Gamification in education: game design elements in the 'Solutions second edition' EFL textbook set

The students today are often referred to as ‘digital natives’ who have grown up in the digital age and as a result think and process information differently than the previous generations (Prensky 2001). Living in a digital age with digital natives, whose perception of learning differs from that of the generation(s) preceding them, it is the duty of educators to be receptive to new methodologies of learner engagement that might help to shape a learning environment better suited to the new type of learners (Dyer 2015:65). The need for a new approach to teaching and learning in general is stated also in the Estonian Lifelong Learning Strategy 2020, a document that guides the developments in education in Estonia in 2014-2020. Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts (Deterding et al. 2011), is said to have great potential also in education as it helps to increase both user engagement and motivation Simões et al. (2013). The aim of this thesis is to locate and analyse gamification elements in a textbook set used in Estonian schools and to see how the elements present exploit the potential of gamification in the context of language teaching. This would provide an idea of what the starting point would be in using gamification in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lessons and what kind of support it could give for gamifying EFL classes. Knowing game elements would help teachers incorporate the elements into the methods they are already familiar with (Keramidas 2010). The thesis consists of an introduction, two core chapters and a conclusion. The introduction explains the reasons for addressing the topic, states the research questions and introduces the structure of the paper. The first chapter presents the definition of gamification, provides examples of gamified systems, discusses criticism towards gamification and the following response, and introduces different gamification taxonomies. It also includes the list of game elements used in the analysis conducted in the second chapter. The list of game elements is compiled based on game element taxonomies suggested by Cugelman (2013), Blohm and Leimeister (2013 in Seaborn and Fels 2015:19), and Robson et al. (2015). The second chapter gives a short overview of the Solutions Second Edition textbook set, introduces the game elements found in different parts of the set, and discusses the gamification potential of the set. The conclusion provides a summary of the findings.http://www.ester.ee/record=b477553

Improving Self-Regulation for Learning in EFL Writing in Secondary Education in Blended Environments

