EFL Studies - Page 3

The Role of Congruency in Collocation Acquisition: A Case Study of Vietnamese Students Learning English Adjective + Noun Collocations

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547 views

Ngoc Thai Bao Pham
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ORCID: 0000-0001-5070-678X. Email: phamthaibaongoc@hcmussh.edu.vn

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April-May, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n1.05
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Abstract

Collocational competence is of critical importance to EFL learners’ language proficiency. Due to limited research on L1 influence on L2 learners’ development of receptive and productive knowledge of adjective + noun collocations, especially in the context of Vietnam, this study is an attempt to address these gaps by investigating whether Vietnamese learners could recognize and use congruent English adjective + noun collocations more accurately than incongruent ones. Data were collected from 72 English-major undergraduates in a Vietnamese university who completed three collocational tests: the Receptive Knowledge Test, the Productive Knowledge Test, and the paragraph-writing test. Results showed that, in contrast to language transfer theory, congruent collocations posed considerably more problems for the students in identifying the well-formed lexical combinations and using them accurately in writing. These findings highlight the importance of explicitly teaching congruent and incongruent collocations in EFL classrooms.

Keywords: congruency, language transfer, congruent collocation, incongruent collocation, adjective + noun collocation

Exploring the Effect of LearnEnglish Grammar Mobile App on English Language Learners Grammatical Competence

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Nguyen Ngoc Vu1, Truong Le Hai2, Tran Ngoc Ha3, Bui Duc Tien4
1Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology. ORCID: 0000-0002-3592-7813. Email: vunn@huflit.edu.vn
2Thoai Ngoc Hau high school for the gifted. ORCID: 0000-0002-7417-2222. Email: truonglehai1983@gmail.com
3Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages – Information Technology. ORCID: 0000-0001-6238-5303. Email: hatn@huflit.edu.vn
4Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. ORCID: 0000-0002-1782-4925. Email: tienbd@hcmue.edu.vn

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n1.04
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Abstract

This study aimed to explore the impact of the LearnEnglish Grammar app on the grammatical accuracy of 10th-grade students at a gifted high school. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the researchers randomly assigned students to either an experimental group that used the app for grammar lessons or a control group that received traditional grammar instruction. The results revealed that the LearnEnglish Grammar mobile app significantly enhanced the experimental group’s grammar competence compared to the control group. Most learners demonstrated a positive attitude towards the app and expressed an interest in incorporating it into their language studies. These findings support the comprehensive integration of mobile learning in English grammar education to improve student achievement and lay the groundwork for future research on the effectiveness of mobile learning applications across various school subjects.

Keywords: mobile learning, grammar competency, teaching grammar, LearningEnglish Grammar app.

A Conceptual Framework for Inclusive Pedagogy in South African Multilingual Higher Education Classrooms

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399 views

Quinta Kemende Wunseh
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. ORCID:  0000-0002-9223-0641. Email: quinta.kemendewunseh@wits.ac.za

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April-May, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n1.03 
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Abstract

In addition to the linguistic diversity of South African nationals, the growing number of international students from other countries, especially from Africa, has made language-related issues in South African university classrooms more complex. The teaching-learning process is very challenging with linguistically heterogeneous learners with different symbols and meanings that influence the way they learn and could be a source of exclusion and a barrier to effective learning outcomes. Hence, this paper aims to shed light on strategies and practices contributing to engendering inclusive pedagogy in diverse classroom settings, especially in multilingual university classrooms. To address this, this literature review used secondary sources collected through an in-depth review of academic journals, books, and doctoral dissertations using Google Scholar. The textual analysis showed that enablers of inclusive pedagogy in South African multilingual higher education classrooms include translanguaging, continuous lecturer professional development on inclusivity, use of audio-visuals, continuous evaluation of lecturers and inclusive policies, providing learners with requisite skills, lecturers’ knowledge of learners’ diversity, and lecturer’s self-awareness and preparedness to deal with linguistically diverse learners. This resulted in a potential conceptual framework for inclusive pedagogy in multilingual South African higher education undergraduate university classrooms. The results have implications for language policy, practice, and research.

