Volume 18, Number 2, December 2021 DOI: 10.56040/e-flt.182
Sho Kobayashi
(Osaka Kyoiku University, Japan)
Psychological changes following L2 e-tandem learning: A case study. (pp. 129–139)
Citation in APA 7:
Kobayashi, S. (2022). Psychological changes following L2 e-tandem learning: A case study. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 129–139. DOI: 10.56040/skpc1821
This study reports on an investigation into students’ psychological changes during an eTandem program. The case study explored whether the use of eTandem: (1) reduced students’ Unwillingness To Speak English (UTSE), (2) reduced students’ Anxiety about Communicating with a Foreigner (ACF), and (3) allowed for an increase in the parameter known as Having Things to Communicate (HTC). In addition, a qualitative study was conducted to determine how participants felt and what they noticed through practicing eTandem. This research comprised a case study of two Japanese male undergraduate students at a national university in Japan and three Chinese students at Pennsylvania State University. Data were collected using a nine-item questionnaire on UTSE, a ten-item questionnaire on anxiety, and a six-item questionnaire on HTC. The questionnaires were administered to the two students before and after eight eTandem sessions. They recorded their experiences in reflection sheets. Results showed that UTSE and anxiety were greatly reduced. In addition, participants substantively improved their HTC on the postquestionnaire. These results suggest that repeated speaking practice via eTandem may help alleviate students’ UTSE and anxiety and may help enhance their HTC.
Walaipun Puengpipattrakul
(Chulalongkorn University Language Institute, Thailand)
Modeling the determinants of English writing performance: Directions to interdisciplinary writing instruction (pp. 149–155)
Citation in APA 7:
Kobayashi, S. (2022). Psychological changes following L2 e-tandem learning: A case study. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 129–139. DOI: 10.56040/wpmd1822
This cross-sectional study examines the impact of five learner-factor groups – intellectual, learning, social, environmental, and mental domains, on writing performance using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple- group structural equation modeling, and qualitative analysis of response scripts. Triangulated data was collected from the persuasive-writing task scores and the Likert-scale and interview-based questionnaire responses of 499 first-year Thai undergraduates from 11 faculties at a university in central Thailand. The results showed the global fits between the hypothesized model and the empirical data (Chi-Square = 330, df = 169, p-value < .001, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.04). The intellectual appeared to be the most powerful factor affecting participant writing performance. The learning factors which impacted the writing performance of the Science and Technology group (β = -.24, t = -2.60) with the highest degree of significance was out-of-class activity (β = .81, t = 42.12, p ≤ .05). Intellectual factors were shown to affect female student writing performance (β = .62, t = 9.42) more so than males (β = .44, t = 6.14, p ≤ .05). Participants viewed instrumental motivation as affecting their writing performance (mean = 2.98, SD = .93, p = .04). Qualitative data from gender non-conforming participants’ responses also uncovered underlying factors: remote student-teacher relationships and unwillingness to communicate, impairing their English learning and writing performance. In- sights gleaned from the responses of gender non-conforming participants have led to suggestions for further research regarding writing instruction.
Marco Octavio Cancino Avila &
Gumor Ignacio Castillo Fonseca
(Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile)
Gamification: How does it impact L2 vocabulary learning and engagement? (pp. 156–170)
Citation in APA 7:
Cancino Avila, M.O., Castillo Fonseca, G.I. (2022). Gamification: How does it impact L2 vocabulary learning and engagement?, Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 156–170. DOI: 10.56040/ghcc1824
The implementation of gaming aspects such as competition, evolution, and learning based on a reward system in non-gaming environments is known as gamification (Deterding, 2012). A gamified approach to learning has been found to increase engagement and learning in educational contexts (Dicheva et al., 2015; Turkay & Kinzer, 2015). However, the impact of these approaches on L2 vocabulary learning has not been fully documented. To this end, the present mixed-methods study sought to assess the impact of a gamified approach to teaching vocabulary on the learning and retention of 51 ninth grade EFL learners and explore their perceptions towards the game. Results showed that participants who were exposed to the card game made immediate and delayed vocabulary gains that were as high as the gains made by learners who were taught vocabulary in a traditional classroom. This suggests that a gamified methodology in an EFL classroom can yield lexical development that is at least as effective as learning words by means of textbook activities. Additionally, the perceived advantages of a gamified approach were found to increase engagement and maintain levels of learning.
