The Development and Validation of an EFL Learner Attitude Scale for Phonetic Symbol Learning in A Chinese University Context

Research has established that learner attitude significantly impacts the outcomes of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). However, previous studies have rarely considered a validated attitude scale for English phonetic symbol learning (EPSL). This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure students\u27 attitudes toward EPSL by integrating findings from learning attitude research in education and psychology. The results demonstrate that the attitude scale can predict attitudes towards EPSL in the context of a Chinese university and has good reliability and validity (KMO=0.892, α=0.749). Pedagogical suggestions are made to help students develop a more positive attitude toward EPSL

How To Motivate Language Learning Environment: CALL Before And After The Pandemic Of Covid-19

Integrating information technology into teaching and learning foreign languages holds significant importance for the education system of our country. This serves as a crucial foundation for shaping the core generation of the future, aiding the nation's development, and advancing on the path of international integration. However, the application of information technology in foreign language education is currently prevalent primarily in schools located within major cities. To achieve the good effectiveness of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), suitable solutions tailored to specific localities are necessary, which is the motivation for this study. I conducted this study focusing on high school students in Nha Trang to understand their attitudes towards the use of information technology in learning English before and after the pandemic Covid 19. This understanding was then used to discuss and propose several appropriate solutions aimed at cultivating a self-directed, creative, and engaging learning environment. This research has the potential to contribute towards generating general solutions for the implementation of information technology in teaching and learning across Vietnam

Modeling Information Anxiety

This paper traces the historical developments using selected literature related to ‘library anxiety’, ‘information seeking anxiety’ and ‘information anxiety’. These concepts existed independently and parallelly and attracted much attention from the researchers of their respective fields. The existing literature lacked a study establishing a relationship among these three concepts which led to the idea of a general model of information anxiety to inform researchers as well as professionals dealing with policy and practice. This model represents information anxiety as the general and broader concept nesting information seeking anxiety as its sub-set and library anxiety as a further sub-set. It highlights the development of library anxiety, information seeking anxiety, and information anxiety over time. It also outlines the theoretical and practical implications of information anxiety for information services, especially information literacy (IL) instruction, as previous research reported it as a potential determinant of lower levels of information anxiety. The researchers emphasize the necessity for a need-based IL curriculum for the alleviation of users’ anxiety related to information related tasks. The future directions for research on the proposed area considering the contemporary information environment have been discussed towards the end

A Comparison of the Aptitude and Attitude of College Students Toward Social and Technical Computer Technology

The purpose of this study was to investigate college students\u27 technical and social technology competencies based upon their attitudes toward computers and their perception of technical computer knowledge. The participants for this investigation were college undergraduates majoring in apparel merchandising and design and other related and non-related majors at the University of Arkansas. The research model selected for use in this study was the survey design method. There were a total of 1270 students responding to the survey with 1052 usable surveys remaining after cleaning the data for missing entries. This constituted an 83% response rate. The findings included significant effects of social aptitude by age and major, and technical aptitude by major. Males had significantly higher perceptions of technical aptitude, and both social and technical attitude toward computer technology than females. Whites had significantly higher perceptions of social aptitude toward computer technology than Nonwhites. Class standing had no significant effect on college student\u27s perceptions of either aptitude or attitude in social or technical computer technology. There were strong correlations between social aptitude and technical aptitude and social attitude and technical attitude. Colleges and universities as well as industry are taking advantage of social technology not only for recruitment but in the classroom and on the job as well. A strong relationship between social and technical aptitude and social and technical attitude would tend to indicate that students are ready for this type of interaction

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

EFL LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE ACTIVE READING SOFTWARE AS A LEARNING TOOL TO ENHANCE READING COMPREHENSION

The present study endeavored to explore EFL students' perceptions regarding the acceptance and intervention of ARS in enhancing reading comprehension ability at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. The study engaged 30 male undergraduates of English major B.A program. For data collection, the study utilized a qualitative technique using semi-structured interviews and the interview questions were constructed based on the principles of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis (1989). Active Reading Software (ARS) was employed as a technological tool for teaching reading comprehension. The treatment group received intervention from ARS for the duration of four weeks in the computer lab. Qualitative data obtained from the students' interviews were evaluated by means of thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework. The results of the thematic analysis pointed out five major themes considered to be the factors that influenced participants’ perceptions towards ARS as a learning tool for improving reading comprehension at the tertiary level. Findings of the present study offer essential implications for language instructors and educational institutions providing technology-integrated courses. Understanding the factors influencing the learners’ perceptions towards the adoption of technological tools in learning is significant for its success. Article visualizations

