Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English: 2 (2)

Open Access Article

1 - Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Development, Creativity and Reflectivity
Mehdi Abbasi Fatemeh Behjat Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri

Teachers are generally believed to be one of the most important elements in the success of any educational scheme. Therefore, it is vitally important that teachers be well-prepared when they begin teaching and continue to improve their knowledge and skills throughout th More

Teachers are generally believed to be one of the most important elements in the success of any educational scheme. Therefore, it is vitally important that teachers be well-prepared when they begin teaching and continue to improve their knowledge and skills throughout their careers. Despite the plethora of studies in teachers’ professional development, there is uncertainty about the relationships between teachers' professional development and their capacity for creative and reflective thinking. Additionally, how these elements might fit into the larger context of teachers' professional lives is under question. The present study was designed to explore the Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions towards professional development, creativity and reflectivity. To do so, 10 EFL teachers were asked to participate in a semi-structured interview. The results indicated that teachers’ professional development, creative and reflective thinking contribute to developing language learners’ language proficiency and motivation. The findings of this study assist teacher educators when these factors are included in language teacher education programs, it helps second/foreign language learners promote their proficiency in different areas of language learning. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - Does Intensive versus Extensive Textual Enhancement Affect L2 Development?
Farzaneh Bahadori Mohammad Bavali Mohammad Javad Riasati Samad Mirza Suzani

Despite the deep ocean of knowledge on language learning and teaching, the need for further proof of inconsistent data and the demand to stay updated with the context is inventible. This need inspired the present study concerning the effect of extensive versus intensive More

Despite the deep ocean of knowledge on language learning and teaching, the need for further proof of inconsistent data and the demand to stay updated with the context is inventible. This need inspired the present study concerning the effect of extensive versus intensive TEs on grammatical and lexical growth in L2 (English as a Second Language). A quasi-experimental design was applied on 61 ESL students in three intermediate groups. They were divided into two experimental groups, including an intensive TE group and an extensive TE group, and a control group to join five treatment sessions. An Oxford test was first applied, followed by an oral and a written test as the pretest. Similar versions of the oral and written tests were used as the posttest. The findings of ANOVA demonstrated a facilitative effect for intensive TEs on L2 learning. The Tukey's post hoc results showed that the intensive TE group outperformed the extensive TE group and the control group in both tests. The findings provide a deep insight of the teaching methodologies to the educational community. Prospective teachers can also consolidate their knowledge by an accurate insight into the right approach within the relevant context. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - A Comparative Study of the Effect of Explicit and Implicit Pronunciation Instruction on Critical Thinking and Listening Comprehension of English Language Learners
Mohammad Darijani Mehry Haddad Narafshan Leila Anjomshoa

Communication in English and critical thinking are two essential 21st-century competencies. A variety of teaching and learning techniques are being developed to equip students with these skills and meet the challenges of global competition. Critical thinking skills shou More

Communication in English and critical thinking are two essential 21st-century competencies. A variety of teaching and learning techniques are being developed to equip students with these skills and meet the challenges of global competition. Critical thinking skills should be developed and transferred through education, but there are few empirical studies available to help educators decide how to enhance critical thinking in the classroom. Accordingly, the present mixed-methods study scrutinized the impact of explicit and implicit pronunciation instruction on the critical thinking and listening comprehension of English language learners. Over 6 months, two groups of 34 English language learners were exposed to pronunciation instruction (explicit mediators using phonetic rules, and implicit mediators without phonetic rules), and a control group of 17 students received no pronunciation instruction. Pre-tests and post-tests were used to measure learners’ improvement in critical thinking and listening comprehension. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were used to show the participants’ reflections regarding pronunciation instruction. The results of the data analysis revealed no significant change for the control group, but significant progress was found for both experimental groups’ listening comprehension and critical thinking, especially the explicit group. Besides, the qualitative analysis showed that pronunciation instruction increased phonological awareness, listening improvement, and a sense of being analytic among participants in the explicit pronunciation group. Moreover, pronunciation instruction increased listening improvement among implicit pronunciation group participants. In brief, the findings suggest that helping students learn critical thinking skills does not require a comprehensive reorganization of the high school curriculum. It is possible to offer a critical thinking program like this during the school day without seriously disrupting the school’s already full schedule. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - EFL Teachers' Professional Development Needs: A Comparative Phenomenological Analysis for Face-to-Face and Online Instruction
Hossein Isaee Hamed Barjesteh

