The effects of language simplification and pictures on the ability of Emirati university students to comprehend and solve mathematics word problems

This paper presents a study of Emirati university students learning mathematics in a second language (English). The study focused on students\u27 responses to mathematical word problems in different versions: simpler/more complex versions of the problem in English; an Arabic translation of the problem; and the addition of a picture to support the text of the problem. Our findings suggest that neither language simplification nor pictures significantly affect students\u27 comprehension and performance on word problem assessments; the lexical and syntactic features of the word problems have little effect on their understanding and ability to answer the questions presented to them. In addition, evidence suggests that there is no first-language (Arabic) advantage when answering these assessments. These findings are in line with previous studies that found no evidence that simplifying the language of mathematics tests had a significant positive effect on student performance. Implications on the appropriate theoretical perspectives to use when studying the relationship of language and mathematics learning are discussed. In addition, practical recommendations are presented for instructors and professors in \u27globalist\u27 multilingual classrooms (Barwell, 2003). تستعرض هذه الدراسة أداء الطلاب الإماراتين أثناء تعلم الرياضيات باللغة الإنجليزية من خلال التركيز على تنوع استجابتهم للمسائل الرياضية Ù†Ùسها بصيغ مختلÙØ© (مركبة أو بسيطة)ØŒ وبعد ترجمتها إلى اللغة العربية، وكذلك بعد إضاÙØ© صورة توضيحية للمسائل. وقد تبين من خلال النتائج عدم تأثر الطالب باللغة المبسطة للمسألة أو بالصورة المضاÙØ© أثناء حل المسائل اللÙظية أي أن السمات المعجمية والنحوية للمسائل اللÙظية ليس لها تأثير يذكر على Ùهم الطالب وقدرته على الإجابة عن الأسئلة المعروضة عليه. كما لم تؤثر الترجمة على حل الطلبة للمسألة. وبذلك تتماشى هذه النتائج مع الدراسات السابقة التي لم تتوصل إلى أي تأثير إيجابي لاستخدام اللغة المبسطة على Ùهم مسائل الرياضيات. كما تناقش الدراسة الآثار المترتبة على استخدام النظريات المناسبة عند دراسة العلاقة بين الرياضيات واللغة. تعرض الدراسة ÙÙŠ نهايتها توصيات المعلمين والأساتذة العملية والمستÙادة من خبراتهم التدريسية ÙÙŠ بيئات مختلÙØ© حول العالم

Implementation of Focus on Form in a Task-Based Language Teaching Context in the United Arab Emirates EFL Middle School Setting

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been researched from various perspectives for more than two decades. While research into the theoretical background of the framework and the design and implementation of tasks is growing worldwide, there is little experimental research in the Gulf area and, in particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study investigates the implementation of TBLT in an intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms context in the UAE, focusing specifically on how teachers focus on form (FonF) in their teaching practice. The study explores the differences between four teachers when they introduced meaning-oriented tasks based on the textbook and two learning outcomes (LOs) proposed by the Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK). The study also investigates teachers’ views and perceptions towards the TBLT framework, FonF, and the prescribed textbook. It also examines the views of students towards their classroom teachers’ implementation of FonF and the challenges and constraints facing the implementation of TBLT and FonF in the UAE. Adopting a mixed-methods experimental study approach, the data set included a total of one unit taught by four teachers on the same theme, with individual lesson plans and teaching materials. Data were collected from classroom observations, field notes, and documentation of students’ work, as well as interviews with teachers and surveys for both teachers and students. Results show that teachers differed in their teaching practice along four dimensions: (a) the successful fulfillment of the LOs; (b) the type of FonF employed; (c) strategies used in FonF; and (d) the possibility of implementing TBLT successfully in their teaching. All teachers and students agreed that form was important for language learning and mastering. Further, teachers agreed on the efficiency of TBLT as a teaching and learning approach, but time-consuming. Additionally, teachers found the textbook a useful resource but not useful enough when they have to prepare extra materials to fulfill the LOs required by ADEK. Students also found the textbook a great resource for learning form and believed that it offered sufficient explanation for the targeted structures. Further, challenges and limitations that face implementing TBLT in the UAE are: (a) lack of motivation (b) the gap between students\u27 current level of proficiency and the required level; (c) class size; (d) sticking with the learning outcomes; (e) time; and (f) the effect of L1. Findings imply that the most important factors that contribute to enhancing language learning are not the task or the pedagogic framework of the textbook per se, but rather the teachers’ successful understanding of the framework and their reactions to students’ needs in the classroom. It is expected that findings of the study will influence the instructional practices of teachers so as to better teach language form in their classrooms and help students achieve grammatical competence, which is an essential part of language proficiency. It may also help curriculum developers and material designers to amend the existing textbooks to best fit students’ needs. Additionally, this study creates more research opportunities in the context of intermediate EFL school classrooms in the UAE. It is hoped the study will emphasize the benefits of implementing TBLT in UAE educational settings in terms of quantity (or amount) and quality (or depth) of learnin