The Origins of Underperformance in Higher Education in America: Proximal Systems of Influence

In this paper, we examine the problem of underachievement in higher education. We begin by seeking to establish that the quality of learning among undergraduates is, as a whole, limited. Undergraduate underachievement cannot be attributed to any single cause. Quite the contrary, we argue that the origins of underperformance in the academy are systemic, coactive and multi-layered. At the proximal level of teaching and learning, we identify four mutually reinforcing processes that contribute to student underachievement: (a) fragmentation of the curriculum, (b) entrant knowledge level and skills gaps; (c) student culture, and (d) pedagogical ineffectiveness. At a more distal level, these processes operate within a set of macro-level systems and influences, including (a) economic pressures and academic commercialization, (b) specialization of expertise within the academy, (c) a culture of entitlement, amusement, and indulgence outside of the academy, and (d) constraints related to governmental and socio-economic infrastructure. In this paper, we examine the interplay among systems of teaching and learning operating within the academy that lead most directly to academic underachievement. We argue that any attempts to improve student learning must proceed by seeking systemic change, however incremental and long term. Such change requires acknowledging the ways in which fissures and tensions within the academy work against the goal of fostering integrative teaching and learning

Two Approaches to Investigate Preservice Teachers’ TPACK Competencies and Self-Regulated Learning Skills in Turkey and the United States

In this study the investigators used two different approaches to investigate preservice teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) competencies and self-regulated learning skills (SRL). The first study was conducted at Ahmet Keleşoğlu Education Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University (NEU), Konya, Turkiye and the second study was conducted at Arkansas Tech University (ATU), Arkansas, the United States. The data from the participants at NEU was collected from 375 preservice teachers to examine the correlation among preservice teachers’ TPACK competencies, SRL and their gender and years of study. Although the findings revealed that preservice teachers’ TPACK competencies differed by their gender and year of study, there was no significant difference in their SRL skills. Finally, the results indicated that there were positive and significant relationships between the preservice teachers’ TPACK competencies and their self-regulated learning skills. The data from the ATU participants was collected from 66 preservice teachers (54 undergraduates, 12 graduate). The ATU study examined the impact of employing project-based learning (PBL) on students’ TPACK competencies, self-efficacy (SE), and SRL in different learning environments. The findings indicated that the use of PBL does enhance preservice teachers’ SRL skills in all learning environments. Finally, the findings indicated that students’ TPACK competencies significantly increased after using PBL

Computer Self-Efficacy, Computer Anxiety and Information Retrieval Skills as Correlate of Electronic Library Use among LIS Undergraduates in Southern Nigeria Universities.

The study examined computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety and information retrieval skills as correlate of electronic library use among library and information science undergraduates in universities in Southern Nigeria. One research question guided the study while one hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 10,345 library and information science (LIS) undergraduates from ten federal, seventeen state and eight private universities in Southern Nigeria. The study explores purposive and quota sampling technique to determine the sample size which arrived at 1, 006 used for the study. Four instruments: Undergraduates’ Computer Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (UCSQ), Undergraduates’ Computer Anxiety Questionnaire (UCAQ), Undergraduate Information Retrieval Skill Questionnaire (UIRSQ), and Undergraduates’ Electronic Library Use Questionnaire (UELUQ) were used for data collection. In other to establish the reliability of the instruments, Cronbach alpha was used to analyze data collected from twenty (20) LIS undergraduate students in one federal university (Federal University of Technology, Mina) in North-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The alpha coefficients of UCSQ is .88, UCAQ .90, UIRSQ .94 and UELUQ .89 respectively. The Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was deplored to answer the research question while multiple regression was used to test the hypothesis. Findings revealed that computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety and information retrieval skills jointly had a significant relationship with LIS undergraduates’ electronic library use. The study recommends amongst others that all stakeholders in university education in Nigeria namely; Nigeria University Commission (NUC), Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) and Nigeria Library Association (NLA) should collaborate to redesign or tailor LIS curriculum to reflect information and communication technological courses with innovations prevalent in this 21st century like what is obtainable in developed world. Also, the new LIS curriculum advocated should ensure that the teaching of computer skills to LIS undergraduate in universities is promoted. This is to enable the moderate level of usage of electronic library information resources by LIS undergraduate changed to high and is sustained for adequate academic prowess