Barriers to technology integration in teaching English as a second language among English educators in Pakistan

The integration of information and communication technology is becoming a must for todays’ English as a second language teaching. Of late, worldwide situations and proven effectiveness have made technology integration necessary for educators to move with the flow. However, technology integration for English as a second language teaching environment among English educators in Pakistan is questionable. Therefore, this study aims to find out the barriers English language educators face in integrating technology in their teaching environments in the country. The study employed a mixed-method research design to collect data via an online questionnaire and interview protocols. The samples consist of 39 tertiary-level Pakistani ESL educators who responded to the online survey, and eight were chosen as interviewees. The findings revealed the unavailability of technology resources and lack of computer knowledge and skills training as part of the educators’ professional development as the core barriers to the technology-integration teaching in the country. The study calls for rigorous development and implementation of technology-based facilities and resources from the local authorities to be made available for the educators to incorporate in their English language teaching environments. The research also advocates for more intensive upskilling technology-based training for the educators as part of their continuous professional development programmes

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

Public speaking for engineering students in a blended learning environment

Effective teaching and learning processes are made possible as information and communication technology (ICTs) tools are used to support the environment. Today, apart from a fully face-to-face or online environment, blended learning promises opportunities for teaching and learning to be done in both environments. This study employed the quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design to investigate the effects of blended learning in reducing anxiety and improving public speaking skills of ESL learners. Fifty-six students, enrolled in the fifth semester of the Bachelor in Civil Engineering program at a technical university in Malaysia, were involved in the study. The Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) was administered as the pre and post test to measure the students' level of anxiety pertaining to public speaking. The Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form (CSSEF) was used as an instrument to measure the students' public speaking performance at pre and post conditions. The findings indicate that blended learning environment does have a positive impact in the development of public speaking skills of these students

Perceptions about English as second language teachers’ technology based English language teaching in Pakistan: Attitudes, uses of technology and challenges

This study aims to find out the perceptions of English as a second language (henceforth, ESL) teachers’ attitudes towards the use of technology for teaching of English to the undergraduate students in Pakistan. The study exposes the uses of information and communication technologies (henceforth, ICT) in teaching, and the difficulties faced in integrating technology for teaching of English. Data is collected through survey questionnaire and interview protocol from ESL teachers teaching at college level in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Survey data is analyzed through SPSS 22 while interview questions have a thematic analysis. Findings of survey and interview protocol used in the study reveal positive attitudes on the part of teachers towards the use of technology. No significant difference is found among teachers’ use of technology due to gender or academic qualification. However, the difference between teachers’ technology use can be ascribed to their competence. The use of technology is beneficial for teaching and learning environment, but its’ use is not optimal in educational environment in Pakistan. The findings highlight limited use of technology due to shortage of resources, unavailability of tools and lack of training. The study puts forward some recommendations for the effective use of technology in language teaching and the removal of the potential barriers in its use by teachers in Pakistan

The Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Speaking Development of Saudi EFL Learners

Speaking in a foreign language is considered to be a challenging aspect of language learning that demands competence and mastery in learning any foreign language. Vocabulary learning verifies to play an important role in oral communication. However, literature lacks the studies where both English as a foreign language (EFL) students and teachers’ views are obtained to provide analyses of the situations in which learners are not showing desired results in speaking. The current study explores the problems of lack of vocabulary that Saudi EFL students face with special focus on their speaking proficiency. It aims to seek EFL teachers’ opinions on the extent to which lack of vocabulary has influence on EFL students’ performance in listening, and conversation classes, and in expressing their ideas and feelings, and especially in speaking skill. A questionnaire was used for the responses from the students and an interview for the teachers to reveal their perceptions about the vocabulary hindrance in speaking skills. 20 EFL instructors and teachers of Preparatory Year Program (PYP) section of a public university and 110 EFL students participated in this study. The analysis of the data showed that both teachers and learners indicated that lack of vocabulary is one of the major factors in students’ inability to speaking English. In the current study, among many other suggestions it is proposed that the inclusion of mobile assisted language learning could be useful way of developing vocabulary for spoken proficiency of Saudi EFL learners

EFL Instructors’ Perceptions on the Integration and Implementation of MALL in EFL Classes

Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) has opened new opportunities for language instructors to develop and use handheld technology and implement new teaching practices focused on learners. The increased use of technology in language learning means instructors can play a key role in motivating learners by integrating readily available technologies for language learning development into their teaching practices. The focus of this present investigation is to explore the attitudes of Saudi instructors teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) regarding the implementation of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL). The target population for this study was EFL instructors who are currently teaching English in Saudi Arabia. The research methods for the study included a questionnaire, as well as in-depth interviews that were conducted to explore the attitudes of EFL instructors. The results of the questionnaire and interviews revealed moderately positive attitudes among participants regarding the use of mobile phones for language learning and teaching activities. The findings also indicate the existence of some challenges that could prove to be a significant hurdle for mobile phone integration in EFL learning and teaching in Saudi Arabia. Most of the instructors reported that they did not use mobile phones or MALL activities in their EFL classes. The results also showed that EFL teachers do not have the required skills to use/develop MALL activities. This study concludes by offering recommendations and suggestions for how to implement MALL and remove potential barriers to MALL implementation in EFL instruction

