Pub Date : 2023-08-24DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267417
Sasa Watanapokakul, Woranon Sitajalabhorn
At present, English holds a significant importance in numerous countries worldwide, including Thailand where learning English is compulsory for students. For students with hearing impairment, however, due to their physical limitations, English instruction is different from that of other students. Additionally, students with hearing impairment have different and specific needs for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction. To design and develop an appropriate EFL course for them, we collected 68 questionnaires from Thai senior secondary school students at two schools for the deaf in Bangkok, Thailand, and 15 from stakeholders including Thai EFL teachers and executives at schools for the deaf in Bangkok, sign language interpreters, and Thai officers from the Special Education Bureau. Then, eight senior secondary school students with hearing impairment and six stakeholders were randomly selected for an interview, and eight structured classroom observations were made at the two schools for the deaf in Bangkok. The data were then quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and reported using a weaving approach. The findings revealed a wealth of both implications and recommendations (i.e., in course content, schedule management, instructional activities, methods and materials, instructional languages, teacher roles, classroom setting and environment, and assessment) useful for developing a proper EFL course for Thai senior secondary school students with hearing impairment.
{"title":"A Needs Analysis for English as a Foreign Language Instruction for Thai Senior Secondary School Students with Hearing Impairment","authors":"Sasa Watanapokakul, Woranon Sitajalabhorn","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267417","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267417","url":null,"abstract":"At present, English holds a significant importance in numerous countries worldwide, including Thailand where learning English is compulsory for students. For students with hearing impairment, however, due to their physical limitations, English instruction is different from that of other students. Additionally, students with hearing impairment have different and specific needs for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction. To design and develop an appropriate EFL course for them, we collected 68 questionnaires from Thai senior secondary school students at two schools for the deaf in Bangkok, Thailand, and 15 from stakeholders including Thai EFL teachers and executives at schools for the deaf in Bangkok, sign language interpreters, and Thai officers from the Special Education Bureau. Then, eight senior secondary school students with hearing impairment and six stakeholders were randomly selected for an interview, and eight structured classroom observations were made at the two schools for the deaf in Bangkok. The data were then quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and reported using a weaving approach. The findings revealed a wealth of both implications and recommendations (i.e., in course content, schedule management, instructional activities, methods and materials, instructional languages, teacher roles, classroom setting and environment, and assessment) useful for developing a proper EFL course for Thai senior secondary school students with hearing impairment.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"403 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135472774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-15DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267274
Sorabud Rungrojsuwan
Children with intellectual disabilities (CID) are born with incomplete development of intellectual capabilities. This deficit in intellectual competency is said to affect, to some extent, their language development. The present study aimed to investigate CID’s communicative development, namely plot understanding, from their produced narratives. Participants were 29 9- to 15-year-old Thai CID from Chiang Rai Punyanukul School. The story-retelling technique (Reese et al., 2012) together with the picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1967) were used for data collection. Building from Freytag (1894), Berman & Slobin (1994), and Rungrojsuwan (2019a), a modified version of narrative macrostructure including onset, problem, problem-solving, and resolution was used as the analytical framework. Results showed that CID of younger ages, 9 to 11 years old, tended to have a wide range of plot understanding. Some could effectively communicate through narratives as early as 9, while others started their journey as late as 11 or 13. However, 15 years of age seems to be a significant period when CID who were once at different developmental paces, converged. In other words, their developmental gaps reduced and most of them could narrate effectively. Compared with normally developing children, CID are later at the beginning stages, but could finally reach the expected goal of narrative communication.
