Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is an approach that combines content and language objectives. Despite substantial expansion over the past two decades, its successful adoption raises ...several challenges for teachers. Teachers turn to information and communication technologies (ICT) to solve their problems. This study aims to investigate technology acceptance and use of English language teachers adopting the CLIL approach in Turkey, and to identify the difficulties they encounter while integrating technology into practice. The study is explanatory in research design and employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989) as a framework. A 27-item Likert-type questionnaire was used to gather data from 61 teachers practicing in private and public schools. The results showed a statistically significant difference in technology integration intention and use behaviors of teachers. The qualitative data suggested that among the difficulties faced by CLIL teachers were facilitating environments, managerial assistance, and teacher technology awareness.
This paper presents the results of a research into the foreign teachers' attitudes towards the first foreign language (FL 1) teaching according to the CLIL approach. The first foreign language ...teachers (FL 1 teachers) should have carried out their FL 1 lessons using the CLIL approach. The results of the twelve interviews: teachers agree upon the importance of the education process of teachers-to-be, for any teacher working at an early level should have completed a BA in class teaching and should have acquired a degree in the methodology of early language teaching. Most teachers who used the CLIL approach in the first year of its introduction (school year 2014–2015), refrained from it in the second year, or only used some elements of the CLIL approach, for they felt that it was impossible to follow the guidelines of the “hard” CLIL. Consequently, they only used some elements or strategies of the CLIL approach, which some authors call “soft” CLIL. Although some teachers claimed to have encountered numerous obstacles in teaching according to CLIL, they nevertheless considered it to be a suitable approach in the FL 1 classroom.A well-prepared abstract enables the reader to identify the basic content of a document quickly and accurately, to determine its relevance to their interests, and thus to decide whether to read the document in its entirety.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has automatically become a normal practice of the “Next Normal”. Intensive English is a compact three-week course offered to get first-year students ...ready for university study. Online learning was something new for both students and instructors. A key challenge in online learning was how to make virtual classroom as lively and interactive as possible. The aim of this study was thus to design an instructional program which integrated various technological tools and applications to optimize the virtual classroom. The 63 first-year students from two intact sections of Intensive English were used as participants of the study. A technology acceptance model (TAM) questionnaire (Davis, 1989; Hernandez, 2021) was adapted to assess the effectiveness of the instructional program. The results of the study revealed that all of the participants achieved the overall objective of the course and the target CEFR’s A2 level. They found their online learning experience rewarding. They were satisfied with this online learning experience and were willing to participate in similar online learning in the future. Additionally, recommendations for further research were discussed.
This paper provides the rationale and purpose for a critical literacy awareness strategy, implemented to 20 English second language students at a township secondary school in South Africa. This ...empirical study provides insight into using newspapers as a pedagogical tool to develop students’ language and critical literacy skills. Using different classroom activities and class discussions, the teacher helped the students to read beyond different texts and raised their awareness of different ideologies that inform texts. Working in pairs and groups, the learners engaged with different genres of texts. In this study, special emphasis is promoting critical thinking for social justice where critical literacy is used as a tool to better understand and improve the world. Findings of the study show students engaging in critical conversations without being directed into one way of thinking, which leads to significant improvement in their critical thinking. This further shows that texts that raise questions about different discourses can create an inclusive critical curriculum. It can be concluded that students can learn best when presented with a context they can identify with and are able to tap to their everyday experiences.
Ecuadorian educational policy for English as Foreign Language instruction in Ecuador mandated in 2016 to introduce Content and Language Integrated-Learning (CLIL) methodology to improve the teaching ...and learning process. This research aims to analyze the implementation of CLIL methodology in zone 4 of Ecuador during 2019-2021. This work subscribed to the transformative paradigm and administrated quantitative and qualitative methods of educational research. The participants were 70 English as a Foreign Language teachers from nine public and private educational institutions located in Manabi Province of Ecuador. The instrument used was the Instructor Perceptions of Differentiated Instruction of Turner, Solis, and Kincade (2017) in an observation format. The information collection techniques used were in-depth interview and focus group discussion. The results allowed the research team to determine the impact of the pandemic on the CLIL implementation in zone 4 of Ecuador. The results show differences in the implementation of the methodology between public and private schools which are linked to internet and technology devices access, teachers' knowledge regarding CLIL methodology, and institutional policies. In regards COVID19 pandemic, it is concluded that it has pacted the implementation of CLIL methodology in both public and private secondary schools that participated in the study.
