Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Students, Foreign – English-speaking countries'
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HADIYONO, JOHANA ENDANG PRAWITASARI. "THE EFFECT OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH DURING INTERACTIONAL GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH INDONESIAN AND MALAYSIAN STUDENTS, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS METHOD FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS FROM NON-WESTERN COUNTRIES." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/188050.
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Language and treatment modality are important variables in conducting psychotherapy with students from non-Western countries. Both variables might also have significant impact on therapeutic outcome. Foreign students in America speak at least two languages, and utilizing either their native language or English during sessions might result in different kinds of emotional expressiveness. Indonesian and Malaysian students are from countries where it is uncommon to express emotions publicly. Since language is a part of culture, using English might facilitate a distancing from their cultural context, and might also facilitate more verbal expressions of emotion. On the other hand, using their native language might facilitate a warm and "at home" atmosphere. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the effect of native language and English during interactional group psychotherapy with Indonesian and Malaysian students, and to assess the efficacy of this modality with foreign students. Yalom's interactional group psychotherapy was used with a group of Indonesian, a group of Malaysian, and a group of international students. These three treatment groups were compared to a group of international students who served as a control group. English and the native language were used alternately during the sessions with the Indonesian and Malaysian groups. Only English was used during the sessions with the international student groups. Objective measurements used were the Profile of Mood States, the Personal Orientation Inventory, the Group Environment Scale, the Group Climate Questionnaire, and the Subjective Evaluation Ratings Scale. Subjective measurement was independent judges. Results indicated that Indonesians and Malaysians rated themselves as significantly more active during sessions in English than during sessions in their native language. Raters perceived the Indonesian and Malaysian groups as more cohesive when sessions were conducted in the native language than when conducted in English. This study also indicated that interactional group psychotherapy was effective for foreign students, with some limitations. This treatment method was effective in improving mood states and personality profiles. The method was most effective for the Malaysians. In addition, this study also supported the notion that insight awareness therapy is effective for YAVIS (young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful) clients.
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Wu, Xiaojun. "Challenges of accommodating non-native English-speaking instructors' teaching and native English-speaking students' learning in college, and the exploration of potential solutions." Online version, 2003. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2003/2003wux.pdf.
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Torres, Julie West. "Speaking up! Adult ESL students' perceptions of native and non-native English speaking teachers." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2004. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4681/.
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Research to date on the native versus non-native English speaker teacher (NEST versus non-NEST) debate has primarily focused on teacher self-perception and performance. A neglected, but essential, viewpoint on this issue comes from English as a second language (ESL) students themselves. This study investigated preferences of adults, specifically immigrant and refugee learners, for NESTs or non-NESTs. A 34-item, 5-point Likert attitudinal survey was given to 102 students (52 immigrants, 50 refugees) enrolled in ESL programs in a large metropolitan area in Texas . After responding to the survey, 32 students volunteered for group interviews to further explain their preferences. Results indicated that adult ESL students have a general preference for NESTs over non-NESTs, but have stronger preferences for NESTs in teaching specific skill areas such as pronunciation and writing. There was not a significant difference between immigrants' and refugees' general preferences for NESTs over non-NESTs based on immigration status.
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Van, Dan Acker Sara Marie. "The Role of Expectations on Nonnative English Speaking Students' Wrtiting." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1110.
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This study centered on the expectations of a non-native English-speaking undergraduate student and her teacher in a general education course at Portland State University during winter term 2012. This was a qualitative case study, where I collected data throughout the duration of the course by means of interviews, classroom observations, and written assignment sheet data. I triangulated verbal data from interview transcripts from the two participants, along with data from the observation notes and the assignment sheets in order to gain a better understanding of the expectations each participant had about writing assignments.
Data from four sources were collected and analyzed: interview transcripts, assignment sheets, the course syllabus, and classroom observation notes. Interview transcripts were the primary source of data, and were triangulated with the other abovementioned data sources.
The themes that emerged from verbal interview data were categorized and then subcategorized according to theme. The first category that emerged was Assignment Expectations. This was subcategorized into: Summarize, Examples, Reflect, Critical Thinking, and Theory Application. The second category was Evaluation, which was comprised of the themes Grading and Rubric. The third category that emerged was Student Interaction With Assignment, in which six subcategories emerged: Process, Experience, Time, Reading, Preparation, Understanding, and ESL. Lastly, the category background emerged, which contained the subcategories History and Background.
The findings of this study showed that due to the student's extensive background with various academic writing assignments prior to entering the course, she had similar expectations of specific assignment sheet attributes as the teacher. However, there were more salient differences in expectations between the teacher and the student in terms of how the student interacted with the assignment at the individual level. Likewise, expectations of assessment illustrated the murky nature of evaluation, even in a situation where the student had had extensive experience with academic writing assessment in the past.
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Seo, Dawon. "Overcoming the challenges: How native English-speaking teachers develop the English speaking skills of university students in South Korea." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2015. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1637.
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English is considered the most important language after Korean in South Korea; thus, it is a compulsory subject in schools. English lessons begin in year three of the primary school and continue until the end of schooling, including at the university level. This was not always the case, as English was not considered to be significant until the Korean government needed people who could speak it in order to communicate with the US military during the Korean War. After a period where English was backgrounded by more pressing issues, it re-emerged as necessary to promote globalisation which was seen as a challenge for the Korean people. More recently, additional pressure to improve Korean students’ English language competence has come from an increasing economic dependence on international trade.
