With the internet becoming not just a social space, but also a learning space, schools and other educational institutions have started utilizing online learning platforms for students and teachers to create meaningful, social, and collaborative relationships. Recognized as educational contexts, these spaces have allowed students, particularly in higher education, to form and represent their identities. The current study aimed to investigate how language teacher-researcher (LTR) identity emerges through online posts and multimodal features in asynchronous online discussion forums. As online discussion forums are becoming a staple learning activity in many university classes, this study has identified the kinds of posts students use in these forums, the multimodal features of these forums that enable identity development, and the types of LTR identities that have emerged in these forums. The current study has utilized multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) that examined the use of these forums in two PhD graduate classes on language education, and online interviews of selected graduate students (n=5). Results have revealed that the majority of the posts were self-presentation of the individual’s research expertise, application of learned concepts, and critical assessment of their peers. Responses from the interviews also uncovered the multimodal features that enable the presentation of LTR identities in these forums, and the emerging LTR identities in this particular context. As implications of the study, the effects and potential of asynchronous discussion forums in identity development were discussed.
The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of the Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) course on pre-service generalist teachers’ belief sets. To achieve the aim of the study, a sequential explanatory mixed method was conducted as a research design. In the quantitative phase, a one-group pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design was implemented on 75 senior pre-service generalist teachers at a Turkish state university via a questionnaire on beliefs about teaching English to young learners. The findings elicited from descriptive scores as means and inferential statistics as Mann-Whitney U 4 Wilcoxon Signed Ranks statistics showed that no difference was observed between the tests, but relatively high mean scores in beliefs about children’s English development and mediocre mean scores in self-efficacy were found. The unexpected results in the first phase led to a more qualitative investigation by consulting the same participants through reflective reports. Content analysis supplemented the quantitative findings with the emerged themes at the level of the educational system deciphered with causal codes. The emergent codes and themes included a shortage of enjoyable learning environments, the negative impact of teachers, curriculum, national exams, compulsory TEYL course, online basic English course, and workload of generalist teachers; and individual attributions coded in lack of self-confidence in English proficiency, dislike of English, speaking anxiety, and worry about making mistakes. On the grounds of the findings, several educational implications were also proposed.
In pursuit of internationalisation, Malaysia undertook the alignment of its English language curriculum with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in 2017. This step prompted a comprehensive restructuring of materials, assessments, and teaching methods for all English language teachers, while simultaneously creating distinctive high-stakes scenarios for their rural counterparts compared to those in urban areas. With the use of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and seven semi-structured interviews, this mixed-method study, involving descriptive, correlation, and thematic analysis explored the level of underprivileged teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs (TSEB), the relationship between TSEB with the frequency of training attended, and issues regarding the newly implemented curriculum that might affect their TSEB. The quantitative findings revealed that rural schoolteachers possessed high levels of TSEB in all three dimensions: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. It was also reported that there was no significant relationship between TSEB and the frequency of training attended. However, the outcome of the semi-structured interview contradicted the quantitative findings in which most respondents indicated that CEFR-related training, along with teaching materials and assessment, could affect their TSEB, especially in dealing with the new curriculum. The rationale behind these findings was discussed, and pertinent recommendations were outlined at the end of the study.
The importance of teaching and learning academic vocabulary can never be underestimated by instructors and English language learners (ELLs), since the manner in which academic vocabulary is taught and learnt varies. It is generally believed that explicit vocabulary instruction is more effective for English Language Learners (ELLs) than implicit instruction in developing academic vocabulary, although explicit instruction has some minor drawbacks. Further implicit instruction in vocabulary teaching appears to be unsuitable because it does often not assist ELLs in learning new words. Although implicit instruction, such as guessing word meaning from context clues, is common in teaching practice, it may be more effective for advanced learners because they can better understand unfamiliar vocabulary from context. In many cases, learners with lower language proficiency, and even advanced learners encountering unfamiliar texts or topics, may find it difficult to infer vocabulary meanings from context. That is why, to solidify the efficacy of explicit instruction, this review aims to (i) conceptualize teaching academic vocabulary from major theoretical perspectives; (ii) examine the major types of instruction; and (iii) show efficacy of explicit instruction in teaching academic vocabulary.
Prompted by limited investigations on perceptions about effective English teachers from Teacher Professional Education Program (TPEP) students, this study aims to elicit information regarding the most important characteristics of an effective English teacher. A total of forty TPEP students majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT) at a university in Sumatra Island, a province of Indonesia, were recruited. Data were collected by using a questionnaire adapted from Park and Lee (2006), Ramazani (2014), and Kwangsawad (2017) and then analyzed descriptively. The results showed that, in terms of pedagogical knowledge, the TPEP students perceived monitoring students’ understanding during instruction and preparing the lesson well as the most important characteristics. Regarding subject-matter competence, the respondents considered mastering the teaching materials and knowing about the core and basic competences stated in the national curriculum as essential abilities that effective English teachers should have. Discussing teacher-student relationships, the most important characteristics were treating the students fairly, not discriminating against them, and encouraging them to develop self-confidence. In terms of personal qualities, the most important characteristics were being confident and having an interest in their job. The findings indicate that TPEP students have a sufficient understanding of characteristics that make English teachers effective.