The present study’s aim is to identify whether class participation is a significant predictor of English language achievement among university students and their views concerning class participation ...and academic achievement. A sequential mixed method design was applied and a total of 2013 university students (813 female 40.3%; 1200 male, 59.7%) participated in the quantitative portion of the study. Course Participation Grade (CPG) criteria and English Proficiency Exam (EPE) held at the end of the academic year by the institution were used as data collection tools. The qualitative data were analysed through content analysis of a focus group interview with a group of seven participants. The findings suggested that the relationship between academic achievement and CPG was positive and significant. Correspondingly, the qualitative data revealed similar results with the quantitative data by showing that the class participation has powerful impact on academic achievement.
An English program like English For Holiday (EFH), is concerned with helping children to learn English. In relation to English Education Department of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, the department has ...employed an EFH program to help children with English learning during their school break. To accomplish the continuous improvement of the program, it needs research related to it, as these kinds of research provides meaningful data and product, which are important for the improvement of the program’s quality. Generally, the ultimate aim of the research is to contribute to the establishment of a better EFH program, especially of English Education Department, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan. Specifically, this research aims to develop syllabus and material for EFH program of EED UAD. This research started in May and was complete in November 2020 at English Education Department of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD). It utilized Research and Development (R&D) type with ADDIE model initiated by McGriff (2000) which endeavors a development process encompassing five major stages i.e. analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluation. The research results show that the EFH material is developed to fulfil the children’s needs of material for EFH program. The developed product offers an alternative solution to fill the children’s needs. Based on the evaluation, it is found out that the developed material is considered very good. Through this material, children participating in EFH program can learn English in an enjoyable way. Although the major target is to improve children’s speaking skill, through this material, children can learn and develop their other skills i.e. listening reading and writing as the developed material is written in an integrated way involving all four skills of English.
The present study reports on the challenges of implementing an approach to critical thinking and critical reading in English language teaching (ELT) in Chile. Participants in this research are ...in-service teachers of English enrolled in a Master’s course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in Chile. In order to develop and construct a thorough understanding of the participants’ past and present academic literacy experiences, they were invited for one-to-one meetings (semi-structured interviews) where, rather than reminiscing about past literacy experiences, they were encouraged to engage in narratives about their experiences with and challenges of developing a socially critical awareness of literacy at university, and in their current teaching practices. Analysis of the participants’ accounts revealed, first and foremost, the pervasive presence of literacy practices that reflect and favor a strong culture of compliance over critical reflection, and, secondly, great concerns about the lack of systematic preparation in English teacher education (ETE) programs to develop and implement a more critical stance toward critical thinking and critical reading. The paper concludes by interrogating and challenging current university practices that, based on the participants’ views, seem to replicate a culture that reproduces both social and cultural inequalities.
This study is primarily designed for investigating the tertiary students’ perspectives on the writing difficulties of essays. This study was conducted in explanatory research in which quantitative ...and qualitative data were obtained from the web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interview, then analyzed separately. 21 undergraduate students have enrolled in the survey and 6 of them were invited to the interview section. This research reveals tertiary students' problems in essay writing course are categorized into: affective problems which raise from students’ and lecturers’ attitude while teaching and learning Essay Writing Course, cognitive problems that considered as the difficulties in the areas of writing viewpoint, transferring language, and the process of writing, and linguistic problems in the area of lexico-grammar, vocabulary, and the structure of the essay. Due to the findings, those aspects of academic writing should be serious attention for both EFL students and teachers to overcome the problems. The findings of this study have implications for EFL writing course designers as basic data of material improvement and for researchers particularly in the realms of language and education.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is increasingly becoming popular in teacher education, just like the prevalence in the use of Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) which is an ...instructional socio-constructivist online tool providing collaborative learning. PBL where learning occurs through real-life problem solving practices is also included in the constructivist approach. This study was designed as a mixed methods research which English as Foreign Language (EFL) teacher trainees were involved in PBL through Moodle with the aim of solving problems related to language teaching and learning which they encountered at practicum schools. Participants were 93 EFL teacher trainees studying at a state university in Turkey. The study aimed to reveal the participants’ views of their PBL experiences within the scope of a Materials Evaluation and Adaptation Course. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews; and analyzed through descriptive statistics and content analysis consecutively. Results demonstrated that the teacher training activities delivered through PBL yielded promising benefits for EFL teacher trainees’ professional development despite some minor flaws faced in the process. Thus, PBL can be considered as a useful method to deliver such courses offered in any branches of teacher education.
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