The Department of Education has responded differently to these three main points of pressure to improve English language competency. Initially, they adopted a grammar-translation method to respond to the demand provided by the Korean War, and following the failure of this method to produce competent speakers of English, the audio lingual method was introduced to address the communication issues associated with globalisation. However, this method was also seen to fail, primarily as teachers at that time had learnt through a grammar translation method which did not develop the spoken English skills they needed for this way of teaching. More recently, the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach has been implemented in an attempt to improve Korean students’ use of English for spoken communication.
The CLT approach promotes a focus on meaning more than form, content and function more than grammar and fluency more than accuracy. The approach also emphasises student-centred learning, communicative competence, authentic speech, and the teaching of cultural knowledge. To address the issue of teacher competence, many universities employ native speakers of English to teach the conversation units in English related courses. Despite this and other support, students continue to struggle to achieve communicative competence in English. This perpetuates a cycle of failure in English learning when some of these students graduate as a new generation of English teachers unable to speak English with fluency or confidence. Only a small number of studies have investigated this issue and they identified the linguistic differences between English and Korean, cultural differences, Korean learners’ characteristics and students’ low levels of motivation as the four main challenges. In order to extend this work, this study investigated what was happening in English conversation classrooms so as to identify those aspects of pedagogy that supported student learning and the challenges which may have impeded it. Further, the previous studies were conducted in middle schools so this one selected the university level of schooling as a context not yet investigated.
The study employed a qualitative research design in the form of a case study. The case included three sub cases, each focusing on a native English-speaking conversation teacher in a national university. The data were collected through classroom observations followed by informal discussions, interviews, reflective journals, document analysis, and research field notes. First, the study investigated the teaching practices the three informants used in their university level English conversation classrooms and compared these to those expected in a CLT-based classroom. Second, the challenges the teachers experienced in the implementation of a communicative approach were explored. Lastly, the study investigated how the challenges identified might be addressed in a South Korean university context.
The study found that the three teachers, although all claiming to use very similar communicative teaching methods, did not do so. One used a highly structured approach that relied heavily on a high level of teacher control, with careful direction of learning and controlled repetition of specific language forms. Another took a student-centred approach with careful structuring of authentic activities to encourage students to interact using English fluently. The third teacher used a communicative approach but with very limited support provided to his students. The teachers’ practices were influenced by their educational backgrounds, teaching experiences and beliefs. This study identified three different types of challenges faced by the teachers of English conversation in a South Korean university. The first was the marginalised position of English conversation classes in the university; the second was the teachers’ limited knowledge of the CLT approach and their students’ cultural and educational backgrounds; and, the third was the students’ limited access to English outside of their English conversation classes. These findings have a number of implications for Korean universities, including those related to the recruitment of English speaking teachers and the support offered to them after their appointments, the integration of English conversation units into the major areas of study and the provision of conditions suited to the demands of learning English as a foreign language.
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Law, Wai-king. "Students' perception of the NET (native English speaking teacher) in motivating students to learn English : a case study in a band 5 school /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1999. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B21161100.
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Apple, Matthew Thomas. "The Big Five Personality Traits and Foreign Language Speaking Confidence among Japanese EFL Students." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2011. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/127286.
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CITE/Language ArtsEd.D.
This research examined the relationships between the Big Five human personality traits, favorable social conditions, and foreign language classroom speaking confidence. Four research questions were investigated concerning the validity of the Big Five for a Japanese university sample, the composition of Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence, the degree to which the Big Five influenced Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence, and the degree to which perceptions of classroom climate affect Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence. The first stage of the research involved three pilot studies that led to the revision of the Big Five Factor Marker questionnaire and the creation of a new instrument for measuring foreign language classroom speaking confidence that included both cognitive and social factors as theorized in mainstream social anxiety research. The second stage of the research involved the collection and analysis of data from 1,081 participants studying English in 12 universities throughout Japan. Data were analyzed using a triangulation of Rasch analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in order to verify the construct validity of the eleven hypothesized constructs. Following validation of the measurement model, the latent variables were placed into a structural regression model, which was tested by using half of the data set as a calibration sample and confirmed by using the second half of the data set as a validation sample. The results of the study indicated the following: (a) four of the five hypothesized Big Five personality traits were valid for the Japanese sample; (b) Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence comprised three measurement variables, Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Anxiety, Perceived Foreign Language Speaking Self-Competence, and Desire to Speak English; (c) Emotional Stability and Imagination directly influenced Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence, and; (d) Current English Classroom Perception and Perceived Social Value of Speaking English directly influenced Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Confidence. The findings thus demonstrated a link between personality, positive classroom atmosphere, and foreign language classroom speaking confidence. The implications of the findings included the possibility that foreign language anxiety is not situation-specific as theorized, and that improved social relations within the foreign language classroom might help reduce speaking anxiety.
Temple University--Theses
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Isaacs, Talia. "Towards defining a valid assessment criterion of pronunciation proficiency in non-native English speaking graduate students." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=98938.
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This exploratory, mixed-design study investigates whether intelligibility is "enough," that is, a suitable goal and an adequate assessment criterion, for evaluating proficiency in the pronunciation of non-native English speaking graduate students in the academic domain. The study also seeks to identify those pronunciation features which are most crucial for intelligible speech.Speech samples of 19 non-native English speaking graduate students in the Faculty of Education at McGill University were elicited using the Test of Spoken English (TSE), a standardized test of spoken proficiency which is often used by institutions of higher learning to screen international teaching assistants (ITAs). Results of a fined-grained phonological analysis of the speech samples coupled with intelligibility ratings of 18 undergraduate science students suggest that intelligibility, though an adequate assessment criterion, is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for graduate students to instruct undergraduate courses as teaching assistants, and that there is a threshold level (i.e., minimum acceptable level) of intelligibility that needs to be identified more precisely. While insights about the features of pronunciation that are most critical for intelligibility are inconclusive, it is clear that intelligibility can be compromised for different reasons and is often the result of a combination of "problem areas" that interact together.
