{"title":"Agile Development of a Custom-Made Vocabulary Mobile Application: A Critical Qualitative Approach","authors":"Faramarz Kazemainy, Hamed Barjesteh, Nassim Golagahei, Atefeh Nasrollahi Mouziraji","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.36398.2786","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.36398.2786","url":null,"abstract":"There have been some observed studies and developed applications (apps), with a concentration on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), and no consideration of communicative needs of the learners; besides, these studies focused on either the theoretical aspects or the utilization of the available apps in the market (Burston & Athanasiou, 2020). Hence, Vocabulary Guru (VG), a custom-made mobile application, was developed based on a critical framework and an agile approach to fill out the gap. To tackle the issue, after carrying out a qualitative needs analysis via interviews, the first version of the app was developed and released to the target intermediate EFL university students. The next iterations were developed interactively and creatively, in congruence with the feedback received from the target learners. This cycle of incrementing and re-coding of the app continued until the attractor basins superseded. In the current paper, to shed light on how dynamically the interaction between learners and developers can yield in applications, which are more user-friendly and appropriate for a unique pedagogical setting, the life cycle of VG has been discussed. The agile app development processes of the current study may be useful for vocabulary specialists, teachers, educators, app developers, and pedagogical foundations involved in or considering the design and development of mobile apps by critically analyzing the unique needs of the target population in an interactive dynamic, agile life cycle. The developed app (i.e., VG) may also be utilized by EFL learners who would like to learn academic vocabulary in an educational context.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126850063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

The Effect of “Narrow Reading” on Learning Mid-Frequency Vocabulary: The Role of Genre and Author “窄读”对中频词汇学习的影响:体裁和作者的作用

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2020-03-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.37154.2821

Elaheh Sotoudehnama, Marie Virginia Raye Ahmadi, Maryam Asadi Zarmehri

{"title":"The Effect of “Narrow Reading” on Learning Mid-Frequency Vocabulary: The Role of Genre and Author","authors":"Elaheh Sotoudehnama, Marie Virginia Raye Ahmadi, Maryam Asadi Zarmehri","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.37154.2821","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.37154.2821","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effect of Narrow Reading (NR) on learning mid-frequency words. Vocabulary Size Test (VST) designed by Nation and Beglar (2007) was administered as the first pre-test to 196 students, from among whom 91 students whose vocabulary size ranged between 2100- 3500-word families, , became the target of this study and were randomly classified into four groups. Then another pretest administered was a modified version of Wesche and Paribakht’s Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) which assessed how well they knew twenty vocabularies derived from the expository and narrative texts. After thirty sessions for direct instruction, VKS was repeated immediately as a posttest to assess vocabulary learning while a month later, VKS was taken as a delayed posttest to assess vocabulary retention. To address research questions, a mixed design factorial ANOVA was conducted. The findings revealed that while the theme was fixed, reading expository texts rather than narrative ones led to the growth in vocabulary knowledge. In addition, the group that read narratives forgot most of the mid-frequency words in the retention phase. As opposed to multi-author texts, reading texts written by one author resulted in a better vocabulary achievement in both learning and retention phases. It was also revealed that there was no interaction between genre and author. In other words, the author was as influential in learning mid-frequency words among expository texts as it was in narrative ones. Finally, it was concluded that NR has a positive effect on learning mid-frequency words.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123118229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Appropriation Based -Syllabus and Advanced EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill: The Case of Chunks-on-Card Activities 基于占用的教学大纲与高级英语学习者的口语技能:以卡片上的块为例

Journal of Teaching Language Skills Pub Date : 2019-10-01 DOI: 10.22099/JTLS.2020.36041.2773

S. M. Asaei, R. Rahimi

{"title":"Appropriation Based -Syllabus and Advanced EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill: The Case of Chunks-on-Card Activities","authors":"S. M. Asaei, R. Rahimi","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2020.36041.2773","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2020.36041.2773","url":null,"abstract":"The impetus for conducting the present study came from Thornbury's (2005) approach to teach speaking in which he claimed that awareness-raising techniques, along with appropriation strategies, facilitate the process of teaching and learning speaking. Therefore, the present study attempted to explore the impact of the appropriation-based syllabus to teach speaking by using chunks-on-card activity. Accordingly, 60 female and male Iranian advanced EFL learners were selected from a private language institute and were assigned to four groups. The four groups were male experimental and control groups as well as female experimental and control groups. To examine the effect of the treatment, the participants were pre- and post-tested on speaking skill. They took part in 14 treatment sessions in which the experimental group practiced the chunks-on-card method through drilling while the control group practiced the conventional approach. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences among the posttest scores of the four groups. According to the findings, the mean score for male learners in the experimental group differed significantly from female and male learners in the control groups. Similarly, the mean score of female learners in the experimental group differed significantly from female and male learners in the control groups. The results of paired-samples t-test for each group also indicated that the appropriation-based teaching of lexical chunks had significant impacts on both genders’ speaking skills.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131510207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0