[eng] This study aims at improving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing instruction at secondary level by implementing a blended instructional design that may foster self-regulation through public online learning diaries (Diaries) and formative feedback in a wiki device in combination with face-to-face (F2F) instruction. Also, all elements are interwoven in the assessment program strongly supported by personalised feedback. In Part I, comprehending chapters 1 to 4, we provide the general theoretical framework for this research, which is based on a competence approach to compulsory education that the countries in the EU have adopted. Our aim is helping students to improve in three of the eight key competences (European Parliament, 2006): Learning Foreign Languages, ICT and Learning to Learn. First, we have reviewed and contextualised what the literature says about EFL writing and different approaches to teaching it and discussed the role of grammar, vocabulary and multimodality pathways in learning to write in a foreign language. Then, we have reviewed the literature on self-regulation for learning (SRL) and self-efficacy and the effects that a public design can have on vicarious learning. We have appraised the role of Diaries, feedback and assessment to improve SRL. Subsequently, we have discussed Diaries in EFL writing in a blended design, and how they can help us improve the students’ autonomy in learning. This literature review leads us to formulate our basic assumptions for the instructional design that we will put to the test. From this review, we conclude that a Diary which integrates cognitive, metacognitive and free writing tasks is a suitable tool for EFL writing instruction and ongoing authentic assessment activities with interactive formative feedback to observe and improve self-regulation strategies. Additionally, a public design can act as a basic form of dialogic feedback, even if what students do is lurking at what other students are doing. In Part II, comprehending chapters 5 to 7, we state the three goals of our research to evaluate an instructional design grounded on literature findings that we developed to improve English as a foreign language (EFL) writing instruction in context. We describe the three main components of the learning diary (Diary) and the writing assignments. We study an EFL class of 10thgraders, aged 15 to 16, at a working-class state school in Barcelona and their English teacher, who was a long-experienced professional, newly arrived at that school. There were 26 students in this class (15 boys and 11 girls), of which we selected six (two strong, two average and two weak ones) for close observation. The instructional design combined face-to-face (F2F) teaching following a textbook with an online platform (a wiki) where students completed the Diary and a variety of writing assignments, with the online supervision of the teacher who provided personalised on-site feedback. In the Diary, and mostly as homework, students had to show their capacity to manage learning strategies and writing competence. In the first place, students had to file F2F instruction and produce examples of use of grammar and vocabulary in the form of sentences (cognitive tasks). Secondly, they had to monitor and correct their writing productions (metacognitive assignments) after the teacher had provided personalised feedback on them. She also developed a system of engagement rewards to incentive correct procedures and participation. In part III (Chapters 7-10) we present the results to our research questions. In Chapter 7 we depict the results concerning goal 1. We observe the activity in the online PWS and the students’ and teacher’s perception of it. In the first place, we consider the temporal dimension of the Diary. Then we move on to study how well the students completed it by task, student and term. Next, we study the writing assignments completion by task and term. Fourthly, we consider the positive and negative effects of the online platform. Finally, we deal with the teacher and students’ views of the PWS. Chapter 8 is devoted to feedback. We analyse the amount and characteristics of the teacher’s feedback depending on the task, as well as its timing for both the Diary and the writing assignments. We also consider the nature of conversations in the PWS. To conclude, we focus on the students’ views on feedback Results for goal 3 are exposed in chapter 9, which analyses in which ways the students’ actions and perceptions in the PWS evolved. In the first place, we ask ourselves which improvements can be reported in the Diary. Secondly, we look at the connections between the Diary and the writing assignments. Thirdly, we observe improvements in the writing assignments, comparing the teacher’s marks to external control measures, such as the state exam and the Write & Improve tool. Finally, we consider the teacher and students’ views. A final chapter 10 gathers a panoramic interpretive reading of each of the selected students and the teacher as to draw their learning profiles. For each of the six selected students, we consider their views on the PWS and the writing and feedback impact on them. In part IV we discuss our findings. About the PWS (goal 1), online designs can set students in action, but the technical problems some students face may cause frustration. It also confirms that stronger students are better at SRL, but their agency may not always be directed towards learning. If weaker students are more SRL focused, the chance is that they will advance more. Scarce metacognitive knowledge, low self-efficacy and lack of motivation make progress slow. Students will favour cognitive tasks over metacognitive, which are not adequate in compulsory education when they were based in understanding what the teacher said instead of in what they understood. Teachers need to plan supervising controls to ensure that students do not leave everything for the last minute, and can pay attention to the teacher’s corrections at different moments. Students did not like that the Diary was compulsory, and they did not like that it was public either, but their perceptions concerning the latter improved significantly, and they used each other’s productions as guidance. The Diary was a threat to average and weak students because it was hard work which, if not done, meant failing the term. The wiki’s lack of popularity was strengthened by technical problems. For goal 2, the teacher’s strategy to provide unfocused, indirect, personalised feedback was not appropriate because it meant a lot of work and did not make some of the students respond to it. The fact that it was timely could not solve the design flaw that it was delivered at the end of the term. These students were the same that show low interest for the design (Darío(a)) or weak students with low metacognitive strategies and linguistic knowledge. So, the students who needed it more (although Mariana(a) became an exception) were the ones who used it less. The students’ perception of feedback was positive enough, but somehow unconscious of the effort it meant to the teacher. For goal 3, when we study the students’ performance in the Diary in some depth, we observe that some students used agency for purposes other than learning, and this behaviour is not related to their linguistic knowledge, but bears relation to how much they make sense of a task and the characteristics of the assessment program. Students did not make sense of the cognitive part of the Diary because the sentences they wrote were not connected with the writing assignments. Furthermore, feedback that focuses only in WCF or sentences rather than paragraphs is not appropriate to teach EFL writing, because such input only addresses one aspect of the overall writing ability. Students value the sentences they wrote in the vocabulary task significantly worse at the end than they did at the beginning of the year. However, they value significantly better that the Diary is an efficient tool to learn English. As for its metacognitive part of the Diary, results were poor when the students were not capable of noticing for themselves what they had learnt, but depended on metacognitive explanations from the teacher which they often did not understand. Students expressed that they liked writing more when they could freely choose what to write about, and this perception improved significantly at the end of the school year. But results show that when students are free to write what they please, the use of translators increases. For this reason, designing tasks that makes them use the vocabulary and grammar they have just been taught would give more meaning to instruction and avoid the dangers of technical cheating. Rich environments where students are exposed to a lot of input (such as films in English subtitled in English) promote EFL writing, especially when the students are asked to carry out a diversity of tasks that stretch for some time