The study has some important implications for ITA training and assessment, for the design of graduate student pronunciation courses, and for future intelligibility research. It also presents a first step in validating theoretical intelligibility models which lack empirical backing (e.g., Morley, 1994).
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Cheung, Sin-lin Isabelle. "A study of lexical errors in South-Asian Non-Chinese speaking children's writing." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B36863658.
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Dean, Brittany L. "A Comparison of Vocabulary Banks and Scripts on Native English-speaking Students’ Acquisition of Italian." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2012. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc115066/.
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The study applied behavior analytic principles to foreign language instruction in a college classroom. Two study methods, vocabulary banks and scripts, were compared by assessing the effects on Italian language acquisition, retention, and generalization. Results indicate that students without prior exposure to Italian engaged in more exchanges and emitted more words in script tests compared to vocabulary bank tests. Participants with at least two classes in Italian prior to the study engaged in more exchanges and emitted more words during vocabulary bank tests. Data suggest that different teaching strategies may work for different learners. More research is needed to determine efficient teaching methods and how to ascertain which approaches work best for learners with different histories.
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Mohammed-Ali, Ahmed Shakir. "Attitudes and motivation of Arabic-speaking students of science and technology in Wales towards English and their relationship to proficiency in English." Thesis, Cardiff University, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.260168.
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Mahmood, Nafisa. "Using Google Docs to Support Collaborative Learning and Enhance English Language Skills among Non-Native English Speaking Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1404538/.
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Collaborative writing technologies such as Google Docs is believed to be a helpful tool in supporting the development of constructivist learning environments. However, not much research has been done among special populations outside the United States. This dissertation examines how using google docs can enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students at a university in Oman. A total of 52 students participated in this study, where they completed a collaborative writing activity using Google Docs. This exploratory study yielded quantitative as well as qualitative data. Interviewees shared their experience of using Google Docs for the collaborative writing activity. The research shows that Google Docs promoted collaborative interactions among students, such as learning from each other and communicating with the teacher. Interestingly, the data indicate that students used alternate social media such as WhatsApp to communicate with their group mates regarding the collaborative writing activity. Overall, the results obtained here confirm that the Google Docs can be used to enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students.
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Law, Wai-king, and 羅慧瓊. "Students' perception of the NET (native English speaking teacher) in motivating students to learn English: a casestudy in a band 5 school." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31945089.
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Nguyen, Duc Hoat, and n/a. "Towards a communicative approach to teaching speaking skills to students of commerce in Vietnam." University of Canberra. Information Sciences, 1985. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060725.121755.
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As a result of the development in foreign trade in
Vietnam, there is a growing need for trained business
executives and business people. A good command of spoken
English is one of the most important qualifications of a
foreign trade executive who needs English as a means of
communicating with English speaking people in various
business activities. At present, the responsibility for
training students of commerce mainly rests with Hanoi Foreign Trade College. English language teaching in
general, and the teaching of speaking skills in particular
still leave much,to be desired. The students' oral
proficiency is far from satisfactory.
The purpose of this report is to explore the two
main problematic areas in teaching speaking skills to
students of commerce in Vietnam: syllabus design and
teaching methods.
The report consists of four chapters. Chapter one
looks at some major theoretical problems and practical
issues in English for Specific Purposes teaching. Chapter
two provides an analysis of the teaching and learning
situations at Hanoi Foreign Trade College and problems
in teaching oral skills. Chapter three is mainly concerned
with designing a communicative syllabus for the teaching
of speaking skills to students of commerce. Chapter four
deals with the theoretical assumptions and processes
involved in oral communication and discusses some classroom
methods and techniques in the light of the current
communicative approach.
This report should be regarded as an exploratory
attempt in adopting the communicative approach to teaching
oral skills to students of commerce in Vietnam.
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Nguyen, Truong Sa. "The relationship between Vietnamese EFL students' beliefs and learning preferences and native English-speaking teachers' beliefs and teaching practices." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/28488.
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This study examines the relationships between foreign language learning beliefs and preferences of 2 Vietnamese learners and beliefs and practices of 2 Native English speaking teachers in a private English school in Vietnam. The learners were not satisfied with learning English in public schools and had many expectations on the course and the teachers while the teachers had to make their learners pleased. Beliefs were reviewed as determinations of actions; beliefs entail knowledge, values, and attitude, and relate closely to identity and experience. The researcher adopted an interpretivist paradigm and three qualitative methods: Repgrid interview, Stimulated recall interview, and The COLT as an observation schedule. The interview data was coded inductively with content analysis method to build up the subjects’ beliefs and belief systems. Then, the systems were compared to find the relationships between their beliefs. To see how their beliefs related with learning preferences and teaching practices, the researcher analysed what they said and made use of the video record of their classroom activities; besides, the teachers’ beliefs were compared with the timing calculation of the activities in their classes. The results showed that beliefs about language learning affected strongly the participants’ preferred ways of teaching and learning and there were tight matches between the teachers’ beliefs and actions in class. There were influences of beliefs of the teachers and learners on each other, they were not direct influences but through their interpretations of the classroom events. However, the influences from the teacher were much clearer. After the course, the learners’ preferences and beliefs about some learning activities were changed and became more reflective. They also started to recognize the benefits of different ways of learning English. Meanwhile, the teachers’ interpretation of their learners’ expectations, learning preferences, and levels strongly affected what and how they taught.
