Omani EFL Learners' Proficiency in Using Idiomatic Expressions: Researched Pedagogical Perspectives

The purpose of this pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study was to explore the strategies English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students use on understanding the meanings of idioms both in oral and written submissions. The study also investigated the strategies on comprehending the meaning of idioms and improving idiomatic vocabularies in the language learning processes to both English teachers and students. Further, the study began to identify the criteria of idiom and idiom-understanding aspects so that the identified EFL students will be able to guess and become familiar with frequently used idioms and their desired contexts.Omani university students in English 101 Basic Academic English course comprised the experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. Both groups were exposed to the same curriculum and set of idioms. The experimental group received direct instructions: (pictures, videos and discussions) while learning idioms and the control group received input through traditional methods of lecturing in learning idioms. Students completed the Inference Task (Al-­‐hassan, Haidar 2007) as pretest and posttest. Results indicated that Direct Instruction of idioms provided significant improvement of students’ performance on the Inference Task. Given the positive study outcomes, EFL teachers would benefit from incorporating visual aids, direct instructions and active discussions which will automatically support specific common idioms, increase students’ comprehension and thereby their communication skills. Keywords: Omani EFL learners, idiomatic expressions, proficiency, direct instruction, inference tas

Omani English Language Learners’ Proficiency with Idioms

The purpose of this pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study was to explore the strategies English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students use on understanding the meanings of idioms both in oral and written submissions. The study also investigated the strategies on comprehending the meaning of idioms and improving idiomatic vocabularies in the language learning processes to both English teachers and students. Further, the study began to identify the criteria of idiom and idiom-understanding aspects so that the identified EFL students will be able to guess and become familiar with frequently used idioms and their desired contexts. Omani university students in English 101 comprised the experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. Both groups were exposed to the same curriculum and set of idioms. The experimental group received direct instructions: (pictures, videos and discussions) while learning idioms and the control group received traditional methods in learning idioms: lecturing. Students completed the Inference Task Al-­‐hassan, Haidar (2007)as pretest and posttest. Results indicated that Direct Instruction of idioms provided significant improvement of student performance on the Interference Task. Given the study outcomes, teachers of English as a foreign language would benefit from incorporating visual aids and active discussions which will automatically support specific common idioms. Direct instructions such as designing a daily plan to have the idiom of the day posted in the students’ walls may significantly increase students\u27 comprehension

Exploiting Context-bound and Context-sensitive Aspects of Editorial Cartoons: Developing Linguistic and Critical Thinking Abilities in English Language Classrooms

The use of humor and fun makes the class atmosphere more pleasant, motivates learners, increases student-teacher interaction, makes learning enjoyable and meaningful, and most of all, pleases the students. Editorial cartoons could be a rich source of all this and a lot more if used in an imaginative, creative and innovative manner for English Language Teaching (ELT).This paper, motivated by such pedagogical concerns, explores the idea of exploiting the neglected resource of context-bound and context-sensitive editorial cartoons and interactive approach to language teaching. It aims at demonstrating as to how it will work in developing students’ language skills and critical thinking abilities and provide a stimulating learning experience in English Language Classrooms. Keywords: editorial cartoons, critical thinking, interactive approach, context-bound, EIL classrooms DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/55-05 Publication date: April 30th 201

Regional differences in intelligence in the Sultanate of Oman

We administered the SPM to a sample of 1614 pupils aged between 9 and 18 in 2018 in the Dhofar region of Oman. Our results were compared to a previous administration of the SPM to 5139 pupils aged 9 to 18 in the capital region of Muscat which took place in 2001. We found that the IQ of Muscat in 2001 is substantially higher than the IQ of Dhofar is 17 years later. As there are only a small number of studies on the mean IQ in Oman, we did not apply a Flynn-effect correction. It is found that these regional IQ differences are paralleled by regional differences on many correlates of IQ such as life expectancy and years spent in schooling. We suggest three key factors as likely explaining the difference in IQ: poorer conditions in Dhofar, the association between intelligence and urban migration, and the effects of the Dhofar Rebellion. Other possible explanations are also examined

Identifying career tendencies: an exploratory study of university students in Oman

The ever-increasing rate of failure among undergraduate students in universities is a major issue in most Arab countries. Their inability to perform effectively after they graduate from the universities might reflect the inadequate quality of education provided by the university. Little that we know, quality education is not always the main cause of failure among students. Hence, this study examined the sex differences in career tendencies using the Holland test, and the associations between them and specialty of subjects among universities students in Oman. In total 533 students (236 men and 297 women) with the mean age of 22.7 were assessed at Dhofar University in Oman. Male students recorded a significantly higher score on Realistic career tendency, while female students have significantly higher scores on Artistic career tendency. Female students also recorded significantly higher scores on Social career tendency compared to male students. Parental educational levels were significantly and positively associated with Realistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional career tendencies, but were not associated with Artistic career tendency. The results also show that the students in engineering specialization are more likely to have Investigative and Social career tendencies than students in Applied and Humanity subjects. On the contrary, the students in applied specialization are less likely to have Social career tendency, but more likely to have conventional career tendency. Besides, the result shows that students’ specialization in Humanity and Applied have negative significant correlation with family income and age factors, respectively. The result of the study is expected to contribute to the current body of knowledge regarding the association of career tendency with demographic factors and student’s specialization, specifically in the context of tertiary education in Oman