Fostering EFL Learners’ Writing Skills through Blog-Assisted Language Learning (BALL)

Blog-Assisted Language Learning (BALL) provides a platform for students to enhance their language skills through interactive and engaging activities. These activities include peer review and feedback, interactive discussions, reflective journals, and multimedia integration. This study aims to investigate the specific impact of BALL on improving EFL learners' writing performance, addressing the problem of how this innovative approach can enhance various aspects of writing skills. This study was conducted using classroom action research in one cycle, involving 18 vocational school students. Data were gathered through writing tests, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The findings revealed that implementing Blog-Assisted Language Learning significantly enhanced the learners’ writing performance and attitudes toward learning English. The students showed improvement in content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics of their writing. The average score increased from 71.61 in the pretest to 81.9 in the posttest. All students were engaged in the teaching and learning process, and they found using a blog to promote language acquisition to be an enjoyable activity. Additionally, a Paired Sample t-Test showed a significant difference between the students' overall scores pre-test and post-test, with a level of significance of 0.000, indicating that the implementation of Blog-Assisted Language Learning had a statistically significant impact on improving the students' writing performance. Therefore, Blog-Assisted Language Learning proves to be a valuable strategy for enhancing EFL learners' writing skills, and its interactive and enjoyable nature can motivate students, creating a more dynamic and student-centered learning environment

ESL and EFL Writing Instruction: Challenges and opportunities

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Collaborative action research in the chilean EFL classroom

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés, Licenciado en Educación)Este estudio discute los resultados obtenidos en una investigación cualitativa que involucra a un docente en formación como profesor-investigador en una Investigación-Acción, en un colegio de Santiago de Chile. El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar los beneficios de la Colaboración en Investigación-Acción como una práctica para promover la inclusión de la expresión oral del idioma inglés en las aulas chilenas. El profesor-investigador utilizó un diario como un instrumento para reflexionar sobre sus clases y actividades orales, las cuales fueron aplicadas en el colegio. Esas actividades orales fueron obtenidas de dos entrevistas grupales con docentes en formación de una universidad chilena, quienes fueron los colaboradores de este estudio, así como también la profesora mentora del colegio en el cual el profesor-investigador estaba haciendo su práctica. Los resultados mostraron que algunas de las actividades obtenidas en las entrevistas grupales promovieron la participación e interacción de los estudiantes durante las clases. Además, el profesor-investigador fue capaz de percibir la importancia de la reflexión de las actividades con el fin de hacer cambios y mejoras en su docencia. Asimismo, la colaboración entre pares, la cual fue representada en las entrevistas grupales, nos permitió reconocer nuestras fortalezas y mejorar nuestras debilidades cuando enseñamos. Finalmente, este estudio sugiere que todos los docentes deberían compartir sus experiencias, opiniones, sentimientos o pensamientos con sus colegas para así implementar colaboración, y también hacer de la reflexión un método habitual en su enseñanza para prevenir errores comunes representados por profesores en la sala de clases.This study discusses the outcomes of a qualitative research, which engaged a pre-service teacher as the teacher-researcher (T-R) in an Action Research (AR) design at a school in Santiago, Chile. The aim of this study was to explore the benefits of Collaborative Action Research (CAR) as a practice to foster the inclusion of speaking skills in Chilean EFL classrooms. The T-R used journals as an instrument to reflect on his teaching and speaking practices which were applied at the school. Those speaking practices were obtained from two group interviews with pre-service teachers from a Chilean university, who were the collaborators of this study, as well as the mentor teacher (M-T) from the school where the T-R was doing his practicum. The findings showed that the practices obtained in the group interviews encouraged students’ participation and interaction during classes. In addition, the T-R was able to perceive the importance of reflection on the practices in order to make changes and improvements in his teaching. Collaboration among peers, which was represented in the group interviews, allowed us to recognize our strengths and improve our weaknesses when teaching. Finally, this study suggests that all teachers should share their experiences, opinions, feelings, or thoughts with their colleagues in order to implement collaboration, and make reflection a common method in their teaching to prevent common errors committed by teachers in the classroom