Keywords: conceptual framework, review of literature, inclusive pedagogy, multilingualism, higher education

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How Textual Production Processes Shape English Language Teaching Research Discourse

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641 views

Theron Muller
Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Toyama. ORCID: 0000-0001-9690-3738. Email: theron@las.u-toyama.ac.jp

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April-May, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n1.02 
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Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of researching textual production processes in writing for academic publication in language teaching research by outlining how two papers were shaped by the journal submission and review process. Using a critical discourse analysis lens and text history analysis, the authors’ difficulties in interpreting reviewer comments are illustrated along with how their manuscripts were transformed from initially pedagogy-focused texts to more research-focused at publication. The implications of this analysis for understanding authors’ publishing practices and the persistent, problematic teaching-research divide in the language teaching field are discussed. Further, the research methods used demonstrate the importance of examining the processes underlying textual production.

Keywords: Text histories, writing for publication, teaching-research divide, critical discourse analysis (CDA), text history analysis

Enhancing College Students’ Intercultural Competence through International Electronic-Service-Learning

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524 views

I-Jane Janet Weng
Department of English, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan. ORCID: 0000-0003-4718-2000. Email: 89012@gap.wzu.edu.tw

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 1, April-May, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n1.01 
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Abstract

International Electronic-Service-Learning (eSL) is regarded as a pedagogical innovation, yet very few research studies focus on it. During COVID-19, seventeen Taiwanese student volunteers joined an international e-service-learning program, taking turns teaching English online for one semester to one year to primary school students in a remote village in Cambodia. This study employed a qualitative case study research design. It analyzed how an eSL program impacted Taiwanese students regarding intercultural communicative competence development. Research data included in-depth interviews, student reflection journals, bi-weekly meeting minutes, voice recordings of final presentations, and teacher’s field journals. Byram’s intercultural communicative competence framework was adopted to code the data and establish learning outcomes. Results found that the college student-volunteers enhanced their intercultural competence; this ranged from understanding real-life situations in Cambodia to empathizing with others, making cultural comparisons, and developing better interaction and communication. Most importantly, it showed that it had the potential to transform the student volunteers into intercultural citizens who began to question the taken-for-granted convention in their own life experiences critically. They became more willing to take responsibility for their own lives and those of the global community.

Keywords: international e-service-learning, intercultural competence, intercultural citizenship, service-learning, international volunteers

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Social Media and COVID -19 Pandemic: Accelerating the Learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

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634 views

Tawhida Akhter
Assistant Professor, Department of English Literature, College of Sciences and Literature in Sajir, Shaqra University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ORCID: 0000-0003-4149-4855. Email: tawhida@su.edu.sa

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December, 2022. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n4.24
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Abstract

COVID-19 began in China (2019) and spread to other nations and become a world pandemic (2020). The news media and social media platforms have played an important role in information dissemination about the Coronavirus throughout the world. During COVID-19 Pandemic, social media has become a key tool for enhancing social networking and information sharing via the web. As more people turn to the internet for health information, social media platforms are helping to spread life-saving precautions that individuals, families, and communities may take to reduce their chance of contracting the virus. Language learners are linked to interactive social media platforms in Social Media Language Learning. The goal of this study was to look at the role of social media during COVID in foreign language acquisition. The participants in this study were Saudi Arabian college students. The study’s sample comprised 200 (n=200) college students, and the social media platforms investigated included Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat and other platforms. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. The results indicated that the students used various social media platforms in order to get the appropriate information about the virus which indirectly helped and motivated them to learn a new language. These learners lack the self-motivation needed to use social media to develop their English language abilities. The study discovered that adopting online social media during a pandemic for English language learning had a significant impact on interactions with peers and teachers.

Keywords: Social Media, COVID-19 Pandemic, popularity, information, Youtube, Twitter, Fecebook, Instragram. EFL Learning.

Preparing Students for Post Covid-19 Transnational Study with Unassisted Repeated Reading and Extensive Reading Materials

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552 views

Ngô, T. T. Vân1 & John R. Baker2
1Binh Duong University, Thu Dau Mot City, Vietnam. Email: nttvan@bdu.edu.vn
2Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ORCID: 0000-0003-3379-4751. Email: drjohnrbaker@tdtu.edu.vn

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December, 2022. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n4.20
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Abstract

As Covid-19 restrictions promise to loosen and international borders begin to open, transnational students are again preparing for language education abroad. However, due to students’ low reading rates (RRs), target institutions’ courses’ large reading demands pose potential challenges to students’ success. To address this, this study explored the potential of employing an unassisted repeated reading procedure (rate build-up, RBU) to increase prospective transnational students’ RRs. The study investigated the RBU procedure’s potential with this population by comparing the procedure’s effects on traditional degree-seeking learners’ RRs in a Taiwanese university setting and those of potential transnationals targeted for studies in a similar setting. Assessing each group’s pre and post-reading gains using inferential statistics, significant reading gains and large Cohen d effect sizes were found for both groups, indicating the generalizability of this procedure. It was further found that students with higher starting RRs demonstrated greater gains. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also addressed.