智障儿童(CID)天生智力发育不全。这种智力上的缺陷据说在某种程度上影响了他们的语言发展。本研究旨在探讨CID的交际发展，即情节理解，从他们产生的叙事。参加者是来自清莱Punyanukul学校的29名9至15岁的泰国学生。故事复述技巧(Reese et al.， 2012)与绘本《青蛙，你在哪里?》(Mayer, 1967)用于数据收集。弗莱塔格建筑(1894)，伯曼&使用Slobin(1994)和Rungrojsuwan (2019a)，一个修改版本的叙事宏观结构，包括开始，问题，解决问题和解决方案作为分析框架。结果表明，9 ~ 11岁儿童对情节的理解范围较广。有些人早在9岁就能通过叙述有效地沟通，而另一些人则在11岁或13岁才开始他们的旅程。然而，15岁似乎是曾经处于不同发展速度的CID融合的重要时期。换句话说，他们的发展差距缩小了，大多数人都能有效地叙述。与正常发育的儿童相比，CID在开始阶段较晚，但最终能够达到预期的叙事传播目标。
{"title":"Understanding Plots in Storytelling: An Examination of 9- to 15-Year-Old Thai Children with Intellectual Disabilities","authors":"Sorabud Rungrojsuwan","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267274","url":null,"abstract":"Children with intellectual disabilities (CID) are born with incomplete development of intellectual capabilities. This deficit in intellectual competency is said to affect, to some extent, their language development. The present study aimed to investigate CID’s communicative development, namely plot understanding, from their produced narratives. Participants were 29 9- to 15-year-old Thai CID from Chiang Rai Punyanukul School. The story-retelling technique (Reese et al., 2012) together with the picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1967) were used for data collection. Building from Freytag (1894), Berman & Slobin (1994), and Rungrojsuwan (2019a), a modified version of narrative macrostructure including onset, problem, problem-solving, and resolution was used as the analytical framework. Results showed that CID of younger ages, 9 to 11 years old, tended to have a wide range of plot understanding. Some could effectively communicate through narratives as early as 9, while others started their journey as late as 11 or 13. However, 15 years of age seems to be a significant period when CID who were once at different developmental paces, converged. In other words, their developmental gaps reduced and most of them could narrate effectively. Compared with normally developing children, CID are later at the beginning stages, but could finally reach the expected goal of narrative communication.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135164733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-11DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267222
Pariwat Imsa-ard, Supong Tangkiengsirisin
The escalating incorporation of digital pedagogical technology in higher education, particularly in the post-pandemic period, posits a potential evolution in the paradigm of language instruction and assessment. The focal point of this research is to uncover the digitally-mediated language assessment practices (D-LAP) employed by Thai EFL lecturers in the university context. To fulfill this purpose, four EFL lecturers from Thai universities were purposefully selected to partake in classroom observations and subsequent stimulated recall sessions. The primary objective of these classroom observations was to shed light on the participants’ assessment practices. Furthermore, the subsequent stimulated recall sessions were orchestrated to delve deeper into the participants’ chosen assessment methods. The findings revealed that the majority of lecturers exhibited an intermediate degree of digital assessment literacy. This was primarily manifested in their propensity to implement assessment tasks within a digital platform and to collaboratively formulate performance indicators with their students. Additionally, it was discerned that their assessment tasks were predominantly crafted based on those presented in their sourcebooks in order to uphold the instructors’ consistency in all course sections. The primary intention of these assessment tasks was to assess students’ learning and diagnose their knowledge, employing a diverse assortment of assessment methods. This research endeavors to offer meaningful contributions towards the augmentation of professional development programs centered around digitally-mediated language assessment.