Podcasting as a tool in the development of public speaking skills

This study employed the quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design to investigate the effects of podcasting in reducing anxiety and improving public speaking skills of ESL learners.Eighty-two students were involved in the study They were enrolled in the fifth semester of the Bachelor in Civil Engineering program at Universiti Malaysia Pahang This sample was divided into three groups Two groups were subjected to experimental treatment and one group was assigned as the control group. The Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) was administered as the pre-test and post-test to measure the students' level of anxiety pertaining to public speaking. The Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form (CSSEF) was used as an instrument to measure the students' public speaking performance at pre-test and post-test.Students' attitude and perceptions on the use of podcasting in the public speaking class were explored using a questionnaire survey,and augmented with observations,group interviews and examination of the entries made in their respective websites.The overall PRPSA scores revealed that the students in all three groups demonstrated a significant reduction in their anxiety level,from pre-test to post-test.Pairwise comparisons between groups revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups.Similar results were obtained with the CSSEF,where the students in all three groups made significant improvements in their public speaking performance.Again,pairwise comparisons between groups revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups.However,at post-test,the experimental group demonstrated a negative correlation between speech performance and speech This study employed the quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design to investigate the effects of podcasting in reducing anxiety and improving public speaking skills of ESL learners. Eighty-two students were involved in the study. They were enrolled in the fifth semester of the Bachelor in Civil Engineering program at Universiti Malaysia Pahang. This sample was divided into three groups. Two groups were subjected to experimental treatment,and one group was assigned as the control group.The Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) was administered as the pre-test and post-test to measure the students'level of anxiety pertaining to public speaking.The Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form (CSSEF) was used as an instrument to measure the students' public speaking performance at pre-test and post-test.Students'attitude and perceptions on the use of podcasting in the public speaking class were explored using a questionnaire survey, and augmented with observations,group interviews and examination of the entries made in their respective websites.The overall PRPSA scores revealed that the students in all three groups demonstrated a significant reduction in their anxiety level,from pre-test to post-test.Pairwise comparisons between groups revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups.Similar results were obtained with the CSSEF,where the students in all three groups made significant improvements in their public speaking performance.Again, pairwise comparisons between groups revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups.However,at post-test, the experimental group demonstrated a negative correlation between speech performance and speech anxiety,where students' speech performance improved as their level of anxiety decreased. A similar relationship between the two variables was not evident in the control group.Further investigations revealed that although the students in the experimental groups agreed that podcasting should be incorporated in future public speaking classes,they faced technical-related difficulties such as inconsistent speed and intermittent access to the Internet during the study,thus the "anytime, anywhere" maxim for podcasting was not applicable in this situation. Anxiety,wherestudents'speechperformance improved as their level of anxiety decreased.A similar relationship between the two variables was not evident in the control group.Further investigations revealed that although the students in the experimental groups agreed that podcasting should be incorporated in future public speaking classes, they faced technical-related difficulties such as inconsistent speed and intermittent access to the Internet during the study, thus the "anytime, anywhere" maxim for podcasting was not applicable in this situation

Investigating students’ perception of using wikis in academic writing course

Wikis are emergent technologies which are increasingly used in writing classrooms. These web-based, authoring tools have been used in academic writing classrooms and specifically for collaborative work. This study investigated students’ perception of using wikis for collaborative writing. Four-hundred twenty four undergraduate students enrolled in an academic writing course participated in the survey. In the course, students wrote, revised and submitted group research reports via wikis. This paper discusses two main issues, the first is to determine group participation level during group work via wikis and the second is, to identify the preferred collaborative writing mode. Findings indicate that students did not face major problems working together online. On the one hand, the students reported that wikis were useful for data storage and group work task completion. In addition, they claimed that using wikis for group work encouraged group participation. On the other hand, the students argued for the preference for face-to-face discussion during collaborative writing

Public Speaking Anxiety in Podcast Aided Language Classes

Abstract: This paper presents a study on learners ' level of anxiety when a podcast was used in developing their public speaking skills. This study employs a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design where the control group was taught using the traditional method whilst a podcast was used as a teaching aid on the treatment group. The podcast makes it possible for the learners to have an authentic audience for their speaking activities. This study was thus conducted to see what would be the effect of using this facility on the learners. Richmond and McCroskey's (1998) Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) was the instrument used to measure the language learners ' level of anxiety. The study found that there was no significant difference between the control and the treatment groups. A reduction in the level of anxiety was observed in all groups

Teaching Public Speaking in a Blended Learning Environment

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide new environment for learning and teaching. Today, apart from a fully face-to-face or online environment, blended learning promises opportunities for teaching and learning to be done in both environments. This paper reports results from an analysis of data collected from students at a Malaysian university. An end-of-semester survey was completed by 40 students taking a Public Speaking course. The survey was conducted to understand students’ reactions towards the use of wiki in a blended learning environment. The survey data are being used to inform decisions on the course delivery structure and about adoption of new digital technologies for learning and teaching. Findings from the study indicate that the students found that using wiki facilitated their speech preparation process specifically in receiving feedback and improving speech delivery. Although some had reservation about publishing their speeches publicly on wiki, they understood that it was to their benefit. Therefore using wiki in a blended learning environment was found to be advantageous to the Public Speaking course