Keywords: repeated reading, rate build-up reading, transnational students, EFL, replication, audio-assisted, unassisted

The English Language Limits Me! Connecting Third Space to Curriculum Transformation in a South African University, Expanding Epistemological Landscapes?

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513 views

Mzukisi Howard Kepe
University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Email: mkepe@ufh.ac.za

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December, 2022. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n4.19
Abstract Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract

Many studies were conducted on conventional colonial heritage; however, less attention examines the developing concept of curriculum decolonisation in South African universities. This paper advocates for a hybrid literacy between traditional conceptions of academic literacy and instruction for students’ sociohistorical lives, affluent and less affluent. I discuss and illustrate the hegemony of English in high-learning institutions and the post-apartheid mainstream education system. Alongside my previous work in the language field, I interrogate the impasse of language policy in high education and South African schools. This paper is an ethnographic study congruent with the interpretivism paradigm, employing the semi-structured interview for data collection. The third space supports it as a theoretical framework. It affords the provision and guidance for classroom instruction and autonomous learning modes balance, where developing new knowledge is heightened, allowing students’ voices. It is a response to the 2015-2016 student protests on South African university campuses, where several were perplexed on how to respond to the demands of the students to end violent protests against western disciplinary norms that devalue non-centre practices and themes. Biliteracy and translingualism are empathised as the concepts against ownership of language and culture, and its territorialisation, challenging the traditional contrast of ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ speakers and its connection to a particular nation-state.

Keywords: Biliteracy, Curriculum, Decolonisation, Essentialist view, Hybrid Literacies, Language Policy in Higher Education- South Africa, Third Space, Translingualism

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Assimilation of the Anglo-Saxon System of Education in the Conflicted Ambazonia: Delinking from Colonial Language Ideologies

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John Wankah Foncha1 & Jane-Francis Afungmeyu Abongdia2
1,2 The Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Email: fonchaj@cput.ac.za/ Jane-francisa@cput.ac.za

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December, 2022. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n4.18 
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Abstract

Education is a mind builder and should be taken as a matter of importance in any nation. Following this, the curriculum designer is responsible for building learners’ minds. Seen through this lens, this theoretical article intends to project the importance of community schools in conflict-stricken Ambazonia against the backdrop of the French curriculum. Education guidelines are addressed with reference to language planning, policy, and implementation. Additionally, the paper seeks to explain the current situation in Ambazonia and make arguments regarding the community schools’ guidelines that aspire for multilingualism, where indigenous languages are taken seriously in teaching and learning. Another point discussed is the transitional authority (Ambazonia Transitional Authority), which was put in place to deal with implementing education guidelines and administrative issues. The paper concludes with the argument that what we think must be transformed into what we do and be shown by what we have done.

Keywords: Colonial Language Ideologies, multilingual, Ambazonia Transitional Authority, education

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What is Performance Studies?

Richard Schechner Tisch School of the Arts, New York University  Download PDF Version Because performance studies is so broad-ranging and

An Investigation into Teacher Preparedness for Emergency Remote Teaching in the Context of Vietnam

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590 views

Dao Nguyen Anh Duc
Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking, Vietnam. ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6349-8190. Email id: ducdna@hub.edu.vn

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, December, 2022. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n4.17 
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Abstract

This study examined the preparation English teachers in Vietnam had for Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it investigated the levels of confidence teachers had about their pedagogical and technological knowledge. It also looked at their attitudinal readiness and the institutional support offered to them. Ninety-seven teachers of English in the southern areas of the country, which were severely hit by the fourth wave of the pandemic from May to September 2021, were invited to complete an online survey. The responses were analyzed descriptively, and item-level means were calculated to identify teachers’ greatest challenges and the instructional aspects they found most confident about during ERT. Cross tabulations were also employed to compare different groups of teachers’ readiness to teach online. The results showed that English teachers in the affected areas perceived themselves to be relatively prepared for the swift transition to online teaching and substantially positive about their pedagogical approach to lesson delivery in the virtual environment. Regarding technological know-how, they exploited various ready-made resources but were unknowledgeable about authoring software and uncertain of how to use technological tools effectively. They also reported receiving little support from their superiors and authorities.

Keywords: teacher preparedness, teacher readiness, ERT, pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge

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