April 2021 Volume 28 Issue 2.3 - English Language Education ...

The Asian EFL Journal

April 2021

Volume 28 Issue 2.3

Senior Editor:

Paul Robertson

Published by the English Language Education Publishing

Asian EFL Journal

A Division of TESOL Asia Group

www.asian-efl-journal.com

©Asian EFL Journal 2020

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Publisher: English Language Education (ELE) Publishing

Chief Editor: Dr. Paul Robertson

Associate Production Editor: Ramon Medriano, Jr.

ISSN 1738-1460

mailto:[email protected]

Asian EFL Journal Research Articles. Vol. 28 Issue No. 2.3 April 2021

Table of Contents

Foreword ………………………………………………………………………….. 4

1

Gibreel Sadeq Alaghbary

Integrating Technology with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy: Web 2.0-enabled

Learning Designs for Online Learning ………………………………………………….. 10

2

Rahmah Fithriani, Majed Abdullah Alharbi

The Adoption of Edmodo in a Hybrid EFL Writing Class: What do

Indonesian Students and Lecturers Say? .………………….………………………….. 38

3

Mohammad Hamad Al-Khresheh

Reconceptualising the Elements of Effective English Language Teaching

through the Lens of Pandemic Induced Online Teaching: An Exploratory

Study of Jordanian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions ..…………....................................... 61

4

Yasamiyan Alolaywi

Learning in Crisis: An Investigation of Saudi EFL learners’ Perceptions

of E-Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic …………………………….………….

98

5

Ghazwan Mohammed Saeed Mohammed

Speaking Skills in Online Learning: An Investigation of the Strategies

Used by EFL Learners at the University of Bisha ...……………….…………………...

120

6

Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kassem

The Effect of Utilizing CAT Technology on English Majors'

Translation and Motivation ………………………………………………………………..

135

7

Aishah Siddiquah, Kamal ud Din, Shagufta Moghal,

Muhammad Amir Saeed, Fasiha Altaf

English as Medium of Instruction (MOI): Voices Addressing

Proficiency Issues in Pakistani Tertiary Education ……………………………........... 156

8

Aqsa Atta, Swaleha Bano Naqvi

Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Strategy to Improve English Reading

and Writing Skills at University Level .………...………………………………………...

181

9 Abbas Habor Al-Shammari

Intercultural Communicative Competence in COVID 19 Pandemic Era:

An Investigation of Pre-service English Teachers in Kuwaiti ………………………...

219

10

AliaAyub, Rani Gul, Imran Ali, Maroof Bin Rauf

Cultural and Educational Stress: A Case Study of Brahui Speaking

ESL and EMI Periphery Students .……………...………………………………………...

239

11

Salah Alfarwan

Arab University level EFL Teachers' Code Switching: Types, Functions

and Beliefs ………………………….……………...………………………………………...

261

12

Mohammad Yousef Alsaraireh

Corpus-Based Instruction: Fostering EFL Learning in Jordan ……………………...

299

13

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Alharbi

Investigating L2 Students’ Misuse of Prepositions in Written English ………...........

314

14

Mohammad Mujtaba Ahmad

Approaches to the teaching of poetry in EFL Classrooms: A Critical Study ……...

328

5


Foreword

It is my pleasure to present this thematic volume of the Asian EFL Journal. This edition of the

journal has been enriched with research from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Pakistan, and

Indonesia giving it a rich perspective to place the ESL/ EFL issues. The studies variously focus

on four themes that are of enduring relevance to the EFL milieu: Technology, pedagogy,

culture, and language use, with technology ruling the roost, a fact which is evidence of the vast

change that has come over the language teaching-learning environments of today. What is

special about the entries in this edition is that research thinking has now moved away from the

Covid paradigm which is indicative of the fact that academia has adapted to the new normal.

Humanity has certainly entered a new, and hopefully, better phase of existence.

The first paper under the theme of Technology and the EFL Class is Integrating technology

with Bloom’s Taxonomy: Web 2.0-enabled learning designs for online learning by Gibreel

Sadeq Alaghbary. This study which is placed in Saudi Arabia reports on ten projects designed

by the researcher to facilitate acquisition of specialized content and skills prescribed in a

college-level English programme. By activating learners’ digital competence via different

modalities, the study enabled learning at the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy.

The following paper is an exploration of the cloud-based informative Social Networking Site,

Edmodo as a learning platform. The study is titled The adoption of Edmodo in a hybrid EFL

writing class: What do Indonesian students and lectureres say? by Rahmah Fithrani and Majed

Abdullah Alharbi. The study concluded that participants benefitted from the innovative

pedagogy and shared positive experinces towards Edmodo.

Under the same theme, the third paper is titled Reconceptualising the elements of effective

English language teaching through the lens of pandemic induced online teaching: An

exploratory study of Jordanian EFL teachers’ perceptions by Mohammad Hamad Al-Khresheh.

