International Teaching Assistants Professional Identity Development in the United States: A Multiple Case Study Perspective

Informed by Critical Theory and Poststructuralist Theory and the intersections of power, ideology, identity, and language, this study investigated how three ITAs construct their professional identities as instructors at a US university. To gain an in-depth understanding of ITAs’ professional identities development, the researchers used a qualitative approach with a multi-case study design to examine various data and variables including a) undergraduates’ feedback to ITAs’ instruction and b) ITAs’ English language use in academic settings and its influence on their teaching. Through narrative analysis, the researchers analyzed data from interviews, classroom observations, and research journals. Findings suggest that students’ course evaluations and the ubiquity of native speaking norm influence the ITAs’ professional identity formation. As a result, the ITAs have become more concerned about how their English language could influence their teaching while backgrounding their expertise in the content knowledge

Manhood as An Allegory in Ernest J Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men

African American literature is embodied with the problem of racism. Every page of this literature carries evidences of racial discrimination and its repercussions. The white Americans have dominated the blacks, extracting labor on the threat of lynching. Almost all black writers have addressed this marginalization in their works.  Gaines demarcates his stand constructing his plot around the black men who long to prove their manhood subverting the stereotype treatment of the whites. This paper is to study how a group of remarkable old black men stand together against the oppressive white society as individuals. They dust off their past life of passivity; change the habits of a lifetime and stand up for themselves when a time comes to acknowledge their dignity. Age is no more a barrier for them to assert their manhood. The black men, who are around seventies, expand their impulse for liberty from old fears and bitter experiences; influence each other to an action that will make everyone of them free beyond their perceptibility. 

Investigating the Influence of Teaching Experience on the Use of ICT in Education

The majority of today’s jobs require sufficient understanding of the new technologies and appropriate computer skills. Therefore, professors need to be qualified to integrate computers in their classroom practices. Actually, teachers are recommended to develop adequate and effective training so as to be able to make successful use of computer technologies in their classrooms. With the advent of the new technologies, learning has become more exciting for learners regardless of their level of education. A lot of studies have revealed that the implementation of ICT in classrooms have come up with many fruitful consequences for both teachers and learners as well. It has increased their willingness to develop their knowledge through these modern tools. Therefore, universities and other educational institutions have realized the value of including computer technologies in instructional processes. This paper aims to explore the impact of teaching experience on the integration of computer technologies in teaching practices. Descriptive analysis of means, and standard deviations were employed to analyse the collected data. Also, inferential statistics, especially the ANOVA test, were used to determine the impact of teaching experience on ICT use for pedagogical objectives. The findings revealed that there are statistically significant differences between professors’ integration of ICT in education based on teaching experience, F(4,158)=20.279,p<0.05

The Impact of English: Academic Achievement and Identity Investment in an American University

 For Chinesedoctoralstudents, English is the most essentialsubjectwhenstudyingin U.S.universitiesand livinglifein the U.S. UsingEnglish not onlypromotes academic success, butalsohelps them to pursuebetter job opportunities and a better lifein theU.S. Thepurposeof this studywas to exploreChinesedoctoralstudents’English use, perceptions ofacademic achievement in relation to their academic motivation and identityinvestment.Chinesedoctoral student interviews,questionnaires, classroom observations,andjournal entries wereused in this qualitativecase study. The findingsof thestudyshow that Chinesedoctoralstudents’ English use and perception ofacademic achievementhadimpacts on their academicmotivation. Moreover, Chinese doctoralstudents’identities werealso reflected in the investment ofacademic achievement

An Investigation into Language Identity of Iranian EFL Teachers

This study presents a survey of Iranian English teachers and their language identity. The participants who completed the survey in this research included 60 English language teachers who belonged to different genders, age groups and English language teaching experiences. To investigate and collect the data, we used a validated questionnaire which included 19 items and was administered online and by hand. The results of the analyses showed that firstly participants possessed a moderate degree of language identity. The results also exhibited that there were no significant differences between the male and female participants regarding their language identity. However, there was a significant relationship between age and language identity. On the other hand, it was found that there were no differences between teaching experiences and language identity. Finally, we can come to conclusion that the results of this survey were very informative about how Iranian language teachers think of Persian language in comparison to English

The Effectiveness of a Blended Strategy based on Concept Mapping and Text Structure in Enhancing EFL Learners’ Writing Performance

