Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education最新文献

Abstract

Given the inherent association of interpreting with feelings of anxiousness, the subject of interpreting poses a formidable challenge for students in this field. A large number of prospective interpreters assert that they are unable to complete the assignment to a satisfactory level because they are unable to get past their fear. The harmful effect of anxiety on the interpreting performance of student trainees could result in failure and fully inhibit their accomplishment. Despite the growing recognition of anxiety as a significant challenge in interpreting education, there is a lack of comprehensive studies investigating the specific factors contributing to anxiety in consecutive interpreting and effective strategies for its reduction. To address this issue and in order to identify the factors contributing to trainees’ anxiety and those that might help to reduce consecutive interpreting (CI) anxiety, thirty students were chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Different factors exerting an effect on the anxiety levels of Iranian CI pupils were identified through qualitative research. These factors were categorized into six groups, i.e., individual, input (language-related factors, speaker-related factors), note- taking (inappropriate note-taking skill, lack of creativity in taking notes), environmental (noise and distraction, peer-related factors), output (meaning transfer, delivery), and teacher-related (testing, teachers’ behavior). Moreover, the study found that factors to reduce anxiety in consecutive interpreting could be classified as teacher-related and trainee-related factors each with additional sub-factors.

Based on the related literature, both self-evaluation (SE) and reflective thinking (RT) play an important role in English language learning among EFL learners. Therefore, in this study, the effects of SE and RT on growth mindfulness, resilience, and academic well-being of Saudi Arabian EFL students were compared. Ninety-six intermediate EFL students were selected based on the convenience sampling method in order to accomplish this goal, and they were divided into three groups: two experimental groups (EGs) and one control group (CG). Three questionnaires were then distributed to assess the participants’ academic well-being, progress in mindfulness, and resilience prior to the instruction. After that, the CG was instructed conventionally, while one EG was treated using RT and the other EG was treated utilizing SE activities. The aforementioned surveys were re-administered as study post-tests following a 21-session treatment, and the results were analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Tukey testing. The study’s findings showed that the two EGs conducted better than the CG on three post-tests. Additionally, the outcomes supported the equivalent benefits of RT and SE for the development of Saudi Arabian EFL students’ academic wellbeing, resilience, and mindfulness. The implications were eventually prepared for scholars, English instructors, students, and other stakeholders.

Given that Iran is the host of a variety of cultures characterized with diverse languages, viewpoints, and customs, the empty place of multiculturalism in its ELT system is deeply felt. The present study sought to tackle multiculturalism in EFL teacher education in the context of Iran by exploring Iranian EFL experts’ and teachers’ perceptions. The participants of this study consisted of the two groups. The first group included 15 male and female multicultural education experts. The second group of the participants included of 60 (30 males and 30 females) Iranian EFL teachers. To collect the required data, a demographic information scale, two semi-structured interviews and an audio-reflective journal were used. Data analysis was done via qualitative thematic analysis by MAXQDA. As revealed by the results, several themes were extracted as the components of the multicultural EFL teacher education, as uncovered by the experts’ views some of which include Eliminating Race-Related Inequalities, Eliminating Gender-Related Inequalities, and Eliminating Social Class-Related Inequalities. Moreover, the Necessary Communicative Skills, Positive Thinking, Difference Acceptance, and Multicultural Content, Various Evaluation Methods were found as some of the extracted EFL teachers’ perceptions of multicultural EFL teacher education. The findings have some implications for different groups of stakeholders including EFL teachers, teacher educators and teacher education material developers who can take useful insights from the findings in teaching EFL, educating student-teachers and developing future curricula, respectively.

This study investigated the impact of techno-competence workshops on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ language achievement, technostress, academic enjoyment, and autonomy in a large university in Iran. A concurrent mixed-methods approach was employed, with qualitative data collected through structured interviews and quantitative data gathered using a teacher-made test validated through a known-group procedure. Ninety-six upper-intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to an Experimental Group (EG) and a Control Group (CG). Results revealed a significant decrease in technostress, an increase in academic enjoyment, and heightened autonomy among participants attending the techno-competence workshops. The quantitative analysis demonstrated a substantial improvement in language achievement for the EG compared to the CG. Findings contribute to the understanding of the multifaceted impacts of techno-competence on language learning outcomes and offer practical insights for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers in fostering effective language education in technologically enriched environments. Despite certain limitations, this study lays the groundwork for future research endeavors exploring the intricate dynamics between techno-competence and language learning outcomes across diverse contexts.

Engagement is a core issue in language teaching and learning. Without the students’ active involvement in the teaching–learning process, educational objectives could not be achieved. Accordingly, the concept of engagement has been the focus of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This research examined the effects of corpus-based instruction on engineering students’ engagement in academic writing classes. The participants were 77 randomly selected fourth-year mechanical engineering students. The data were gathered through a self-reflective report and a journal and analyzed through an independent t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and narration techniques. The data showed that students who were instructed via corpus-based instruction improved their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagements better than their counterparts; the experimental group enjoyed the activities and actively participated in different academic writing processes. The data also attested that there was a significant statistical difference between the experimental group and the control group engagements. This research implied that EFL teachers should consider genuine and real-life linguistic features and activities when they design academic writing instruction to enhance their engagement during the instruction.

