The effects of integrated versus isolated form-focused instruction on the written performance of English-as-an-Additional-Language secondary school students

Over the past forty years, second-language teaching methodologies have evolved from heavily grammar-based syllabuses to fully communicative models that largely neglect the role of instruction in form. Nowadays, many methodologies attempt to merge these two extremes into more inclusive approaches that combine instruction in form and communicative foci. This study concentrates on two recently defined approaches of form-focused instruction (FFI): integrated and isolated. Educational research has only recently started to pay attention to this dichotomy. By addressing this issue, the current study aims to establish which of these two approaches more successfully promotes the learning of English past tenses by secondary school English-as-an-Additional-Language (EAL) students. This quasi-experimental study adopts the explanatory sequential mixed-method design. The participants in the study were ninety-one mainstream secondary school EAL students, divided into three groups: a control group, which participated only in mainstream content-based lessons with no focus on form, and two experimental groups, which participated in ten FFI lessons in addition to the mainstream content-based lessons. Members of one of the experimental groups received integrated FFI, in which instruction in form was delivered during communicatively oriented lessons, and the students in the other experimental group received isolated FFI, in which instruction in form was delivered outside of the communicatively oriented lessons. Data collection methods included two questionnaires, interviews, field notes, observations and three periodic tests consisting of form formation, form recognition and metalinguistic tasks. The research findings demonstrate that the experimental groups outperformed the control group, and the intervention gains were maintained over time. Importantly, the results indicate a considerable disparity in the level of effectiveness of each FFI, suggesting that isolated FFI provides overall better performance outcomes than integrated FFI in the EAL context. This advantage is particularly significant in the case of the form formation tasks. The findings point to the intervention's resulting in greater awareness of the language among the participants and their increased ability to notice the targeted forms — the skills facilitated by both FFI approaches. The research outcomes offer some implications for EAL methodology, clearly indicating that application of the two instruction types, particularly isolated FFI, affords good educational value

Teacher cognition of thinking skills in Chinese primary EFL classrooms

Extensive attention is given to the significance of promoting thinking skills in education. However, very little research has attempted to explore EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher cognition of thinking skills, even it directly influences children’s thinking and learning. In recent years, promoting thinking skills has become an educational goal in the Chinese English Curriculum (MOE, 2010). In order to bridge the gap between the desired outcome and current practice, this study aims to investigate Chinese EFL teachers’ conceptions and teaching beliefs about thinking skills, and to explore the opportunities for, and obstacles to, developing students’ thinking skills in primary EFL classrooms. Four EFL primary school teachers, with more than three years of teaching experience each, participated in this case study. Semi-structured interviews and video recordings were used to collect the qualitative data. The interview data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Teaching practices were video recorded and examined through a think-led methodological framework developed in this study. The analysis revealed a new concept - “English thinking”, as subject-specific thinking. The findings also showed that teachers’ conceptions of thinking skills were fragmented and that they felt unprepared to teach thinking skills, although they all had a positive attitude towards integrating thinking skills into their teaching. The conflicting beliefs around promoting thinking skills were influenced by teachers' previous language learning experiences and by the challenges they come across. Opportunities for promoting thinking skills are identified from teacher-students interaction, including the use of teacher questioning and feedback, collaborative learning, increase of wait time, authentic topics, and teaching creatively. Teachers’ insufficient knowledge of thinking skills and other contextual factors such as the exam-oriented education system constrained the successful implementation of thinking skills in class. Pedagogical suggestions are put forward for policy makers, teacher educators, and teachers. Implications for future research indicate a need to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of thinking skills, and to develop a framework for the development of thinking skills in foreign language curricula

Student Expectations: The effect of student background and experience

CONTEXT The perspectives and previous experiences that students bring to their programs of study can affect their approaches to study and the depth of learning that they achieve Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Ramsden, 2003). Graduate outcomes assume the attainment of welldeveloped independent learning skills which can be transferred to the work-place. PURPOSE This 5-year longitudinal study investigates factors influencing students’ approaches to learning in the fields of Engineering, Software Engineering, and Computer Science, at two higher education institutes delivering programs of various levels in Australia and New Zealand. The study aims to track the development of student approaches to learning as they progress through their program. Through increased understanding of students’ approaches, faculty will be better able to design teaching and learning strategies to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. This paper reports on the first stage of the project. APPROACH In August 2017, we ran a pilot of our survey using the Revised Study Process Questionnaire(Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001) and including some additional questions related to student demographics and motivation for undertaking their current program of study. Data were analysed to evaluate the usefulness of data collected and to understand the demographics of the student cohort. Over the period of the research, data will be collected using the questionnaire and through focus groups and interviews. RESULTS Participants provided a representative sample, and the data collected was reasonable, allowing the questionnaire design to be confirmed. CONCLUSIONS At this preliminary stage, the study has provided insight into the student demographics at both institutes and identified aspects of students’ modes of engagement with learning. Some areas for improvement of the questionnaire have been identified, which will be implemented for the main body of the study

A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTIVATIONS AND PERSONALITY TRAITS IN RELIGIOUS TOURISTS AND CRUISE SHIP TOURISTS

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the motivations and the personality traits that characterize tourists who choose religious travels versus cruises. Participating in the research were 683 Italian tourists (345 males and 338 females, age range 18–63 years); 483 who went to a pilgrimage travel and 200 who chose a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea. Both groups of tourists completed the Travel Motivation Scale and the Big Five Questionnaire. Results show that different motivations and personality traits characterize the different types of tourists and, further, that motivations for traveling are predicted by specific —some similar, other divergent— personality trait