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Nessler, Nina. "The Speaking Silence : A qualitative study of how Swedish teachers meet and handle the challenges of speaking anxiety among their students in English language education." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-75965.
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Being able to communicate, interact and speak your mind in our time is considered one of the most essential proficiencies, especially in English which is accepted as a lingua franca. The most frequently used word in the Swedish course syllabuses for English is communication. Although there is an instant occuring communication in a classroom, some students stay silent since they fear to speak, they fear to fail and their way of preventing that from happening is to stay silent. In order to assess students language proficiencies, students must in some way demonstrate and show their knowledge to the teacher, a procedure that in some cases can be very demanding and difficult for students who suffer from speaking anxiety. The present study aimed to investigate how Swedish teachers meet and handle speaking anxiety among Swedish upper secondary students in English language education. The study was conducted through a qualitative method and semi structured interviews among four Swedish teachers. The gathered data was analyzed by thematic content analysis and resulted in three main categories, anxiety, the role of the teacher and teaching strategies. The study showed that the numbers of students suffering from speaking anxiety in Swedish upper secondary schools were in two out of four cases much higher than previous research. The study also showed that speaking anxiety has an impact on both students’ educational progress and in teaching aspects where teachers in some cases have to re-plan their planning and teaching material in order to help all students to reach the teaching goals.
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Silva, Helaine Guimarães da. "Relatos de Aprendizes de intercâmbio: a construção da Identidade e a aprendizagem de língua Inglesa." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2018. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/20989.
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Brazil had a 494% growth in the number of students who student exchange between 2003 and 2013. The experience of the exchange has been new for many young people who never imagined having this opportunity in life. The present work aims to investigate the problem of (re) construction of identity in the process of learning English language (EL) by means of reports from exchange students. So the research questions are: How does English language learning during students exchanges influence the construction of learners' identity issues? How does experiencing a new cultural and linguistic context alter the exchangeist's perception of himself or herself? how is this possible process of self-discovery perceived by them? The mother tongue (MT) inscribes the subject in the world, and it is through it that it goes through an "inaugural and definitive experience" becoming a talking and autonomous subject (CAVALLARI, 2011, p. 320), however in learning of EL, the relation between learner and language is different, the apprentice often feels 'unable' to express himself and to perceive himself in this new language. Observing EL learning in an exchange context in order to understand the impact of this experience on identity issues becomes even more relevant. The work is based on texts by Rajagopalan (2003), Moita Lopes (2006), Revuz (1998), Signorini (1998), among others. Data were collected through the reports of ten exchange students. Based on an interpretative methodology, the case study used questionnaires, learning memorials and the focus group as tools to observe learners' expectations and frustrations throughout the learning process. The aim is to assess how this experience affected and influenced the (re) construction of the identity of these apprentices
O Brasil teve um crescimento de 494% no número de alunos que fizeram intercâmbio entre 2003 e 2013. A experiência do intercâmbio tem sido novidade para muitos jovens que nunca imaginaram ter essa oportunidade na vida. O presente trabalho visa investigar a problemática da (re)construção de identidade , no processo de aprendizagem de língua inglesa (LI) por meio de relatos de intercambistas. sendo assim as perguntas de pesquisa são: Como a aprendizagem de língua inglesa durante o intercâmbio influencia a construção de questões identitárias dos aprendizes? como vivenciar um novo contexto cultural e linguístico altera a percepção que o(s) intercambista(s) têm de si mesmo(s)? como esse possível processo de autodescoberta é percebido por eles? A língua Materna (LM) inscreve o sujeito no mundo, e é por meio dela que ele passa por uma “experiência inaugural e definitiva” tornando-se um sujeito falante e autônomo (CAVALLARI, 2011, p.320), no entanto na aprendizagem de LI a relação entre o aprendiz e o idioma é diferente, o aprendiz muitas vezes sente-se ‘incapaz’ de se expressar e se perceber nesse novo idioma. Observar a aprendizagem de LI em contexto de intercâmbio a fim de compreender o impacto desta experiência em questões de identidade torna-se ainda mais relevante. O trabalho se baseia em textos de Rajagopalan (2003), Moita Lopes (2006), Revuz (1998), Signorini(1998), entre outros. Os dados foram gerados por meio de relatos de dez intercambistas. Com base em uma metodologia interpretativista, o estudo de caso recorreu a questionários, memoriais de aprendizagem e ao grupo focal como instrumentos para observar as expectativas e frustrações dos aprendizes ao longo do processo de aprendizagem. O intuito é pontuar como essa experiência afetou e influenciou a (re)construção de identidade desses aprendizes
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Shrestha, Rup Kumar. "Learning English as a foreign language in a non-native country and speaking in the UK : lived experience of Nepalese students." Thesis, Brunel University, 2007. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5421.