Strategies for teaching listening to form 5 students : based on the analysis of "I love English 4" and designing additional study materials

Listening was considered a passive skill for a long time, but recently the approach to teaching listening has evolved and systematically developed. Nowadays listening is acknowledged as a macro skill in foreign language learning which provokes awareness of the target language (Renukadevi 2014). Thus, listening is a skill which needs to be taught consistently. Many scholars, for example Vandergrift (2004), Rost (2009), Masalimova (2016) and Gilakjani (2016) claim that listening comprehension is an interactive process and needs to be taught with the help of special strategies. They have brought out the advantages of using the strategies in foreign language classrooms to improve students listening comprehension.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5237871*es

〔論文〕Learning Strategies that Combat Speaking Anxiety: A Qualitative Study among Adolescent Non-native English Speakers in Japan

This longitudinal, qualitative study aimed to determine the effectiveness of an English language programme in Japan. Using one-to-one semi-structured interviews, we examined 16 students’ self-reported English-speaking ability and what they found effective to reduce their speaking anxiety. The students, enrolled in a private Japanese secondary school, completed three interviews over 2 years. The first interview took place when the students were in eighth grade, the second at the beginning of ninth grade and the third at the end of ninth grade after they had taken part in the school’s short-term study abroad programme in Australia. The results of the first round of interviews indicated that students found that listening practice helped them learn vocabulary, grammar rules and sentence structure. In the second round of interviews, students reported, that learning grammar rules was the most effective strategy for learning English. In the third set of interviews, students reported that a balanced learning environment, in conjunction with their positive attitudes and determination to interact with others, helped their language comprehension, reinforced existing knowledge and minimised speaking anxiety. These findings can be utilised in the development of foreign language programmes to fulfil students’ needs and maximise educational benefits.departmental bulletin pape

Computer-assisted instruction: ‘JClic’ as a new pedagogical tool for EFL learners

The present study has a double purpose: firstly, to evaluate the effect of JClic on students' performance in the use of Simple Present Perfect in English and secondly, to establish the impact of the use of JClic on students' engagement and motivation. In other words, this research seeks to find out if student engagement and motivation in the learning process are heightened while using JClic, as a pedagogical tool, to carry out instruction. In this study, the Simple Present Perfect is presented in contrast to Simple Past in order to strengthen students' knowledge and understanding of the two tenses, although only the first one is evaluated as it was more problematic for them (according to the results from the 2nd end of term exam). Furthermore, a description and practice activities, involving the use of both tenses, are presented. In this study, we use mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative), in order to answer the research questions and obtain a better triangulation and complementarity regarding data collection. The findings reveal that the use of the JClic software, as a computer-assisted language-learning (CALL) tool, can increase students' engagement, motivation, and learning achievement. Thus, computer-assisted instruction (CAI) might complement teacher-directed instruction through motivating activities that are helpful to students so as to improve their academic performance. Finally, the results of this study may be useful for English teachers as they can use students' achievement data in order to make instructional decisions to change classroom environment and improve learning

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

There is continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy, both as an effective means and valid goal of a language learning curriculum. However, the concept is recognised as emanating from Western tertiary educational contexts and as open to question in different sociocultural settings. This paper reports on a study of language learning attitudes and activity among adolescents in provincial Indonesia, during their first year in junior high school. Combining questionnaire, interview and classroom observation data, the study found that even younger learners are already learning English independently of their teacher's prescriptions, both inside the classroom and outside formal school. Their openness to the increasing learning opportunities in the local environment is often not recognised in local curricula, however, which instead impose a rigid diet of language items transmitted by teachers and their textbooks and assessed in national exams. In this local context, it seems that the promotion of appropriate forms of learner autonomy is essential if the majority of school pupils are not to be frustrated in their struggle to learn English