An exploratory study investigating the factors which explain Abu Dhabi Education Council’s (Adec) English curriculum choice in grade 10/11 public high schools and the challenges its implementation poses for teachers

This study focuses on the factors which explain Abu Dhabi Education Council’s (Adec) English curriculum choice in grade ten and eleven public high schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It investigates the challenges its implementation poses for teachers personally and professionally. The study is exploratory and interpretive and is based on the perceptions of 12 male teachers; 6 Arab teachers of English and 6 “native” English speaking teachers at 3 boys’ public high schools in the Abu Dhabi emirate. Data were gathered through lengthy semi-structured interviews with teachers, analysis of Adec curriculum and assessment documentation as well as open, non-participant classroom observations. The findings show the current curriculum, modelled on that used in NSW mainstream schools in Australia up until the end of 2014 is an inappropriate choice for students learning English as a foreign/second language in a school environment where all other subjects are taught in Arabic. This in turn provides a range of challenges for teachers who are unable to implement the course content as it was intended or the learner / learning-centred pedagogical approaches promoted by the curriculum and assessment documentation. The study recommends a realistic assessment of students’ language needs be undertaken as a top priority and, based on these findings, English classes streamed according to students’ language proficiency; with curriculum and assessment designed to reflect the various stages of learning. Ability grouping would enable specialist teachers to target areas of strength and weakness, thus countering the boredom and frustration currently experienced by many students. The study also recommends future stakeholder consultation, an in-depth orientation for newly hired teachers and professional development for incumbent teachers in scaffolded language instruction

Communication, digital media and future: new scenarios and future changes

Digital media, technology, new theoretical perspectives have revolutionized the ways of interacting among individuals, acquiring information and knowledge, teaching, behaving in multicultural society and so on and so forth. The impact of new ways of communicating, social media, political platforms on daily lives is evident. Multifaced and different aspects of these topics have been discussed in the VI World conference on Media and Communication (MEDCOM), which was supposed to be held in Cagliari, in May 2020, and it has been postponed to June 2021, online. During that year, communicating revealed even more relevant for citizen live. We assisted to the great importance of best practices in crisis communication, and the critical situations generated by fake news and information overload. Many different topics and fields were included in the conference and, in this volume, we collected 22 papers representative of the discussion, open to scholars from all over the world. The volume is organized in 8 sessions, each one exploring one specific topic: 1. Social Media: Impact, Future, Issues; 2. Public Sector Communication; 3. Politics, Ethics and Communication; Section: 4 Multiculturalism, Cultural Studies, Youth, and Gender Communication; 5 Media Education; 6 Media and Corporate; 7 Screen Cultures; 8 Communication and Covid-19 Pandemic. The last session has been added to the conference after the first postponement to favor analysis of the future development of communication and its complexity after the pandemic experience

Communication, digital media and future: new scenarios and future changes

Proceedings of the MEDCOM 2020+1 International Conferenc

Transitions in teacher education and professional identities: proceedings

The University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, was the host for the 2014 Annual Conference of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE), which took place in August, from the 25th to the 27th. The Conference focused on Transitions in Teacher Education and Professional Identities looked at the transitions in teacher education and analysed different experiences in professional identity of (student) teachers from an international perspective. Three keywords may be identified: challenges in teaching, dilemmas in teacher education and in teacher educators’ role and current trends that are shaping teacher education in different contexts. Similar dilemmas and even contradictions have been identified in different settings with different modes of government intervention in teacher education in which content, structure and duration are also diverse but with similar features. Another key theme discussed at the Conference was the complexity of the concept of identity and also the contested nature of the transitions: transitions for what? How? Why? These transitions and shifts in teacher education and professional identities need to be examined within the context of current policies but also in the light of the complexities and contradictions of teaching as a profession. Teacher educators are also facing transitions in teacher education curricula but also regarding their own identities. These are complex processes that may include resistance and turbulence because transitions may be troublesome for many reasons. In this regard context and language matter but also the kinds of policies and practices that exist within teacher education. There are questions that remain unanswered. However, despite the differences, the dilemmas, and even the contradictions, teacher education can make a difference in professional identity development as was the case of successful experiences that have been described in the Conference