{"title":"Digitally-mediated Language Assessment Practice (D-LAP): Qualitative Case Studies of Four Thai EFL University Lecturers","authors":"Pariwat Imsa-ard, Supong Tangkiengsirisin","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267222","url":null,"abstract":"The escalating incorporation of digital pedagogical technology in higher education, particularly in the post-pandemic period, posits a potential evolution in the paradigm of language instruction and assessment. The focal point of this research is to uncover the digitally-mediated language assessment practices (D-LAP) employed by Thai EFL lecturers in the university context. To fulfill this purpose, four EFL lecturers from Thai universities were purposefully selected to partake in classroom observations and subsequent stimulated recall sessions. The primary objective of these classroom observations was to shed light on the participants’ assessment practices. Furthermore, the subsequent stimulated recall sessions were orchestrated to delve deeper into the participants’ chosen assessment methods. The findings revealed that the majority of lecturers exhibited an intermediate degree of digital assessment literacy. This was primarily manifested in their propensity to implement assessment tasks within a digital platform and to collaboratively formulate performance indicators with their students. Additionally, it was discerned that their assessment tasks were predominantly crafted based on those presented in their sourcebooks in order to uphold the instructors’ consistency in all course sections. The primary intention of these assessment tasks was to assess students’ learning and diagnose their knowledge, employing a diverse assortment of assessment methods. This research endeavors to offer meaningful contributions towards the augmentation of professional development programs centered around digitally-mediated language assessment.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"64 5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135492926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-09DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267217
Natalie Yunchalard, Piyaporn Punkasirikul
This study aimed to determine the representational strategies used to portray Karen people and the roles ascribed to them in English-language news. It was conducted primarily to provide an update on the representation of the Karen in online English news reports in the year 2021. This study, which differs from other previous studies in both the fields of language studies and social sciences, employed Fairclough’s (1995) critical discourse analysis, van Leeuwen’s (2008) representation of social actors, Halliday’s (1994) transitivity analysis, Harcup and O’Neill’s (2016) newsworthiness, and the notion of othering to analyze linguistic and discursive features of headlines and leads of news articles categorized as hard news, published online throughout January 2021 – December 2021 by Bangkok Post, which is one of the leading English newspapers in Thailand. The results revealed that Karen people were rarely given a voice in the headlines and leads while information from the government or state sources largely dominated the headlines and leads. Thus, the status quo in which negative stereotypes related to the Karen minority which have persisted for over 20 years has been maintained. These stereotypes exclude the Karen by placing them as the out-group, which perpetuates social order and inequality. The findings provide insights that could benefit Thai society since the government has been aiming at embracing ethnic diversity as well as implications for language instructors.
{"title":"Underrepresenting “Their” Side of the Story: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Online English Headlines and Leads of News on the Karen Minority","authors":"Natalie Yunchalard, Piyaporn Punkasirikul","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267217","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to determine the representational strategies used to portray Karen people and the roles ascribed to them in English-language news. It was conducted primarily to provide an update on the representation of the Karen in online English news reports in the year 2021. This study, which differs from other previous studies in both the fields of language studies and social sciences, employed Fairclough’s (1995) critical discourse analysis, van Leeuwen’s (2008) representation of social actors, Halliday’s (1994) transitivity analysis, Harcup and O’Neill’s (2016) newsworthiness, and the notion of othering to analyze linguistic and discursive features of headlines and leads of news articles categorized as hard news, published online throughout January 2021 – December 2021 by Bangkok Post, which is one of the leading English newspapers in Thailand. The results revealed that Karen people were rarely given a voice in the headlines and leads while information from the government or state sources largely dominated the headlines and leads. Thus, the status quo in which negative stereotypes related to the Karen minority which have persisted for over 20 years has been maintained. These stereotypes exclude the Karen by placing them as the out-group, which perpetuates social order and inequality. The findings provide insights that could benefit Thai society since the government has been aiming at embracing ethnic diversity as well as implications for language instructors.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135747359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-09DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267295
Nuntapat Supunya
Since its emergence in the 1960s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been a dominant subfield in language education and English language teaching. The mainstream ESP literature appears to be linguistic-oriented with less attention directed towards ESP teachers. Responding to the calls for more ESP teacher research, this systematic review aims to be a substantial starting point in scrutinising research on ESP teachers published from 2010 to 2022 in the Scopus-indexed journals to frame current research foci, explore existing pedagogical collaborations, and propose suggestions regarding the issue of sustainability. Thirty-seven empirical studies were initially short-listed, of which thirty-two were analysed. A synthesis of ESP teacher articles yields seven lines of research: teachers’ perceptions and beliefs, teachers’ identity development and agency, perceived challenges and needs, collaborative practices, teaching and innovation, teachers’ knowledge, and technology in ESP. Two distinctive types of collaboration to effective instruction across contexts are illustrated. Drawn from the twelve years of research, the sustainability in ESP is presented to depict pedagogical, administrative, and policy implications. Last, future research directions are also proposed.