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English language has been applied as a general subject at the tertiary level education in all the faculties of Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal and treated as a second language (ESL) or a foreign language (EFL). It is also regarded as an international language. The latest change in the curriculum took place in 1997 and since then no research has been done on the effectiveness of the curriculum yet. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the EFL curriculum effectiveness and help to improve it. The idea of this research emerged from my professional experience of teaching English in the TU, where on average 70% of the tertiary level students failed the English language examination every year. The main objective of teaching English is to 'enable the students to understand the native speakers and make understood himself (National Convention 1988). Therefore, this research develops with the following two phenomenological curiosities: 'What is the experience of the successful students like while speaking with native speakers of English? ' and 'How can Nepalese students acquire competence in oral English more effectively? ' As a phenomenological research, unstructured interview method has been applied to collect the lived experience of the focus group of Nepalese students who have been staying in the United Kingdom for less than three months after the completion of the tertiary education in the Tribhuvan University, Nepal. The research justifies the following four different hypotheses:' The tertiary level EFL curriculum in Tribhuvan University has not been successful to achieve the goal of teaching English in a communicative context and for communicative purpose'; 'There is no consistency in the tertiary level EFL curriculum'; 'Acculturation in the English society plays a significant role in acquisition of oral English in Nepalese people'; and 'The Monitor Model hypothesis can be used to monitor the 'acquired knowledge' by 'learned knowledge' to correct grammar and similarly, the 'learned knowledge' can be monitored by 'acquired knowledge' to correct pronunciation for a successful oral communication. It is found out that the acculturation is better process than teaching by non-native teachers in a non-native country for acquisition of oral competence in English. Therefore, the research highly recommends the university to provide English like environment in the classes of English language so that students may experience a kind of acculturation as in an English society. It can be materialized by employing as many native speaking teachers as possible and providing a good library with necessary language teaching materials, like audio-video equipments. The classes should be of ideal size so that teachers can give care to the individual students' progress. The non-native teachers of English should be provided proper training to pronounce English words correctly and to teach using provided teaching materials. The examination should be conducted at least twice a year and should include oral assessments. However, it is realized that though the study has justified the research hypotheses and recommended a new perception for effective EFL curriculum, there are still more scopes for further research in this area, which are discussed at the end of the thesis.
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Burström, Julia. "How speaking anxiety affects students in the foreign language classroom : A comparison of English and Spanish learners in Swedish high schools." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Pedagogik, språk och Ämnesdidaktik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-79027.
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The study investigated the phenomenon of speaking anxiety in two groups of English learners and two groups of Spanish learners, studying in four different courses: English 5, 6 and Spanish 3, 4. The participants answered a background questionnaire, followed up with a modified foreign language anxiety scale. The students who wanted to also, participated in an interview where they gave more in depth answers about their experience with the phenomenon. The findings showed that students experienced speaking anxiety in relation to their language learning, but at different levels such as low, medium and high-level anxiety groups. In addition to this, possible remedies for speaking anxiety suggested by the participants was also presented in the study.
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Gao, Lianhong. "Examining Argumentative Coherence in Essays by Undergraduate Students of English as a Foreign Language in Mainland China and Their English Speaking Peers in the United States." FIU Digital Commons, 2012. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/559.
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I conducted this study to provide insights toward deepening understanding of association between culture and writing by building, assessing, and refining a conceptual model of second language writing. To do this, I examined culture and coherence as well as the relationship between them through a mixed methods research design. Coherence has been an important and complex concept in ESL/EFL writing. I intended to study the concept of coherence in the research context of contrastive rhetoric, comparing the coherence quality in argumentative essays written by undergraduates in Mainland China and their U.S. peers. In order to analyze the complex concept of coherence, I synthesized five linguistic theories of coherence: Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion theory, Carroll’s theory of coherence, Enkvist’s theory of coherence, Topical Structure Analysis, and Toulmin’s Model. Based upon the synthesis, 16 variables were generated. Across these 16 variables, Hotelling t-test statistical analysis was conducted to predict differences in argumentative coherence between essays written by two groups of participants. In order to complement the statistical analysis, I conducted 30 interviews of the writers in the studies. Participants’ responses were analyzed with open and axial coding. By analyzing the empirical data, I refined the conceptual model by adding more categories and establishing associations among them.
The study found that U.S. students made use of more pronominal reference. Chinese students adopted more lexical devices of reiteration and extended paralleling progression. The interview data implied that the difference may be associated with the difference in linguistic features and rhetorical conventions in Chinese and English. As far as Toulmin’s Model is concerned, Chinese students scored higher on data than their U.S. peers. According to the interview data, this may be due to the fact that Toulmin’s Model, modified as three elements of arguments, have been widely and long taught in Chinese writing instruction while U.S. interview participants said that they were not taught to write essays according to Toulmin’s Model. Implications were generated from the process of textual data analysis and the formulation of structural model defining coherence. These implications were aimed at informing writing instruction, assessment, peer-review, and self-revision.
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Loy, Kumiko Honjo 1950. "Evaluation of Japanese Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu essay organization vis a vis the English Five Part Essay by native English speaking college composition students and implications for contrastive rhetoric." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/276809.
Full textAbstract:
College composition students and graduate assistant teachers were tested for their perceptions of coherence, focus, organization, and overall quality of essays written in the Japanese Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu rhetorical pattern of organization as opposed to the English Five Part Essay style of organization where the experimental essays were otherwise identical. These perceptions were measured on a 4-point Lykert scale. The composition students were also tested for their total recall of the essays. The data were analyzed by ANOVA, and no significant effect for treatment was observed. The results of this study suggest that for the Japanese Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu/English Five Part Essay pair the negative effects of native language rhetorical pattern on readers of the second language may be less important than the theory of contrastive rhetoric would suggest. Consequently, alternative forms of possible cultural interference such as cultural background knowledge (content) and the role played by writing in a culture warrant greater scrutiny.