Abstract

This phenomenological study aimed to investigate the most common emotions experienced by expatriate EFL instructors and identify the factors that affect their emotional labor in the Turkish educational context. Emotional labor refers to the effort, expression, and management of emotions as part of one’s job responsibilities. In the context of this study, it specifically pertains to the emotional demands and challenges faced by expatriate EFL instructors during their teaching experiences. The study involved eight participants, consisting of five males and three females, working in different state and foundation universities across Türkiye. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data, which were then analyzed using MAXQDA software. The findings of the study revealed a range of both positive and negative emotions experienced by the participants. Negative emotions included stress, boredom, feeling ignored, job dislike, low motivation, and insecurity, while positive emotions entailed happiness, job satisfaction, love of one’s job, feeling appreciated, contentment, and motivation. The obtained results also indicated that the emotional labor of expatriate EFL instructors was influenced by two broad groups of positive and negative factors. The former group consisted of personal, interpersonal work-related relations, as well as institutional, and professional factors, while the latter was composed of personal, interpersonal work-related relations, as well as national, economic, institutional, and pedagogical categories. The findings were further discussed and several pedagogical implications were presented.

Abstract

Studying determinant factors for effective learning communities has become a priority for sustainable education in Yemen. Yet, comprehensive knowledge of academic self-efficacy (ASE), academic commitment (AC), and learning outcomes (LOs) variables is limited in higher education, particularly. This research aimed to examine the role of these variables in enhancing the learning attainments of Yemeni university students by studying the direct impacts of ASE and AC on LOs, the influence of ASE on AC, and, lastly, how AC mediates the relationship between ASE and LOs. The research employed a meticulously validated measurement model encompassing 12 ASE items, 10 LOs items, and 27 AC items, using robust statistical methods such as EFA, CFA, and SEM. The study engaged 611 students aged 19–27. Empirical findings confirmed the significant impact of ASE on AC and LOs, as well as the impact of AC on LOs, both of which serve as vital factors in the academic context. Moreover, the research identified an indirect influence of ASE on LOs mediated through AC. On the other hand, the results concerning the demographic variables indicated significant differences between gender and age groups, as well as between age and educational level groups. However, no differences were found when comparing gender and level groups or when considering gender, age, and level together for ASE and LOs. In contrast, for students' AC, all comparisons were significant except for the gender and age comparison. The study offers valuable insights into educational practices and policies and concludes with practical recommendations to enhance the academic environment, informed by these study outcomes.

Vocabulary is often considered as a key predictor of second language ability, and how teachers and learners’ beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary affect their teaching and learning has recently gained unprecedented momentum in the field of second language education. However, despite their importance, there is a paucity of research that has combined data from teachers and learners to illuminate their beliefs and conceptualizations. The main aim of this quantitative study is to combine data from English language teachers and learners to explore their beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary learning and knowledge. The study voluntarily recruited 113 learners and 91 teachers from a major Saudi university to fill out an online questionnaire. The findings revealed that both teachers and learners generally valued vocabulary on a par with grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and that both groups showed a general understanding of the basic components of word knowledge; however, their beliefs differed significantly. The results also indicated that despite showing an awareness of the role of textbooks and the incidental approach to vocabulary learning, there were significant differences in teachers and learners’ beliefs. The study concluded with a range of suggested implications, as well as suggestions for further studies on how to address the present lacunae in the field.

It is crucial to study how L2 learners use technology when examining the lifespan technology in L2 pedagogy. Therefore, we adopted Gartner’s hype cycles to investigate the lifespan of CALL from the perspectives of EFL learners. To this end, we utilized an explanatory narrative design and gathered and analysed the perspectives of 87 EFL learners regarding the CALL lifespan using autobiographical narratives and semi-structured interviews. The results of the deductive thematic analysis presented motivating and demotivating factors that were asserted to affect EFL learners’ uptake of CALL technologies. Moreover, the findings revealed that EFL learners had fallacies about CALL in the first stages of using technology for L2 learning and tended to reduce those fallacies later on. Therefore, it can be concluded that EFL learners start their use of CALL with some misconceptions stemming from the motivating factors of CALL, continue their use of CALL by facing some demotivating factors originating from fallacies about CALL that they have already committed, and finalise their use of CALL by exploring about CALL features that help them avoid their fallacies. The study has implications to shorten the time of reaching the awareness zone by the L2 learners.

With the growing concern for the issues and problems associated with static testing, dynamic assessment (DA) has been recently receiving increased attention as an alternative in educational settings. The present single case study attempted to investigate the potential of interactionist dynamic assessment in developing an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) L2 learner’s reading competence and selective attention. A 13-year-old female EFL learner with the combined type of ADHD voluntarily participated in this study. During the DA sessions, the learner read some short passages and answered the questions through mediations emerging from the interactions between the mediator and the learner. The qualitative analysis of DA protocols led to the development of an inventory of different forms of implicit and explicit mediations. Moreover, the quantitative analysis of the data showed that DA contributed to the learner’s reading comprehension and some congruent parameters of selective attention. The results of the present study call for teachers’, policymakers’, and material developers’ increasing attention to the mediations required to assist ADHD L2 learner’s independence from the mediator, which demonstrates self-regulation.