Investigating the predictive validity of IELTS for a teacher education program in UAE

This research study investigates the predictive validity of IELTS test scores as a graduation requirement for a Teacher Education Program in the UAE. The argument is that the use of the IELTS cut-off score (band 6) as a predictor of post-graduation performance in schools may not be justifiable based on differences in context-related interaction and their impact on language proficiency. Subjects in the present study were given a mock IELTS speaking test, and were recorded while giving classes on teaching practicum to examine the correspondence between the two performances and the impact of each context on their lexical diversity scores. A comparison between lexical diversity scores in each context using index D, revealed that there was no correlation between the two sets of scores as lexical diversity scores in the classroom were clearly lower than IELTS scores. Moreover, a comparison between the subjects’ band-scores on the IELTS speaking test and their mentors’ grades on teaching practicum revealed that there was no correlation. Corpus linguistic tools were also used in this study to compare content-word frequency lists produced in the IELTS speaking test with those produced in the classroom. Results showed that there were clear discrepancies, which indicated that context was a determining factor for the subjects’ lexical choices. A further qualitative analysis took an emic perspective following a Conversation Analysis approach in analysing the subjects’ talk in the classroom. Seedhouse’s (2004) framework for the analysis of the architecture of classroom interaction and Walsh’s (2011) combined Corpus Linguistics and Conversation Analysis (CLCA) approach were used as frames of reference. The analysis revealed that teacher repeats of lexical items in the classroom played a major role in reducing the subjects’ lexical diversity scores due to their frequency and variety. A total of 16 types of teacher repeats was identified. Those types were classified into 6 main categories related to different features of classroom discourse such as control of interaction, asking questions, giving feedback, and so on. Consequently, the predictive validity of IELTS scores was found to be weak for the context of a teacher education program. A two-step argument-based validation process is suggested at the end of this research study such that IELTS scores can be included as part of the requirement for the graduation of the Bachelor of Education program students. The first step is to adopt a complementary assessment based on a rubric created for the purpose of assessing classroom-based English language proficiency (CBELP). It is suggested that this assessment is administered by a trained mentor during classroom-based observations conducted on teaching practicum. The second step is to formulate a composite score based on the minimum required band-scores for both the IELTS and the CBELP assessments. The interpretation of that score should be supported by a validating argument leading from score interpretation to related decisions regarding the graduation of Bachelor of Education students.The thesis makes a contribution to theory in the fields of testing, lexical diversity and language proficiency, and furthers our understanding of classroom discourse

Teaching and learning Arabic as a second language online: A case study of Dubai during COVID-19 pandemic

Enrollment into Arabic as a second language (ASL) in Dubai has increased steadily due to the high influx of expatriates’ populations. Although Arabic is the primary language in Dubai, the government has mandated that Arabic be taught in all private schools for non-native Arabic speakers from grades one to nine. This was at the time when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and it threw this mandated study into the world of teaching and learning via online means. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the teaching and learning of ASL online in Dubai during the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring the role of innovation and technology infusion in teaching ASL, assessing how education stakeholders can motivate students in online learning, and investigating ways of effectively assessing students’ progress in online learning. The study utilized a qualitative case study where ten teachers and ten learners in 20 private schools in Dubai were interviewed, having been selected through the purposively sampling technique for the administration of unstructured interviews. The researcher analyzed the data using thematic analysis. There were three major findings in this study. First, the adoption of online digital technologies for the teaching and learning of ASL has a positive influence on online teaching. The adoption of such technologies was successfully carried out with the support of capable infrastructure and efforts by the Dubai government, parents, leaders, and teachers of Dubai schools. Second, students are motivated by their parents and teachers for the adoption of online learning techniques where the learning was made interesting, flexible, manageable, autonomous, and generalized. Third, online learning shifted the focus from quantifiable assessment means such as grades, credits, rankings, and markets to the achievement of learning and teaching outcomes and acquiring the needed skills. The study concluded with recommendations, implications for practitioners, and limitations of the study. It also identified suggestions for future research