Masoomeh Estaji & Amir Kardoust
(Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran)
EFL Teachers’ Use of Classroom-Based Assessment Strategies: Assessment Purposes and Practices (pp. 156–170)
Citation in APA 7:
Estaji, M., Kardoust, A. (2022). EFL Teachers’ Use of Classroom-Based Assessment Strategies: Assessment Purposes and Practices, Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 156–170. DOI: 10.56040/etek1825
Classroom-Based Assessment plays a fundamental role in any standards-based system of education. Unlike large-scale assessments which focus on measurement, classroom-based assessment, as the foundation for all other types of assessments, aims learning. Despite this prominence, different aspects of it have not received the due attention specifically in EFL context of Iran. To this end, this descriptive survey study sought to examine the purposes, strategies, and procedures lied behind Iranian EFL teachers’ use of classroom assessment. In this study, the data were collected by involving 187 Iranian EFL teachers who completed a questionnaire (adopted from Cheng, Roger, & Hu, 2004). The results revealed that Iranian EFL teachers used assessment with mainly student-centered purposes. In assessing different skills, the teachers’ use of student-administered strategies was more prominent. Finally, varying patterns were reported in their assessment procedures. They also devoted more than 20% of their class time to assessment. Such findings would raise the teachers’ awareness regarding their classroom-based assessment practices as they compare teachers’ assessment strategies and practices across various educational setting.
Felix David Estrella Ibarra
(Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Ecuador)
Citation in APA 7:
Estrella Ibarra, F.D. (2022). Improving foreign language writing anxiety and writing performance through Facebook: Evidence from Ecuadorian undergraduate student. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 184–206. DOI: 10.56040/ifdi1826
Foreign language anxiety refers to the negative feelings that students experience when dealing with a writing assignment. This study aims to find whether the social networking site Facebook can re- duce foreign language writing anxiety, thus improving students' assignments quality. The present research uses a mixed methods design to triangulate the data gathered. The quantitative section of the study uses the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory to identify writing anxiety levels and the most common type of anxiety experienced by learners. The participants in this study were 29 undergraduate students of the last level of English at a polytechnic university in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory was administered at the beginning and the end of the intervention to measure the differences. Results suggest that students could lower their anxiety levels. The qualitative section of the investigation relies on a semi-structured interview to get students' opinions on Facebook. It serves to support the results from the quantitative stage of the inquiry. This study is relevant as it shows current data reported from Latin America, which is very scarce. Thus, it bridges a gap in the literature. The study identifies several implications in the administrative area as well as in the practical domain.
Thao Vu¹ & Nguyen Thi Huon Lan²
(¹University of Hai Duong, Vietnam)
(²Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam)
New curriculum, existing problems: Teacher perception of the English language curriculum renewal in Vietnam (pp. 207–224)
Citation in APA 7:
Vu. T., Nguyen, T.H.L.. (2022). New curriculum, existing problems: Teacher perception of the English language curriculum renewal in Vietnam. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 18(1), 207–224. DOI: 10.56040/mcla1827
The emergence of English as a global lingua franca, coupled with the profound impact of globalisation and neoliberalism in language policy planning, has influenced the Vietnamese Government to embark on a national foreign language project, aiming to enhance the English capacity of school students. New English curricula and textbooks were developed, adhering to the principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). This study is an attempt to explore teacher attitude and understanding of the new curriculum and its pedagogic underpinning. Data obtained from a teacher survey (n=347) and interviews (n=16) reveal doubts and negative attitude among teachers about the feasibility of the curriculum goal. The findings also indicate that teachers had an incomplete understanding of CLT, along with a range of local challenges to the successful enactment of the new communicative curriculum. Implications are proposed in light of these findings, including the need to adapt rather adopt CLT and the prioritisation of teacher professional development, among other structural changes.