{"title":"A Systematic Review on ESP Teachers: Current Focus, Collaboration, and Sustainability","authors":"Nuntapat Supunya","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267295","url":null,"abstract":"Since its emergence in the 1960s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been a dominant subfield in language education and English language teaching. The mainstream ESP literature appears to be linguistic-oriented with less attention directed towards ESP teachers. Responding to the calls for more ESP teacher research, this systematic review aims to be a substantial starting point in scrutinising research on ESP teachers published from 2010 to 2022 in the Scopus-indexed journals to frame current research foci, explore existing pedagogical collaborations, and propose suggestions regarding the issue of sustainability. Thirty-seven empirical studies were initially short-listed, of which thirty-two were analysed. A synthesis of ESP teacher articles yields seven lines of research: teachers’ perceptions and beliefs, teachers’ identity development and agency, perceived challenges and needs, collaborative practices, teaching and innovation, teachers’ knowledge, and technology in ESP. Two distinctive types of collaboration to effective instruction across contexts are illustrated. Drawn from the twelve years of research, the sustainability in ESP is presented to depict pedagogical, administrative, and policy implications. Last, future research directions are also proposed.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135747360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-09DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267216
Peng Hou, Sarawut Kraisame
This paper provides an experimental study of interlanguage phonological characteristics of Chinese students learning Thai as a foreign language and the accentedness perceived by native Thai speakers. Both production and perception experiments were designed to see how Chinese students acoustically produced Thai final nasal consonants and how Thai native speakers perceived these Chinese-accented nasals. The production experiment compared the acoustic features of Thai final nasal consonants (i.e. /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/) produced by Chinese students and native Thai speakers (n = 5 in each group), who provided speech samples from a wordlist reading task, consisting of 28 words (840 tokens). Nasal acoustic properties of 840 tokens (duration, nasal murmurs, and formant transitions) were examined. The findings showed that the Chinese students produced significantly longer nasal duration and more drastic formant transitions compared to the native speakers. The perception experiment analyzed how native Thai raters (n = 10) rated speech samples concerning degrees of accentedness by using a 5-point Likert scale with 5 as the most native level. Based on this, the native Thai raters rated the Chinese students’ speech as 3.22 on average, while native Thai speech was judged with an average score of 4.65, which demonstrated that native Thai raters could distinguish foreign speech from those pronounced by native speakers. To find out to what extent nasal acoustic characteristics in Chinese students’ interlanguage phonology contributed to the degree of accentedness, stepwise regression analyses were utilized to discover that nasal duration was particularly important in accurately predicting accentedness in Thai with Chinese accents.