The study explores how the beliefs of Jordanian EFL teachers affect the current situation of

online teaching and records that pedagogical activities are highly restricted and complicated in

6

this scenario, making it imperative to exercise a special skill set comprising the four Ps to

ensure optimum learning, viz., presuming, planning, preparing, and performing.

A similar issue is addressed in the next paper, Learning in crisis: An investigation of Saudi

EFL learners’ perceptions of e-learning during the covid-19 pandemic by Yasamiyan Alolaywi.

The setting of this study is Saudi Arabia’s Qassim University, exploring EFL learners’

perceptions towards online learning. The conclusions are mixed with learners acknowledging

both the pros (safety, mobility, convenience, flexibility) and cons (travel- related issues) of

online learning.

Speaking is a very important language ability that EFL/ESL students especially target when

they enroll for a foreign language course. Moreover, online learning environments have

recently gained importance for many reasons: an ever increasing number of students desirous

of attaining higher education given geopolitical changes in the world, greater availability of

technology to almost everyone who owns a tech driven device, the massive expansion of the

internet, and the transformation of the world into a knowledge-based global village. In this

background, the following paper titled Speaking skills in online learning: An investigation of

the strategies used by EFL learners at the University of Bisha by Ghazwan Mohammed Saeed

Mohammed, examines the strategies used by EFL learners at the University of Bisha, Saudi

Arabia, to enhance their speaking skills in online learning. The study concludes that learners

use five types of strategies to enhance their speaking skills in online learning, viz. in-class

strategies, study-based strategies, listening-based strategies, internet-based strategies and

memory strategies, but that memory strategies are used more than other strategies.

The last paper under this theme seeks to improve the quality of students' translation by means

of satisfying the demands of modern translation industry in the 21st century. Titled The effect

of utilizing CAT technology on English Majors’ translation and motivation by Mohamed Ali

Mohamed Kassem, it attempts to design a course, based on CAT technology, to introduce

English majors to the concepts, foundations, processes, and effective application of such recent

technology. The study is placed in Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz Unoversity.

Results indicate significant positive effects of using CAT on students' translation and

motivation. The study is relevant amid a debate on the criticism faced by translation automation

in a rapidly shrinking world which calls for innovative means of cross-language

communication.

7

With this, we arrive at the second theme of this edition: Pedagogy and Tools in EFL Contexts.

The first entry under this theme is titled, English as medium of instruction (MOI): Voices

addressing proficiency issues in Pakistani tertiary education by Aishah Siddiquah, Kamal ud

Din, Shagufta Moghal, Muhammad Amir Saeed, and Fasiha Altaf. The study interviews

Pakistani university teachers to understand their experiences vis-à-vis English as a medium of

instruction in higher education institutions. The results are interesting: Though learners’

proficiency is well below desirable, the teaching community believe that English should

continue to be the MOI in higher education in Pakistan because otherwise the learners would

just not be able to compete in a globalized world that relies on English as the preferred

international language.

The second paper under this theme is also a study from Pakistan, Translanguaging as a

pedagogical strategy to improve English reading and writing skills at university level, by Aqsa

Atta and Swaleha Bano Naqvi. Adopting the framework of translanguaging and Theory of

Language Mode, the study identifies the challenges in reading comprehension and production

in writing faced by the students in ESL classrooms when they are taught solely through English

as a medium of instruction. After an exhaustive collection of qualitative data, the study

concludes that translanguaging as a pedagogy has the potential to help multilingual learners

improve L2 reading and writing skills, serving as an example for teachers to show how they

can employ this strategy and train future teachers for incorporating the possibilities of

translanguaging in ESL classrooms.

The third theme that this edition touches upon is EFL Students’ Cultural Awareness. Given the

widespread recognition of the strong association between language and culture, intercultural

communicative competence (ICC) has become a primary educational objective in several

countries which have a multicultural and/ or multilingual learners population. The study titled,

Intercultural communicative competence in Covid 19 pandemic era: An investigation of pre-

service English teachers in Kuwait by Abbas Habor Al-Shammari aims at investigating the

intercultural communication competence level of English teachers and the correlation between

the level of intercultural communication competence and two other variables viz. gender, and

place of origin in a public university in Kuwait. The results arrived at are of significance to

teacher trainers and policy makers of education colleges.

8

Significance of culture in ESL/ EFL environments is also the focus of the next paper under this

theme. The study is from Pakistan, titled Cultural and educational stress: A case study of Brahui

speaking ESL and EMI periphery students hy Aliya Ayub, Rani Gul, Imran Ali, and Maroof

Bin Rauf. The study, conducted across three campuses in Quetta, reveals that many Brahwi

students experience a certain degree of cultural stress, particularly with respect to perceptions

that involve language, family and a known lifestyle. Cultural stress is allied to students’ cultural

context, along with their communicative abilities since they are mostly Brahui or Balochi

speakers to almost complete exclusion of English which is the language of higher education.