Flipped classroom. A case study of Estonian basic school EFL classes

The aim of the study was to determine the efficiency of using classroom and home flipped environment in Estonian basic school EFL classes. Flipped Classroom methodology has been in the centre of discussion in recent years for it provides a combination of learning theories that have been thought to be incompatible. There may be tasks in language learning and teaching that need passive absorption of predefined knowledge; on the other hand, learners are changing and new technology is a natural part of the surrounding environment from as early as pre-school and kindergarten which has changed the concepts of education. Learning and teaching process is more effective, when learners are participating actively using their creativity in knowledge and skills construction and when learning goals are determined by the learners. When planning learning process it is vital that the chosen strategy would cause learning and in the centre of it were an active learner. The thesis consists of two chapters. In the first chapter background information on Computer Assisted Learning, Blended Learning and Flipped Classroom Methodology is provided and the benefits and difficulties in implementing the Flipped Classroom Methodology in EFL classes are discussed. Guidelines for implementing the Flipped Classroom methodology are provided and some case studies are discussed. In the second chapter a case study conducted on implementing the Flipped Classroom Methodology in EFL classroom is discussed and the methodology of the study is provided. The activities created for the case study, the process of implementing them and other activities in lessons are discussed, qualitative data analysis is used, the reflections on the process and experience is provided. The results of the survey are reviewed and followed by a discussion and conclusion.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4582709*es

Un enfoque comunicativo desde la perspectiva de género en la clase de inglés de secundaria: un estudio a pequeña escala

The implicit ideology behind sexist proverbs and sayings such as who has a fair wife needs more than two eyes; many women, many words, many geese, many turds; a woman without a man is like a handle without a pan or a good wife is a perfect lady in the living room, a good cook in the kitchen, and a harlot in the bedroom proves that we have been living in a men’s world, made by men and for men, for a very long time. As a matter of fact, male chauvinism is quite deep-rooted in the Spanish patriarchal society and, therefore, gender stereotypes still seem very resistant to change. However, it is undeniable that gender awareness has also positively increased in the last few decades. Nevertheless, this gender awareness is not present everywhere and in the same way. That is to say, taking the education field as an example, both the national and the regional curricula of the obligatory secondary education make explicit reference to the education system’s duty to promote initiatives and measures to raise gender awareness, yet this duty is not so extensively carried out in the everyday teaching practice. Thereby, this dissertation claims that gender awareness is not addressed in secondary education classes on a daily basis and even less so in the EFL class. The aforementioned thesis statement leads one to wonder whether the instructional resources and teaching aids used in the EFL class take the gender awareness into consideration or not. This research question has to do with the fact that the curricula clearly state that gender equality should be promoted in class but it turns out that it is not completely like this. Thus, textbooks, which are supposed to be designed in compliance with the curricular goals, should also promote this value, or at least, they should be free of gender bias, but is it really so? Does the representation of gender in textbooks reinforce or fight against gender stereotypes? Together with the goal of answering this key research question, this dissertation would like to achieve the following objectives: 1) to define gender stereotypes and the influence of school in their promotion and justify why the EFL context may be the adequate site to fight against this so-called gender bias; 2) to create a list of criteria which will allow me to spot all the existing marks of gender stereotypes in the teaching materials used in the EFL class; 3) to test this checklist as a double-edged tool: on the one hand, it will allow me to analyse the results and conclude whether instructional materials are gender-biased or not and, on the other hand, it will let me design curricular activities, both according to the results and keeping the gender awareness in mind; 4) to demonstrate that it is possible for contemporary teachers to adapt, revise and/or create EFL materials that show the social awareness with gender issues. All in all, I hope that at the end of this study I will have been able to detect to what extent some instructional materials used in the EFL class may be gender-biased, although the curricula expect the contrary, as well as to create a tool aimed at analysing and designing bias-free activities, which will probably be highly efficient when it comes to raising gender awareness in students