{"title":"Interlanguage Phonology and Accentedness: An Experimental Study of Thai Final Nasal Consonants in Chinese Students Learning Thai","authors":"Peng Hou, Sarawut Kraisame","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267216","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides an experimental study of interlanguage phonological characteristics of Chinese students learning Thai as a foreign language and the accentedness perceived by native Thai speakers. Both production and perception experiments were designed to see how Chinese students acoustically produced Thai final nasal consonants and how Thai native speakers perceived these Chinese-accented nasals. The production experiment compared the acoustic features of Thai final nasal consonants (i.e. /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/) produced by Chinese students and native Thai speakers (n = 5 in each group), who provided speech samples from a wordlist reading task, consisting of 28 words (840 tokens). Nasal acoustic properties of 840 tokens (duration, nasal murmurs, and formant transitions) were examined. The findings showed that the Chinese students produced significantly longer nasal duration and more drastic formant transitions compared to the native speakers. The perception experiment analyzed how native Thai raters (n = 10) rated speech samples concerning degrees of accentedness by using a 5-point Likert scale with 5 as the most native level. Based on this, the native Thai raters rated the Chinese students’ speech as 3.22 on average, while native Thai speech was judged with an average score of 4.65, which demonstrated that native Thai raters could distinguish foreign speech from those pronounced by native speakers. To find out to what extent nasal acoustic characteristics in Chinese students’ interlanguage phonology contributed to the degree of accentedness, stepwise regression analyses were utilized to discover that nasal duration was particularly important in accurately predicting accentedness in Thai with Chinese accents.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135747363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-09DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267213
Wanvipha Hongnaphadol
The objective of this research is to identify the underlying components of English language learners’ anxiety in online learning during the COVID-19 and to verify the coherence of the component model with the empirical data. A total of 408 Thai EFL university students, who were selected via a simple random sampling method, were assessed with the Online World Languages Anxiety Scale (OWLAS). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted using LISREL 8.80 to verify the factor structure of Online English Language Anxiety (OELA). The results of the EFA indicate six emerged underlying components: 1) use of English skills online, 2) negative feelings in online learning, 3) positive feelings in online learning, 4) online interaction, 5) cross-linguistic interference, and 6) attitudes to self and English classes. Considering the indices, the model was fit with the empirical data, with X2 = 1115.24, df = 625, p-value = 0.048, X2/df = 1.784, GFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.043, RMSEA = 0.045. Factor loading values of each index were between 0.50-0.88. The indicators that had the highest weight value or most significantly influenced students’ OELA were ‘attitudes to self and English classes’ and the least was ‘cross-linguistic interference’.
{"title":"Online Language Anxiety in Higher Education: Evidence from Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses","authors":"Wanvipha Hongnaphadol","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267213","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this research is to identify the underlying components of English language learners’ anxiety in online learning during the COVID-19 and to verify the coherence of the component model with the empirical data. A total of 408 Thai EFL university students, who were selected via a simple random sampling method, were assessed with the Online World Languages Anxiety Scale (OWLAS). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted using LISREL 8.80 to verify the factor structure of Online English Language Anxiety (OELA). The results of the EFA indicate six emerged underlying components: 1) use of English skills online, 2) negative feelings in online learning, 3) positive feelings in online learning, 4) online interaction, 5) cross-linguistic interference, and 6) attitudes to self and English classes. Considering the indices, the model was fit with the empirical data, with X2 = 1115.24, df = 625, p-value = 0.048, X2/df = 1.784, GFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.043, RMSEA = 0.045. Factor loading values of each index were between 0.50-0.88. The indicators that had the highest weight value or most significantly influenced students’ OELA were ‘attitudes to self and English classes’ and the least was ‘cross-linguistic interference’.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135747361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-09DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267220
Henry Foster, Hayo Reinders
Despite progress in recent years, Japanese classrooms continue to present challenges for educators seeking to promote language learner autonomy. Adopting an action research/case study design, the present study explored how, in a 5-week student-led project, an intact group of learners could contribute to the development of their own autonomy. Data consisting of questionnaires, observation notes, video recordings, written reflections, and recorded group discussions were analyzed using inductive qualitative coding and descriptive statistics. The students chose to work together as a class, and negotiated and executed a plan of action. The narrative that emerged highlighted the importance of group dynamics in collaborative autonomy development. Student reactions to the project were largely positive, with indications that the project promoted metacognition and learner motivation. This study provides an example of one approach to involving Japanese learners in classroom management to promote a collaborative, interdependent movement towards autonomy.