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Gieser, Julianna Hawkins. "Academic stress and the transition from a national school to an English-speaking school." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), access this title online Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) Access this title online, 2005. http://www.tren.com.
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Minh, Bui Thi Hong [Verfasser], Carola [Akademischer Betreuer] Surkamp, Henning [Gutachter] Klöter, and Birgit [Gutachter] Schädlich. "Developing the speaking competences of primary school students in english as a foreign through drama activities / Bui Thi Hong Minh ; Gutachter: Henning Klöter, Birgit Schädlich ; Betreuer: Carola Surkamp." Göttingen : Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1155587618/34.
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makondo, Davison. "The effects of the language of instruction on the perfomance of the Tsonga (Shangani) speaking grade seven pupils in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1153.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Educational Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2012This research project was an endeavor to investigate the effects of the languages of instruction (English and Shona), to teach Tsonga (Shangani) speaking children in Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe. Because of the nature of the study, a mixed method design was used where both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted to study the performance of the Tsonga (Shangani) minority language speaking learners in five purposively sampled schools. 222 learners participated in the study. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the language instruction in teaching Tsonga (Shangani) speaking Grade Seven children in Environmental Science. In fact, the researcher was interested in finding out whether teaching learners in a foreign language was a bridge or barrier to learning. In this case, the research did not only look at the effect of using English for instructional purposes, but also investigated how other major or dominant indigenous languages which are used for instructional purposes affect the performance of minority language speaking children in Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe. Data for this study were collected using lesson observation, document analysis, the questionnaire and a knowledge test. In this case, fifteen lessons were observed. Fifteen Tsonga (Shangani) speaking Grade Seven learners per school were purposively selected and taught in Tsonga (Shangani) only and the other fifteen Shona speaking Grade Seven children per school were also purposively selected and taught the same topic in Shona, and a third group of fifteen Grade Seven learners per school, were randomly selected and taught in English only. A knowledge test was given to each group thereafter. Children from each language condition were allowed to answer questions in their home languages, except for the third group which was taught in English. This group answered the questions in English with the restricted use of Shona. Each of the test results from the knowledge tests were analysed using a One Way Anova of Variance (ANOVA) and conclusions drawn. The results from other data collection instruments were analysed using qualitative methods like narrative discussions of data. A sample of five learners per school had their exercise books analysed. Data were presented in tables. The results from the knowledge tests given showed a significant difference in the mean marks obtained from the three groups (the Shangani, Shona and English group). The result showed that language has a significant influence on the performance of learners since the p – value was 0.000. This implies that the performance of learners between the three groups is significantly different. On the basis of these observations, the Null hypothesis was rejected. The same picture was also shown in document analysis and in the questionnaires. Consequently, conclusions were drawn and recommendations made.
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Kim, Soonhyang. "Active verbal participation in U.S. classrooms perceptions of East Asian international graduate students /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1174408526.
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Davies, Susan. "English language skills of minority language children in a French Immersion program." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24625.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the English language skills of minority language children (experimental group) in a early total French Immersion program by comparing them with those of English-speaking children in French Immersion (English control group), and with those of minority language children in a regular English program (minority control group). Ten grade one children comprised each of the three groups of children. Listening comprehension of English was assessed using two standardized tests of English comprehension (the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Token Test for Children). English speaking skills were assessed using the Clark-Madison Test of Oral Language (a standardized test) and a ten to fifteen minute language sample. English metalinguistic skills were assessed with a phoneme deletion task used by Rosner & Simon (1971) and with two tasks used by Pratt, Tunmer & Bowey (1984): a morpheme correction task and a word order correction task. Questionnaires were used to assess attitudes towards the minority language and culture and to determine the children's home and language background. It was hypothesized that the English language skills of the experimental group would be at least as good as those of the English control group and the minority control group. The results supported the hypotheses. The experimental group did as well as the English control group on all of the measures of English comprehension and production tested. The minority control group scored lower than the English control group on all measures of English comprehension and production. They scored lower than the experimental group on the comprehension of complex commands and on the Clark-Madison Test of Oral Language. The three groups scored similarly on all of the metalinguistic tasks except on the morpheme correction task, where the minority control group scored lower than the English control group. Results support the suitability of early total French Immersion for minority language children who have their first language and culture valued and maintained.Medicine, Faculty of
Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of
Graduate
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Zhao, Aiping. "Foreign language reading anxiety investigating English-speaking university students learning Chinese as a foreign language in the United States /." 2009. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03012009-174343/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2009.Advisors: Susan Wood, Deborah Hasson, Florida State University, College of Education, School of Teacher Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed July 6, 2009). Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 155 pages. Includes bibliographical references.
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Chen, Jian-Jhong, and 陳建中. "An Investigation of Non-English Major Students’ Perceptions of a Foreign Teacher’s Teaching in English Listening and Speaking Class." Thesis, 2006. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/87798837005197032973.
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碩士國立屏東科技大學
技術及職業教育研究所
94
The main purpose of this study was to investigate twelve non-English major students’ perceptions of a foreign teacher’s teaching in English listening and speaking class. This study was based on the student perceptions survey report of University of Kansas to divide students’ perceptions into six aspects. They were instruction, faculty help outside the classroom, opportunities for intellectual challenge, overall educational experiences, English language ability of instructors, and development of course schedules. The results were as follows: 1. Foreign English teacher’s teaching attitude was very patient, discreet, and conscientious. 2. Students were not accepted repetitive topic. 3. Owing to students’ indifferent English ability and passive motivation, they couldn’t perform very well in the class activities. 4. Faculty at school didn’t completely achieve their supporting statement for English education and courses. 5. Students perpetrated carpetbag and rigged action on the English proficiency Test. 6. Students felt English language ability of teacher was very clear and fluent. 7. Students felt positive perceptions about foreign English teacher arranged course schedule according to students’ major. 8. Students felt their English listening and speaking course lost its coherence. 9. Faculty at school and foreign English teacher should arrange appropriate course content for students to pass graduated English proficiency test. Some suggestions were provided in this study for further researcher to refer to.
