Using Music for Developing Language Skills in the English Language Classroom

From the birth of humanity to religion and science, music has been an integral part of the existence of mankind. Music, whether natural or man-made, has undeniable impacts on the psyche and the overall wellbeing of an individual. It is only natural that in the field of learning too, music can have an impeccable influence. In almost every sphere of life, we can feel the presence and importance of music. Language, like music, is a mirror of culture and society. It evolves with time while capturing diverse aspects of cultures and civilisations. Since speech functions and music functions depend on each other, it becomes fairly obvious, that music impacts neural pathways in the human brain, thus influencing human’s ability to communicate. Music and language are vibrational in nature. Musical hearing is essential for acquiring, processing and producing language. Several independent language learners pick up language items from songs. A lot of essential skills can also be developed among learners.  Students with certain learning disabilities can enormously benefit from learning through music. This article will cover each of these areas and will explore practical ideas and approaches of implementing music to teach language. A sample lesson plan, comprising stages and tasks, is analysed, along with a list of suggested songs for different language structures. On the whole, this article aims to capture the importance of music in human life and its prominence in language acquisition

The Impact of English Movies with Standard Subtitles on Enhancing the Writing Skills of EFL Students at Cihan University – Duhok

This research paper aims to comprehensively investigate the effects of English movies accompanied by standard English subtitles on the writing skills of English as a second language (ESL) learners. Writing, considered a particularly challenging language skill, presents unique difficulties for ESL learners. Moreover, understanding English movies without subtitles poses further challenges. To address these issues, integrating media and movies into language learning practices has been recognized as highly effective. This study employs a meticulously designed questionnaire as the primary research instrument to collect data from a sample size of 30 participants aged 19-24 enrolled at Cihan University- Duhok. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies is utilized to thoroughly examine the impact of watching English movies with English subtitles on the development of writing skills. Participants provide valuable insights into the effects they experience when utilizing subtitles, including improvements in expressive abilities, as well as the formation of more coherent and sophisticated sentences and phrases. The findings unequivocally demonstrate that a significant majority of participants attribute their enhanced writing skills to the use of English movies with subtitles as a powerful learning tool

Enhancing English Language Education: The Impact of AI Integration in the Classroom

Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in education promises to transform language learning, particularly in English education. This study examines AI\u27s impact on language acquisition, comprehension, and fluency in English learners. It aims to evaluate AI applications in English classrooms, explore their influence on teaching methods, and assess perceptions among educators and students. Literature review emphasizes AI\u27s diverse uses, including natural language processing and adaptive learning platforms, for personalized learning and enhanced language proficiency. Employing a mixed-method approach, quantitative analysis of language outcomes combines with qualitative insights from surveys, interviews, and observations. Expected results aim to demonstrate AI\u27s positive influence, improving language skills, boosting engagement, and fostering tailored learning experiences. Challenges in AI implementation, such as accessibility and pedagogical adaptation, are also investigated. This research\u27s implications extend to educators, institutions, and policymakers, offering insights into leveraging AI to improve English education. Understanding AI\u27s impact and limitations supports refining teaching methods and curriculum for effective language acquisition. Overall, this study contributes to innovative language education approaches, providing guidance on AI integration to advance English proficiency in modern classroom

Integrating Coding and Artificial Intelligence in English Language Teaching: A Study at Cihan University-Duhok

Coding and language acquisition are highly valued in the present world, not only in the educational system but also in daily life and earning a living. In terms of Artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Deep Learning, etc., coding is becoming more and more integrated into daily life. Applying coding to increase the visualization of English learning by smart systems employing AI in the classroom, in the context of English Language Teaching (ELT), may have a significant influence on how students learn. Any civilization needs language to facilitate social interaction because it allows people to communicate their ideas, opinions, and feelings to others while also advancing their knowledge. English is a language that everyone may use to communicate with one another. As a result of the growing tendency of linguistic globalization, bilingualism is becoming a fairly common phenomenon in today\u27s world. This paper will investigate the potential effects of coding on undergraduate students\u27 academic performance and English language comprehension. It tries to assess both levels of learning English and vocabulary by coding using the survey data by SPSS. Additionally, it will make an effort to link the teacher\u27s study level and outside-the-classroom teaching methods. A thorough literature review has been done and a research gap has been found. Then for the study, 60 undergraduate students from the Department of English, Cihan University- Duhok were chosen, and they were requested to take a pre-test to gauge their level of English proficiency. Additionally, the faculty were picked to gauge how easy it was for the students to grasp the language. After introducing coding and smart systems into the learning process, a post-test was conducted, and the outcomes were evaluated. The AI and smart system in the ELT can enhance the way and interest of learning. This study has led to the conclusion that coding can be added to ELT to enhance learning

Investigating the Effectiveness of ESL Games and Activities in Developing Listening Skills among ESL Learners

This study aimed to examine the efficacy of using ESL games and activities to enhance ESL learners\u27 listening skills. The study was conducted with participants of 75 from various universities in Kurdistan Region, selected using a stratified random sampling method. The pretest-posttest control group design was employed in this study, in which the experimental group received ESL games and activities, while the control group received traditional listening instruction. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and ANCOVA. The findings of the study revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test, indicating that ESL games and activities had a significant impact on the development of listening skills among ESL learners. This study’s outcomes have several implications for teaching and learning practices. Instructors and curriculum designers could integrate ESL games and activities into their teaching methodologies to make language learning more engaging and interactive. Furthermore, learners could benefit from a more enjoyable and dynamic learning experience. The study’s limitations were that it was conducted in a specific cultural and educational context, which may limit its generalizability. Additionally, the study did not consider individual differences among participants, such as prior language proficiency or motivation levels, which may have influenced the results. In conclusion, this study indicates that ESL games and activities can enhance listening skills among ESL learners. Future research could explore the effectiveness of these methods in different educational settings and with different populations of ESL learners