{"title":"Of Horses and Water: Giving Learners Free Rein in Developing their Autonomy","authors":"Henry Foster, Hayo Reinders","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267220","url":null,"abstract":"Despite progress in recent years, Japanese classrooms continue to present challenges for educators seeking to promote language learner autonomy. Adopting an action research/case study design, the present study explored how, in a 5-week student-led project, an intact group of learners could contribute to the development of their own autonomy. Data consisting of questionnaires, observation notes, video recordings, written reflections, and recorded group discussions were analyzed using inductive qualitative coding and descriptive statistics. The students chose to work together as a class, and negotiated and executed a plan of action. The narrative that emerged highlighted the importance of group dynamics in collaborative autonomy development. Student reactions to the project were largely positive, with indications that the project promoted metacognition and learner motivation. This study provides an example of one approach to involving Japanese learners in classroom management to promote a collaborative, interdependent movement towards autonomy.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135747362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-25DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.267211
Robert F. Dilenschneider, Paul Horness
This study examined 283 online learner dictionary definitions in terms of scores based on word frequency level and readability. Results revealed three findings. First, in terms of word frequency levels, definitions from the Cambridge learner dictionary incorporated fewer non-high frequency words (mid and low frequency words) compared to Oxford, Dictionary. com and Collins COBUILD learner dictionaries. Second, in terms of readability, definitions from the Random House learner dictionary were written at a significantly higher grade level compared to the other six online learner dictionaries. Third, in terms of both level of frequency words incorporated into definitions and readability grade level definitions, the Cambridge, Merriam-Webster and Longman online learner dictionaries were easier to understand compared to online learner dictionaries from Dictionary.com, Collins COBUILD, Oxford and Random House. Overall, the findings suggest both word frequency level and readability might contribute to the difficulty of online learner dictionary definitions.
{"title":"Profiling Word Frequency and Readability of Online Learner Dictionary Definitions","authors":"Robert F. Dilenschneider, Paul Horness","doi":"10.61508/refl.v30i2.267211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v30i2.267211","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined 283 online learner dictionary definitions in terms of scores based on word frequency level and readability. Results revealed three findings. First, in terms of word frequency levels, definitions from the Cambridge learner dictionary incorporated fewer non-high frequency words (mid and low frequency words) compared to Oxford, Dictionary. com and Collins COBUILD learner dictionaries. Second, in terms of readability, definitions from the Random House learner dictionary were written at a significantly higher grade level compared to the other six online learner dictionaries. Third, in terms of both level of frequency words incorporated into definitions and readability grade level definitions, the Cambridge, Merriam-Webster and Longman online learner dictionaries were easier to understand compared to online learner dictionaries from Dictionary.com, Collins COBUILD, Oxford and Random House. Overall, the findings suggest both word frequency level and readability might contribute to the difficulty of online learner dictionary definitions.","PeriodicalId":36332,"journal":{"name":"rEFLections","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139355239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-12DOI: 10.61508/refl.v30i2.266762
Priyatno Ardi, Thomas Wahyu Prabowo Mukti, Y. Basthomi, Utami Widiati
This paper aims to scrutinize the trajectory of the professional identity configuration of Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers in socialization during a two-month teaching practicum at a private school in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Two female EFL pre-service teachers carrying out a teaching practicum at the school participated in this study. A narrative inquiry was employed to capture the dynamic development of the professional identity configuration from the participants’ points of view. The researchers developed stories based on participant interviews, daily reflective notes, and weekly conferences. The stories were then analyzed to identify the professional identity configuration. The findings suggested that the participants configured their professional selves as EFL teachers in socialization in the school through identification and self-internalization. Their identification was influenced by how they saw themselves and others viewed them as EFL teachers, which was then internalized as self-concepts. Moreover, the socialization process encouraged the student teachers to construct their professional selves, reflected in the emerging themes of the stories: language-, pedagogy-, organizational role-, and spirituality-driven identities. The findings also highlighted that spaces, artifacts, and positioning influenced how the pre-service teachers made meaning of their professional selves. The researchers emphasized the importance of reflection to facilitate the meaning-making of EFL preservice teachers’ professional selves by contemplating their professional socialization experiences during the practicum.
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