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Minh, Bui Thi Hong. "Developing the speaking competences of primary school students in english as a foreign through drama activities." Doctoral thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E3A8-2.
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Rattanapatniyom, Rynyarat, and Rynyarat Rattanapatniyom. "Exploring the Role of Positive Mental Imagery in Public Speaking Performance of English as Foreign Language Taiwanese College Students." Thesis, 2018. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/fh42pf.
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碩士亞洲大學
心理學系
106
Abstract Objective. The study explored the role of Positive Mental Imagery (PMI) in public speaking performance including speaking scores, public speaking confidence (PSC), public speaking anxiety (PSA), and speech disfluencies among English as foreign language (EFL) Taiwanese college students. Method. Twenty-two students (18 females, 4 males aged 18-24) voluntarily participated in this experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the PMI or control group. Both groups attended a public speaking contest. The PMI group received the PMI training as the treatment which included PMI education, and practice before the speech contest. PSA was measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. PSC was assessed by A short-form of the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker. Speech disfluencies were counted. Speaking scores were rated by five judges. Results. The PMI scores of PMI group increased significantly after PMI training. There were no significant differences between the control and PMI groups in public speaking performance including speaking scores, PSA, PSC and public speaking disfluencies (p = .71, .84, .80, and .62 respectively). For participants as a whole, traveling in an English-speaking country and PSC successfully predicted speaking scores (p = .002 and .020 respectively) while speaking scores was the successful predictor towards PSC (p = .006). Conclusion. In addition to native speakers, PMI training effectively improved PMI scores of EFL college students in Taiwan. Public speaking performance were predicted by college students’ prior experience, such as traveling in an English-speaking country and public speaking confidence. Keywords: public speaking anxiety, mental imagery, visualization, positive thinking, EFL speakers
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Wissing, Robin John. "Language contact and interference in the acquisition of English proficiency by Bantu-speaking students." Diss., 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/3370.
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This study analyses the causes of error in the written english of black senior
secondary pupils and teacher trainees. Using Error Analysis and Contrastive
Analysis in a form known as Interference Analysis and covering a full range of
grammatical, syntactical and lexical issues! erroneous items in English are
compared with the same items in the learners' first language in order to isolate
an identify such errors. Analysis of these errors shows which are due to
direct interlingual transfer which are not completely attributable to direct
transfer, and which are intralingual, the result of idiosyncratic language
usage or merely mistakes rather than errors. While recognizing the degree
to which Black learners' language habits have become fossilized and the extent
to which standerdized errors form part of the English used by Bantu-speaking
students, this study sets out to improve proficiency in English by explaining the
the causes of error and by suggesting possible remedial approaches.English Studies
M.A. (English)
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Everley, Rebecca. "Perceptions of useful teaching methods and activities: A comparative study between faculty and international undergraduate non-native English speaking (NNES) students." Diss., 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/39435.
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Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Educational Leadership
Jeffrey T. Zacharakis
This quantitative study surveyed both the faculty and international undergraduate non-native English speaking (NNES) undergraduate students to see what they perceived as being useful to the students’ learning. This research was done at Kansas State University (K-State), which is Midwestern land grant university. The research consisted of two surveys, one for faculty teaching undergraduate students and one for international undergraduate NNES students. The survey instruments were created by the researcher based on literature about teaching NNES students, first year college students, and student-centered teaching practices. The survey asked the participants to choose how useful they perceived different activities to be on a scale ranging from one (extremely useful) to five (not at all useful). The survey items on the two surveys mirrored one another, so that the results could be compared. The researcher collected and analyzed the data from the surveys. The data was first analyzed to find the descriptive statistics for each data set. The mean for each of the six variables (the need for explicit instruction, the prevention of plagiarism, the use of visual aids, the usefulness of in-class activities, the usefulness of out-of-class activities, and the use of linguistic modifications) was calculated, as well as the mean for each item. For all the variables, the student mean scores were lower than faculty mean scores, indicating that the student participants perceived the survey items as more useful than faculty did. Each item pair was analyzed using a t-tests to see if any item had a statistically significance difference, using p < .05. There were 36 pairs and 24 pairs were found to be statistically significant.
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Yang, Tae-kyoung Chang Hua-Hua. "Measurement of Korean EFL college students' foreign language classroom speaking anxiety evidence of psychometric properties and accuracy of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) with dichotomously scored items using a CAT simulation /." 2005. http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/2199/yangt52868.pdf.
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Ma, Tsung-Chi, and 馬宗祺. "An Investigation of Applied Foreign Language Students’ Learning Anxiety, Learning Styles and Learning Strategies in English Speaking Courses-A Case of Chaoyang University of Technology." Thesis, 2009. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/32460787745595698188.