The current study investigated the effect of a blended strategy based on concept mapping and text structure on EFL learners’ writing performance. An intact group (N = 42) of seventh level English majors at Thadiq Sciences and Humanities College, Shaqra University, KSA participated in the study in the first semester of the academic year 2016-2017. They were assigned to an experimental group and a control group, each consisting of 21 students. A writing pretest was administered to the two groups and scored by two raters using the Weir’s TEEP attribute writing scale (1990). An independent samples t-test performed on the pretest mean scores of the two groups showed that they were homogenous prior to the experiment. Concept mapping and text formatting (the proposed blended strategy) were integrated in the Advanced Writing course (Eng 413) for experimental group students. The control group received conventional instruction that did not include the proposed strategy. Independent and paired samples t-tests revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in all the sub-scales of Weir’s TEEP attribute writing scale, hence supporting the positive effect of concept mapping and text formatting on EFL learners’ writing performance. Pedagogical implications are offered

Contextual Factors Affecting The Implementation of Communicative Language Teaching in Vietnam

Research has proposed the application of communicative language teaching principles into English classrooms to enhance EFL learner’s communicative competence, but it is also noted that there is no existing one-fits-all approach. Language educators are supposed to consider contextual factors affecting the teaching and learning process to reinterpret and adapt communicative language teaching (CLT) principles to fit the local context. The study aims to explore potential factors affecting the adoption of CLT principles in the Vietnamese context by means of reviewing the literature of the filed. In this paper, the researcher defines CLT, discusses the current status of English language teaching in Vietnam, and finally interprets contextual elements that might have an impact on the CLT implementation. The study revealed three main context-relating factors, including Vietnamese teachers’ and learners’ perspectives on language teaching and learning in practice, distinct features of English environment at the local, and cultural expectations. The study drew an implication that ideas and techniques from whatever sources including CLT should be considered as a common pool on which each teacher can adapt to make it socially and culturally sensitive to their own contexts and meet the target learners’ needs and goals

The Impact of Inquiry-based Learning approach on Critical Thinking Skill of EFL Students

To modify the way how the students are getting ready to encounter the needs of the new era, some other different teaching approaches are under research. Inquiry-based learning is such a method supposed to empower the skills students need to master.  The hypothesis was that inquiry-based learning can have impact on critical thinking ability of students. The data was from language learners at Guyesh language institute placed in Alborz(Iran). To homogenize the participants, they had a language proficiency test (PET) as pre-test. Out of 62 students, 38 students were selected. The learners were put into one experimental and one control group based on their exam results. The researchers used independent sample T–Test to measure the statistical differences between the two groups. Before receiving instruction the students completed a critical thinking questionnaire. After sessions of inquiry-based instruction, the researchers gave the post-tests to both experimental and control groups. Finally, the results of the analysis of the data ensured that doing inquiry-based activities increased critical thinking ability of the subjects.  The outcome of this study confirmed that participation in inquiry-based learning class had a significant impact on learners’ critical thinking skill

Barrack Obama’s Ideologies in His Campaign Speech at Colorado State University

In finding the ideologies, the researcher uses CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis) as a tool. By using this way, three main steps were applied; these are text analysis, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice. It found that in text analysis, there are 21 repetitions spoken by Obama in his campaign speech, 2 synonymies, 7 hyponymy, 4 metonymies, and 6 antonyms. In the level of discourse practice, in opening, it was found that there are three main regularities in speech; these are phatic expressions, emotive function, and thanking. In content, the regularities are the use of jargon, poetic expressions and directive expressions. And in closing, the regularities are sequenced first by uttering the supportive utterance, poetic expressions, and farewell greeting. The last step, sociocultural practice, it is found that there are 9 direct responses, applause for 77 times, laughter for 12 times, and last response by sneezing appears for once. Going through those steps, the researcher can take three dominant ideologies uttered by Obama; these are “Forwarding United State is needed”, “No choice except choosing Obama”, and “Raising tax is improper to raise citizen’s prosperity”

Vietnamese EFL High School Teachers’ Self-assessment of their English Language Proficiency in Relation to the Official Assessment Test Results

The current study explored how Vietnamese EFL high school teachers self-assessed their current English proficiency. It also compared teachers’ self-ratings with the results they obtained in the Project 2010 test, which was  used to assess English level of EFL teachers across Vietnam as part of the implementation of the National Foreign Language Project 2020. The data were drawn from 15-item online questionnaire with 94 teacher participants. The findings revealed that teachers perceived themselves as being more proficient in skills of writing and reading, compared to listening, spoken production (e.g., making presentations) and spoken interaction (e.g., making conversations). Most of them rated their current English proficiency level lower than the level they achieved in the Project 2020 test.  The findings offer information  about the language aspects that teachers were least proficient, which can be used to specify what support they actually desire from in-service training courses.  Also, as teachers are at the centre of the Project 2020, their perceptions of their own English proficiency provide insightful input to enhance the effectiveness of this educational reform