The Impact of Low Socioeconomic Background on a Child’s Educational Achievements

A child’s educational achievements are based on multiple factors, including their family, their family’s behavior, socioeconomic status, their behavior toward their parents, etc. The main objective of the study is to establish the relationship between the socioeconomic background of the children and their educational achievements and how it impacts their psychology. A descriptive survey research design was used to conduct this study. The target population was 50 students and either of their parents. The target was selected through random sampling. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and different types of observation techniques were implied while collecting the data. The study concluded that most of the students with low socioeconomic status had poor achievements in their academics, which led them into the labor market at an early age. It has been found that parents with low socioeconomic backgrounds were less interested in educating their children. Kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more focused on employment instead of pursuing their studies after completing their secondary education. Such students end up in unskilled or blue-collar jobs. This study recommends free-of-cost vocational and technical education to such children to provide them with better livelihood opportunities. There is a need for parental education and awareness programs as well conducted by schools/universities and other concerned authorities

The comparative impacts of portfolio-based assessment, self-assessment, and scaffolded peer assessment on reading comprehension, vocabulary learning, and grammatical accuracy: insights from working memory capacity

Abstract This research was carried out to comparatively study the impacts of portfolio-based assessment, self-assessment, and scaffolded peer assessment on reading comprehension, vocabulary learning, and grammatical accuracy of Afghan English as a foreign language learners. To accomplish this, 172 learners enrolled at a language institute, through an Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), 120 lower-intermediate learners and 5 higher-intermediate learners were selected. These selected participants were assigned into four groups: portfolio group (N = 30), self-assessment group (N = 30), scaffolded peer assessment group (N = 35), and control group (N = 30). The five higher-intermediate learners were injected into the scaffolded peer assessment group to function as the mediators, hence more participants in the group. After selecting the participants, through a reading-span test developed by Shahnazari (2013), learners’ working memory (WM) span was determined. It was discovered that 16 subjects in the portfolio condition, 14 self-assessment learners, 18 participants in the peer assessment group, and 13 participants in the control condition had high WM, while the rest of the participants had low WM. Thereafter, through validated instructor-made tests, subjects’ reading comprehension, knowledge of targeted lexical items, and grammatical accuracy at baseline were determined. Then, a ten-session treatment began. After the treatment, a follow-up post-test was administered. The results of three two-way between-group MANOVA disclosed that all three experimental conditions outstripped the comparison group on the second occasion and that high WM learners outstripped low WM learners (with a large effect size on reading comprehension test (partial eta squared = .365), a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .095), a large effect size on vocabulary post-test (partial eta squared = .465), a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .083), a large effect size on grammar test (partial eta squared = .500), and a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .072)). The results further revealed that subjects in the scaffolded peer assessment group outstripped subjects in other experimental conditions, but the difference was non-significant. Additionally, the difference between the portfolio assessment and self-assessment group was not statistically significant. The implications of the study are reported

Intolerance of uncertainty scale-12:psychometric properties of this construct among Iranian undergraduate students

BACKGROUND: Uncertainty intolerance (IU), the tendency to think or react negatively toward uncertain events may have implication on individuals’ mental health and psychological wellbeing. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IU-12) is commonly used across the globe to measure IU, however, its’ psychometric properties are yet to be evaluated in Iran with a Persian-speaking population. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to translate and validate the IU-12 among Iranian undergraduate students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The multi-stage cluster random sampling was employed to recruit 410 Iranian undergraduate students (260 females) from the Azad University to complete the IU-12, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-2, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a cross-sectional design. In this study, face validity, content validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity were measured and Construct Reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure reliability. RESULTS: The impact score of the translated IU-12 indicated acceptable face validity (value of impact score was greater than 1.5). The value of Content Validity Index (CVI) and the value of Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were above 0.7 and 0.78, respectively. The values of CVI and CVR indicated the items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the measure. The measurement model analysis showed the measure with two subscales had good fit indices (CMIN/df = 2.75, p < 0.01, RMSEA = 0.07, TLI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.94). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated the scale was composed of the two subscales found in the English-version of the scale (prospective anxiety and inhibitory anxiety), and no items were removed from the scale. The values of CR (0.86) and Cronbach’s alphas (0.89) showed the measure had appropriate internal consistency. CONCLUSION: The findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the IU-12. This scale could be used to reliably and accurately measure uncertainty intolerance among undergraduate students in Iran

Psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale with undergraduate students

Interpersonal mindfulness is a construct that significantly contributes to social interaction. To date, no validated measure assessing interpersonal mindfulness has been developed in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and validate the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale (IMS) among Iranian undergraduate students. Participants in the study (370 undergraduate students; 220 females) from the Azad University completed the translated IMS, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Scale. The translated measure demonstrated acceptable face validity. All items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the scale. The results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed a scale with four subscales (presence, awareness of self and others, non-judgmental acceptance, and non-reactivity), with acceptable internal consistency. The findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian translated Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale, which could be used to measure interpersonal mindfulness among undergraduate students in Iran