Teachers must be prepared to shift from face-to-face to online classes in emergencies like COVID-19. Fortunately, electronic learning made teaching a second or foreign language online possible. Online teaching requires EFL teachers to acquire new knowledge, skills, and More

Teachers must be prepared to shift from face-to-face to online classes in emergencies like COVID-19. Fortunately, electronic learning made teaching a second or foreign language online possible. Online teaching requires EFL teachers to acquire new knowledge, skills, and competencies. Professional development (PD) is necessary to assist teachers in developing new pedagogies and competencies and coping with recent roles in online learning contexts. In effect, this study aimed to screen EFL teachers' main professional development needs for quality teaching in both face-to-face and online environments. By employing a theoretical sampling technique, the researchers conducted phenomenological research and interviewed 18 experienced EFL teachers who had practiced online teaching during Pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were held, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The interviews were analysed using open, axial, and selective coding. Finally, it was manifested that EFL teachers have six PD needs for face-to-face classes namely pedagogical, language knowledge, classroom management, assessment, educational psychology, and material development needs. Moreover, findings revealed that EFL teachers' PD needs for online teaching could be classified into five main categories including pedagogical, content, designing and technological, communication and social skills, and classroom management needs. It is concluded that EFL teachers might feel uncomfortable teaching online courses because of the many roles and responsibilities. Therefore, it is necessary to determine EFL teachers' PD needs and competencies so that teacher educators and language institutes can design PD programs for online teachers. Findings have theoretical and practical implications for electronic learning experts, EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and language institutions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Functional Analysis of Transition Markers in Academic Students' Essays: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
Azadeh Mallaki Seyed Foad Ebrahimi Mohammad Taghi Farvardin

Transition markers contribute as necessary metadiscoursal devices facilitating the reader’s comprehension and improving cohesion in an academic text. Transition represents a change from an idea to the other in writing, fulfilled by the use of transition terms or p More

Transition markers contribute as necessary metadiscoursal devices facilitating the reader’s comprehension and improving cohesion in an academic text. Transition represents a change from an idea to the other in writing, fulfilled by the use of transition terms or phrases. English writing classes are increasingly focusing on using transitional words and phrases (Lili 2021). Thus, the current paper aims to examine the frequency and functions of transition markers in students’ academic essays. Hence, 100 essays (making a total of 293.692 words) were chosen from the Michigan Corpus of Upper-Level Student Papers (MICUSP) and analyzed according to Hyland's (2005) classification of transition into type and function. It was shown that transition markers had enough frequency to be considered in teaching writing. The results confirmed the links among ideas internal and external to the text. It was also indicated that transition markers mainly used signal additive, causative, and contrastive functions between the main clauses or statements. Moreover, the research results can be directly applied to syllabus design for academic essay writing. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - Determining the Effect of Flipped Classroom Model (FCM) towards EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension Achievement and Perspectives
Welly Ardiansyah Risnawati - Zakaria - Wasitoh Meirani

The aim of conducting this study is to investigate flipped classroom model effects on students’ achievement in reading comprehension and perspectives. The methodology used was quantitative with quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design. They were divid More

The aim of conducting this study is to investigate flipped classroom model effects on students’ achievement in reading comprehension and perspectives. The methodology used was quantitative with quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design. They were divided into two groups based on purposive sampling, each with 25 students. A multiple-choice reading comprehension test with forty items and a questionnaire with thirty items made up the research tools. The questionnaires' reliability and validity were evaluated with the Pearson Correlation test. The Cronbach's Alpha with the significance level 5% at (0.308) was 0.882. The data were examined using the paired sample t-test. A Likert Scale was used to analyze students’ perspectives towards flipped classroom model. The results of the study showed that (1) there was a significant difference in reading comprehension achievement between students who were taught with flipped classroom model compared to that of those who were not (16.00000 ˃ 6.50000), and (2) the results of students’ questionnaire indicated that based on the Cohen's d effect size calculation the relationship between the variables was 1.5059 (1.00>), and the effect size was strong (1.00>) range meaning that students have a positive perception of the teaching of reading comprehension by using Flipped classroom model. Therefore, it is recommended that English lecturers may use flipped classroom model in their respective schools and use resources for enhancing students’ reading comprehension achievement. Manuscript profile

XML

List of Articles