Native versus non-native speaker teachers’ perceptions about English varieties in designing/developing EFL Curriculum Development

This study seeks to identify the perceptions of teachers, native speakers, and non-native speakers in terms of the influence of teaching varieties of English on EFL curriculum development and teaching designs and which of these factors could predict how the English curriculum should be developed for a particular variety and culture. Using the Teaching Varieties Influence Survey (TVIS), this study introspected 126 respondents of native-speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native-speaker teachers (non-NESTs) to reflect their views using t-tests, correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. General findings from this study revealed no statistically significant differences in the two samples’ views of the influence of English variety in English as an International Language (EIL) on EFL learners’ curriculum development, indicating that both groups perceive English variety in the EIL curriculum as influential in determining other factors that contribute to the development of an EFL curriculum. NESTs believe that people in charge of the English curriculum will determine what variety to choose. In contrast, non-NESTs believe that units of curriculum analysis, reasons for learning English, and factors to consider in dialect choice will determine how the English curriculum is developed vis-à-vis a particular dialect. The article concludes by discussing these findings and their pedagogical implications in an EFL context

Effects of Using Culture-laden Texts on Culture-specific Translation Skills in Arab Students

This work explores the possibility of translating culture-laden texts from English into Arabic, relying on a corpus of literary texts representing the local cultures of the 16th. and the 18th. century England. Furthermore, it taps into the applicability of SL cultural texts to help students appropriately render a culture-specific lexicon. The present study makes use of an experimental research design to check whether the use of literary texts may help EFL learners enhance their culture-specific translation skills in a traditional instruction setting. Finally, its findings indicate that the use of culture-laden literary texts can be efficient in introducing the culturally loaded lexicon of the English language, thereby inducing improvements in translational writing skills of EFL learners of translation

The Bandwagon Effect in the Adoption of ELearning Systems in Language Learning– An Appraisal

The purpose of this study was to investigatethe factors affecting the adoption of e-learningmanagement system (LLMS) in mandatory and voluntaryEFL learning settings, through an application ofthe technology acceptance model (TAM) to e-learningwithin an EFL programme in a Saudi Arabian southernuniversity. The study, through a descriptive method ofresearch involving quantitative data gleaning techniques,investigated the level of acceptance of onlinelearning in college students with regard to CompetingBehavioral Intention and Behavioural Intention, thefactors that voluntariness affect in adopting e-learning,and the effects of perceived network externality on voluntariness,behavioural intention to use e-learning, perceivedusefulness and perceived ease of use.. Findings ofthe study revealed that perceived net-work externalityexerts a significant direct effect on Blackboard use intentions,perceived usefulness, and perceived ease ofuse. This re-search implied that, at the very inception,mandatory usage is necessary for overall adoption ofthe LLMS. It was also revealed that the massive use ofe-learning endeavours has been created by a bandwagoneffect; therefore, the LLMS should be developedto target changes in perceived usefulness, perceived easeof use, and perceived network externality rather than toemulate to current practices in EFL computer-mediatedenvironments. Practical alternatives included enhancingcontent quality, developing a simple and easy-to-usesystem, and enhancing students' computer self-efficacyin ways inducing better foreign language learning results

An expeditious and green synthesis of new enaminones and study their chemical reactivity toward some different amines and binucleophiles under environmentally friendly conditions

AbstractThe condensation reaction of 3-heteroaromatic-3-oxopropanenitriles 3, 4 and 7 with dimethylformamide–dimethylacetal (DMF–DMA) gave the corresponding enaminones 8, 9 and 10, respectively. Nucleophilic substitution of 8 and 9 with different amines resulted in a new derivatives of enaminones 11–18. The reactivity of enaminones 8 and 9 toward some nitrogen nucleophiles was investigated with a view to synthesize new heterocyclic systems. Thus, treatment of compounds 8 and 9 with phenylhydrazine afforded the pyrazole derivatives 19 and 20, respectively. On the other hand, reacting 8 and 9 with guanidine gave the pyrimidines 21 and 22, respectively. Treatment of compound 9 with hydroxylamine hydrochloride afforded the aminoisoxazoles 23. The foregoing reactions were carried out with conventional heating and under green conditions [ultrasound (US) irradiations or ionic liquids (ILs)] and a comparative study was employed. All the new structures are fully characterized

Synthesis, regioselectivity, and DFT analysis of new antioxidant pyrazolo[4,3-c]quinoline-3,4-diones

The condensation of hydrazine, N-methylhydrazine, and N-phenylhydrazine with ethyl 4-chloro-2-oxo- 1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylate derivatives has been investigated. As a result, 12 new antioxidant pyrazolo[4,3- c]quinolin-3,4-diones were obtained with good to high yields. When two cross-products could be possible, only one isomer bearing the methyl or the phenyl group at the N1 position is isolated and unequivocally characterized using 1D and 2D NMR techniques, FT-IR, and combustion analyses. DFT analysis of the reaction mechanism was carried out in the Pearson’s hard soft acid base framework, confirming the assigned structure to the observed pyrazolo[4,3-c]quinolin-3,4-diones. These calculations indicate a favored kinetic control for the synthesized pyrazolo[4,3- c]quinolin-3,4-diones compared to its possible regioisomer.The authors thank the Regional University Hospital of Besanc¸on for support (France). Financial support from Regional Council of Franche-Comté (Besanc¸on, France) is also acknowledged. Computations have been performed on the supercomputer facilities of the Me´socentre de calcul de Franche-Comté (Besanc¸on, France)Peer Reviewe