THE IMPACT OF THE WIKI-ENHANCED TBLT APPROACH ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL IN A BOYS’ PUBLIC SCHOOL IN AL AIN, UAE

This study investigated the impact of the wiki-enhanced task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach on students’ writing skill in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, it explored the students’ and teacher’s views and perceptions toward the implementation of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. The study data were collected quantitatively and qualitatively from two classrooms in a public high school in the UAE, which consisted of 30 students. The quantitative data were collected via a pretest–posttest design from the two assigned groups of students: the control and experimental groups. The qualitative data were collected via a survey of the students and a semi-structured interview with the teacher. The study was conducted during a whole academic semester. The findings of the study show that implementing the wiki-enhanced TBLT technique considerably improves EFL learners’ writing skills in relation to the four language components examined in this study: syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, fluency, and lexical complexity. In addition, the students enjoyed working together on writing tasks using the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach. Their responses showed that the TBLT approach encourages better performance in collaborative writing tasks and classroom engagement. Moreover, the classroom teachers indicated that the implementation of this approach played a significant role in promoting students’ performance, communication, collaboration, and engagement in the target language (English) in the experimental group. Furthermore, the findings showed that students can construct new knowledge with the aid of their peers, thereby improving their capacity to devise and discuss original ideas. As students can practice collaborative writing while at home, the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach is beneficial for online learning. Adopting this approach increased students’ participation in class because they were more comfortable working together while using technology, improving the quality of their writing and assignments. Several theoretical and pedagogical implications regarding the implementation of this approach have been drawn. The first theoretical implication of this study is that the wiki approach supports previous efforts to move the socio constructivist perspective of learning from the spoken discourse to the written discourse. The second theoretical implication is that it provides support to Chapelle\u27s framework (2003) where learning should be focused on tasks that require the use of the target language. Learning should take place in meaningful and real-life contexts, and instruction should be tailored to the individual needs of the learner. The third theoretical implication is that his study is the first to be conducted in the Gulf region, especially in the UAE. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the TBLT approach, the first pedagogical implication is that teachers need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach a standard and favored classroom strategy. The second pedagogical implication is that the wiki approach can be used by teachers as a teaching strategy to promote students’ participation and engagement and create a friendly social environment in the L2 classroom. The third pedagogical implication is that technology has proved to be integral in the classroom in teaching and learning the target language. The fourth pedagogical implication is for course designers who need to consider the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach as part of the curriculum. Based on these findings, future research can consider examining the effect of the wiki-enhanced TBLT approach on EFL learners’ writing skill at different levels, such as primary, college, or university students. Future research might also investigate the effect of Google Docs–based TBLT approach on developing students’ writing skill and explore students’ perceptions toward using this approach

E-political caricatures-assisted cooperative learning: Disengaging EFL learners from individualistic, competitive and racial discrimination’s learning settings

This qualitative research was aimed at reviving the principles of cooperative learning in the English class and critically studying the effects of it on the learners’ learning process and language skills. A number of 25 English learners were purposively selected as research participants. Journal writing, observation, and interview were techniques for collecting the data. Miles and Huberman’s model was a way of analysing the data while triangulation (credibility and dependability) was the strategy for qualifying the finding. The findings indicated that the e-political caricatures-assisted cooperative learning requires authentic and global learning themes. It improves the qualities of the learners’ global awareness, intercultural competence, communication skills, collaboration (team building, capitalisation on one another resources, deep learning, mastering language knowledge or competence and skills of English), critical thinking skills, and creativity (4Cs). It then leads the learners to active learning, project and problem-based learning, and develops digital skills and digital literacy skills. When compared to the previous language skills, the levels of the learners’ English language performance were between “intermediate” (22 learners) and “proficient” (three learners). These results signify that cooperative learning strongly enhance the learners’ language competence and skills of English and inspire them to collaboratively work and learn regardless of differences. In conclusion, the cooperative learning treats equally all class members, understand and accept differences in race, level of language skills, intelligence, etc., to achieve the shared learning goals, and further encourage learners to construct the knowledge and skills of English collaboratively