Volume 20, Number 1, June 2023
DOI: 10.56040/e-flt.201

Editorial DOI: 10.56040/koos2000

Articles

María Pilar González Castell et al.

The Effect of Awareness-Raising and Explicit Instruction of Compensatory Strategies on Young Learners' EFL Oral and Written Production

DOI: 10.56040/mpvp2011

Abstract
This article presents a study intended to analyze the effects of awareness-raising and explicit strategy instruction on the performance of young learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in a multilingual context. In particular, we focused on the teaching of compensatory strategies (CpSs), a subset of communication strategies (CSs), and examined the immediate and delayed effects of explicit instruction of conceptual CpSs on young learners’ oral and written object description in English. Students’ description appropriateness and CpS use were assessed at three different times during the study. Three intact classes of eleven-year-old learners in a Spanish primary school participated in the study: Two classes formed the experimental group (n = 43) and the third class served as the control group (n = 20). Object description was part of the learners’ EFL syllabus, but only the experimental group received explicit instruction in identifying and using CpSs. Results revealed a positive effect of awareness-raising and explicit instruction of CpSs on overall description appropriateness in oral production immediately after intervention. Moreover, with regard to specific strategies, the use of superordinate appears to be the CpS that benefits the most from instruction.

Bakhtiar Naghdipour

Teacher-Initiated vs. Student-Initiated Written Corrective Feedback in EFL Writing

DOI: 10.56040/bana2012

Abstract
With the popularity of student-centered pedagogy in language education, research on alternative feedback strategies to supplement teacher written corrective feedback (WCF) has flourished in different contexts. Such re-search, however, has viewed alternative feedback strategies as initiated, deployed, and controlled by teachers, paying little attention to students’ capability in identifying and correcting their linguistic errors on their own. The current study adopts a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of a student-initiated feedback inter-vention on undergraduate students’ error identification and correction ability at a major university in Oman. To this end, two groups of first-year students (n = 63) from two different sections of an essay writing course were assigned to a control group, who received the traditional teacher feedback, and an experimental group, who consulted alternative sources of feedback on their own. Analysis of the data from pre-test and post-test tasks revealed that while both groups significantly improved their scores on different error correction attempts over a 16-week semester, the source of feedback did not lead to significant between-group differences in the scores. Furthermore, qualitative data indicated that, despite some challenges, students drew on a variety of sources and resources to reduce linguistic errors in their writing.

Kee Man Chuah & Looi-Chin Ch'ng

The Usefulness of TikTok Voice-Over Challenges as ESL Speaking Activities: A Case Study on Malaysian Undergraduates

DOI: 10.56040/kmlc2013

Abstract
TikTok is a popular video-sharing social media platform that encourages its users to upload bite-sized content for entertainment purposes. In recent years, the platform is filled with videos meant for micro-learning, ranging from tutorials to meaningful challenges. Among those videos are voice-over challenges where users need to virtually duet with another user and perform a voice-over based on given texts. This article reports a case study that aimed to identify the usefulness of TikTok voice-over challenges in helping English as a Second Language (ESL) students to learn speaking skills. The study included 60 undergraduates who participated in twelve voice-over challenges within two months. Upon completing the challenges, they had to fill in an online questionnaire that gathered their views on the usefulness of the tasks and the problems they faced. The results revealed that students regarded the TikTok challenges as useful since they could improve their pronunciation and intonation, partake in turn-taking as well as motivate them to speak English more frequently. Several notable problems with its implementation are also shared in this article. Despite the small sample size, this study has shown promising outcomes on the use of TikTok voice-over challenges as speaking tasks for ESL learners.

Liam D. Wilson

Investigating the Coverage of Speech Acts in Hong Kong ELT Textbooks

DOI: 10.56040/lmdw2014

Abstract
In this investigation, speech acts targeted for instruction in ELT (English Language Teaching) textbooks commonly used in Hong Kong were examined using relational content analysis. The aim was to discover which speech acts are frequently presented or not evident, so that this information could be compared to that which has been found in prior studies in other locations. This is important because, from a pedagogical viewpoint, teachers need to ensure textbooks help students learn to use as wide a range of speech acts as possible. As textbooks also need to provide clear examples and information to help learners understand how and when to use speech acts, in this research, the presentation of the speech acts was examined to identify the pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic information. It was found that there was a tendency to include certain speech acts much more frequently than others, and that some were not included at all. There was also a general lack of clear pragmalinguis-tic (such as the presentation of indirect speech acts) and sociopragmatic information (such as dealing with high degrees of social distance) presented. This suggests that these factors could be given further consideration and that there are improvements that could be made to both the way that textbooks are written and selected for use. Therefore, this study contributes valuable information about the speech acts in Hong Kong ELT textbooks to and has important implications for both textbook writers and English teachers regarding the field of pragmatics.

Gi-Pyo Park

Contributions of Motivational Components to L2 Achievement Through the Mediation of Learning Strategies

DOI: 10.56040/gipa2015

Abstract
This study investigated the relationships among intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, learning strategies, and second/foreign language (L2) achievement. A self-report questionnaire of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was administered to 291 university students learning English in Korea to collect data about motivation and learning strategies, and L2 achievement was determined by the grade of an English reading course. The results of data analysis using the Pearson product moment correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM) were as follows: first, the correlations among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, learning strategies, and achievement were all significant, with intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy the highest and intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation the lowest correlations. Second, the model (Model 4) explaining the contributions of extrinsic motivation and self-efficacy to achievement mediated by learning strate-gies fit the current data better than other competing models (Models 1, 2, and 3). Third, significant direct effects of extrinsic motivation and learning strategies on achievement were found, whereas a significant indirect effect of self-efficacy on achievement by way of learning strategies was detected. The implications of these findings were discussed in terms of the contributions of extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and learning strategy use to L2 achievement, followed by future study areas to shed further light on relations among motivational components, learning strategies, and L2 achievement.

Van Son Nguyen et al.

EFL High School Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Learner Autonomy

DOI: 10.56040/npln2016

Abstract
This paper aimed to investigate the beliefs and practices regarding learner autonomy (LA) among the Vietnamese EFL teachers at high schools. Data were collected from the survey and the interviews. A total of 136 EFL teachers from high schools across Vietnam completed the questionnaires, and 10 of them participated in the interviews later. The results showed that the participants expressed positivity towards LA and preferred socio-cultural and psychological modes of LA, but some of them did not have sufficient knowledge of LA. The teachers perceived that their students did not possess a reasonable level of LA. Those teachers made efforts to promote LA in the English classes and found it challenging because of learners, teachers, family, and institutional factors when implementing LA. The implications are then put forward for the improvement of LA among high school students at three different levels of the individual teacher, management, and the decision-making process.