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碩士朝陽科技大學
應用外語研究所
97
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level, preferred learning styles and learning strategies used among English majored students in English speaking courses. The participants of this study were 251 students majored in Applied Foreign Languages at one university of technology in central Taiwan. The major instruments were two questionnaires, including The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), English Class Learning Strategies Questionnaire (ECLSQ) and learning style open-ended questionnaire. In the data collection, the participants’ anxiety level, learning styles and learning strategies were described in descriptive statistics. The differences on anxiety level, learning styles and learning strategies between day school/night school and male/female students were analyzed and computed by an Independent T-test. The results of this study indicated the anxiety level, major learning strategies and learning styles of the AFL students in CYUT. The findings of this research may provide enough information for the future curriculum design and also better understanding of the CYUT AFL students.
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"Social networks, intercultural adjustment and self-identities: multiple-case studies of PRC students from a Hong Kong university who participated in a semester-long exchange program in an English-speaking country." 2013. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5884328.
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Cui, Jiaying.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 410-426).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstract also in Chinese.
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Yang, Tae-kyoung. "Measurement of Korean EFL college students' foreign language classroom speaking anxiety: evidence of psychometric properties and accuracy of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) with dichotomously scored items using a CAT simulation." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/2199.
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Kitaw, Yoseph Zewdu. "Active learning in teaching English language support courses to first-year students in some Ethiopian universities." Diss., 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/22745.
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The general aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of active learning approaches in the teaching of English Language support courses to first-year university students. The study was planned to identify factors that affected the implementation of active learning in classrooms where English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is taught, the perceptions of EFL instructors and their students regarding active learning, the linkage between assessment practices and productive skills, and the commonly used types of active learning techniques. The study was conducted in three Ethiopian universities and employed a qualitative approach to data generation and analysis. As such, data generation strategies focused on relevant documents, classroom observation, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. The participants of the study included 27 EFL instructors and their students (17 groups of focus group discussion), enrolled for English Language support courses at freshman level. Based on my analysis of the data, the primary barriers to the implementation of active learning techniques in EFL classrooms were as follows:
Students’ poor background exposure to the English language;
Students’ negative associations with language learning;
EFL instructors’ ineffective classroom management;
The adverse influence of students’ external social environments;
Dependency in group work;
low relevance of English Language support courses;
Lack of administrative support from Universities.
The participants of the study were aware of the importance of active learning and student-centred approaches and in favour of the implementation thereof. Despite this, they did not feel that they practised them effectively in the teaching and learning process. In fact, the instructors explained that, in the face of very unfavourable circumstances for active learning and student-centred approaches, they felt utterly disappointed, with no sense of achievement, when attempting to use these approaches in their classrooms; they did not believe that the existing situation was conducive to the implementation of active learning and student-centred approach. Furthermore, these EFL instructors did not use a variety of active learning techniques in the teaching and learning process of English supportive courses. The dominant techniques they used were group work and pair work. They did not utilise alternative techniques to teach essential productive skills (i.e. speaking and writing).The participants also indicated that the assessment techniques they used were not closely related to lesson objectives or language learning goals in the development of productive skills. The relationship between assessment types and active learning techniques was characterised by traditional pencil-and-paper tests designed solely for grading purposes; and not to improve the actual learning process. In grading, the weight given to productive skills was very small in contrast to that assigned to receptive skills (i.e. listening and reading), grammar and vocabulary. Their relationship involved teaching simply to prepare students for tests, irrelevant and untimely feedback, substandard assessment, absence of dynamism in the two-dimensional assessment techniques, and incongruence between assessment techniques and actual language skills and competence. In relation to feedback, both the students and their instructors pointed out that EFL students were more concerned with their grades than with the potential to learn when receiving feedback on their writing or oral presentations. In line with these findings, this thesis concluded by offering relevant recommendations for alleviating the problems observed in the teaching of English language support courses - both in general and with particular regard to productive skills development.Curriculum and Instructional Studies
D. Ed. (Didactics)
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Гачегова, М. О., and M. O. Gachegova. "Особенности обучения говорению на английском языке студентов творческих специальностей в учреждениях среднего профессионального образования : магистерская диссертация." Master's thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10995/80657.
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This master's thesis study is devoted to the features of teaching speaking students of creative specialties. The structure of the work consists of two chapters: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part discusses the main directions in teaching students to speak at non-linguistic faculties, age and psychological characteristics of students in secondary vocational education institutions and the most common methods and techniques for teaching speaking. The second chapter on the basis of the educational-methodical complex of exercises for teaching speaking of this group of students is described, created in addition to the main textbook. Experimental-search proved the effectiveness of using such a manual in English lessons for students of creative specialties, such as music and acting. Some provisions of the dissertation research are presented and published in the scientific article "The possibilities of musical art in mastering the English language by students of creative specialties" in the scientific journal "Meridian" under the editorship of Yu. I. Zhegusov in January 2020.Данное магистерское диссертационное исследование посвящено особенностям обучения говорению студентов творческих специальностей. Структура работы состоит из двух глав: теоретической и практической. В теоретической части рассматриваются основные направления в обучении говорению студентов на неязыковых факультетах, возрастные и психологические особенности обучающихся учреждений среднего профессионального образования и наиболее распространенные методы и приемы по обучении говорению. Во второй главе на основе описывается учебно-методический комплекс упражнений на обучение говорению данной группы студентов, созданный в дополнение к основному учебнику. Опытно-поисковым путем доказана эффективность использования такого пособия на уроках английского языка у студентов творческих специальностей, таких как музыка и актерское мастерство. Некоторые положения диссертационного исследования представлены и опубликованы в научной статье «Возможности музыкального искусства в освоении английского языка студентами творческих специальностей» в научном журнале «Меридиан» под ред. Ю. И. Жегусова в январе 2020 года.