Reducing Students' Foreign Language Anxiety in Speaking Class Through Cooperative Learning

One of the challenges in teaching English as a foreign language to students in Indonesia is the existence of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) that are faced by students at any level of education. FLA has hindered the students in mastering English, especially in Speaking Skill, it is shown by their performances in the class which are too nervous, shy, unwilling to participate and lack of confidence.Gardner and McIntyre,(1987) stated that FLA negatively impacts the quality of learning and is a critical factor in learners' success or failure in learning a foreign language. Based on the aforementioned statements, it means reducing students' language anxiety can enhance their overall learning experience and improve motivation and achievement.Thus, for many years, some researchers have attempted to find the most suitable techniques and methods to help students overcome this problem. Some of which is by providing them a conducive learning environment, the culture of caring and of course, a non-threatening atmosphere in the classroom. For that reason, this paper isintended to propose a technique to reduce the students' anxiety; that is cooperative learning. By using cooperative learning, it is expected that it can overcome this problem, as this technique offers a good language-learning environment in which the process of learning dealing with cooperativeness rather than competitiveness. This is in line with Krashen (1982). He, through his Affective Filter Hypothesis, contends that one of the factors of language acquisition to happen is in a low-filter language-learning environment

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

The impact of a multi-strategy academic writing handbook on Emergent bilinguals’ cross-curricular writing competences

La escritura académica en una segunda lengua puede ser uno de los requerimientos más complejos en la educación superior debido a los elementos lingüísticos, estratégicos y procedimentales que esta abarca al igual que los procesos cognitivos superiores que involucra. A pesar de su presencia permanente en la academia, los profesores no han encontrado aún una forma apropiada para enseñar y evaluar la escritura que garantice el progreso de los estudiantes y el apoyo continuo a lo largo de su proceso de aprendizaje. De esta manera, este estudio de caso de métodos mixtos apunta a diseñar y evaluar la efectividad de un Manual de Referencia para la Escritura Académica (MREA) que pretende proveer la asistencia constante que los estudiantes necesitan para solidificar su conocimiento de escritura y el material pedagógico apropiado que los docentes requieren para unificar los prácticas de enseñanza y evaluación de la escritura; este manual está fundamentado en los enfoques de la escrita como proceso y basada en el género, análisis de errores y evaluación..

English-language writing instruction in Poland: Adapting to the local EFL context

This paper is intended to foster reflection about the development of a locally-suitable approach to English-language writing instruction in Poland. In order to provide background information to contextualize a subsequent discussion of English-language writing, the paper starts with a brief overview of the history of L2 writing instruction, including an overview of the four most influential approaches to teaching ESL composition in the U.S. from 1945–1990: Controlled Composition, Current-Traditional Rhetoric, the Process Approach, and English for Academic Purposes. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of a „needs analysis,” where it is noted that needs analysis is complex in foreign language contexts such as Poland, where students may not have obvious, immediate needs for writing in English after graduation. The notion of needs analysis is illustrated with an example drawn from the English Institute at the University of Łódź. The needs analysis indicated that some students of English had negative attitudes and/or anxiety towards writing in English, but some had positive attitudes based on previous experiences with creative and expressive writing. Additionally, it was determined that students needed to learn many skills for writing academic papers that they had not learned in secondary school and that require extensive instruction and practice. Based on the needs analysis, it was determined that the purposes of a new writing course for first-year English majors should be to foster and develop positive attitudes toward writing and to support students’ academic work. The assignments and activities for the course are described. Additionally, a description is provided of the possible purposes that Polish students in general might have for writing in English, the goals that instructors might pursue in assigning writing, and the types of writing teachers might assign. Recommendations are provided for responding to student writing