The fourth thematic division in this collection is Language Analysis in EFL Contexts. The first

paper under this theme is Arab University-level EFL teachers’ code switching: Types,

functions and beliefs, by Salah Alfarwan. The study fills a gap in the available literature as it

investigates code-switching (CS) among EFL learners in Saudi Arabia to find out how much

they switch from English into Arabic in their EFL classes in relation to the types of CS they

use, the functions behind such use, and their beliefs or attitudes concerning CS. The study

concludes that the majority of teachers seldom switch to L1 in their EFL classes, and their

switches mostly involve oral intersentential CS.

The following study is titled Corpus-based instruction: Fostering EFL learning in Jordan, by

Mohammad Yousef Alsaraireh, a study that investigates efficacy of corpus linguistics as one

of the most recent developments in language analysis. One of the aims of CL is to enable

students with more ‘hands-on’ learning compared to subjective learning. Besides, corpus-based

approach also improves students’ cognitive and critical thinking skills whilst motivating them

to find patterns in authentic language leading to novice linguistic researchers. This study is

based in a private school in Jordan and findings indicate that students tend to be more motivated

and cheerful while learning via this approach.

The third paper under this theme is titled Investigating L2 students’ misuse of preositions in

written English by Mohammad Abdullah Alharbi. Based in Saudi Arabia, this study seeks

answers to the questions of typicality of preposition misuse by Arab EFL learners, perception

of difficulty of grammar, and the role of mother tongue in influencing the learning of English

prepositions by Arab learners. The study concludes that prepositions are the most problematic

of all English grammar components and interference of the mother tongue is a major cause of

this.

9

The final entry in this edition is Approaches to the teaching of poetry in EFL classrooms: A

critical study by Mohammad Mujtaba Ahmad. The setting of this study is Qassim University

in Saudi Arabia. Poetry has often failed to get acceptance as a favorable tool of teaching

language, even though it has the richest repertoire of language elements. However, the present

study aims at showing the advantage of sundry teaching approaches of poetry in use in

EFL/ESL classrooms. Its special focus is on the necessity and utility of this genre of literature

in its historical and cultural perspective in student-centered approaches that ensure the students’

engagement in the class, and concludes that a multimodal approach to teaching of poetry

deserves greater exploration of the EFL classrooms.

With these brief introductions, I hand over this edition of the Asian EFL Journal to the readers

and also take this opportunity to thank the writers for keeping the torch of knowledge ever

burning, the reviewers who happily took up a challenging and mostly thankless job, the back-

end contributors who took charge of making our collective efforts presentable, and the readers

who help keep our morale high even in these difficult times by diligently reading, liberally

referring and generously citing from our Journal. Please enjoy this "sumptuous feast" and stay

safe!

Arif Ahmed Al-Ahdal, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Qassim University,

Saudi Arabia

(Leading Editor)

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6747-0897

10


Integrating Technology with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy: Web 2.0-enabled Learning

Designs for Online Learning

Gibreel Sadeq Alaghbary 1,2

1Department of English, Unaizah College of Sciences and Arts, Qassim University, KSA

2Department of English, Center for Languages and Translation, Taiz University, Yemen

Bio-profile:

Gibreel Sadeq Alaghbary is an Assistant Professor of English at the Department of English,

College of Sciences and Arts, Unaizah, Qassim University in Saudi Arabia. He is also an

associate professor of English at the Center for Languages and Translation, Taiz University,

Yemen. He served as a Fulbright post-doctoral fellow and adjunct faculty at San Diego State

University, USA, in 2013. He is interested in exploring language variation in response to new

technologies and other non-linguistic variables. His research also covers the analysis of textual

ideology with a focus on political discourse. He is author of "Ideological Positioning in

Conflict" in the Routledge Handbook of Language in Conflict, 2019.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8531-2913

Abstract

The digitalization of education at the turn of the century has necessitated a digital update of

Benjamin Bloom's original taxonomy of educational objectives (1956) and of Anderson and

Krathwohl's revised taxonomy (2001). The updated digital taxonomy (Churches, 2008)

captures the continually emerging learning opportunities in technology-enhanced language

classrooms. The present paper maps Bloom's updated digital taxonomy onto a set of learning

pedagogies characterized by negotiation and/or production in the implementation of a Web 2.0-

enabled and project-based learning design in online college education. The study reports on ten

projects designed by the researcher to facilitate acquisition of specialized content and skills

prescribed in a college-level English program in Saudi Arabia. Based on the nature of the

content and skills to learn, an appropriate learning pedagogy and a set of suitable Web 2.0 tools

were mapped in the design of project-based learning tasks differentiated to the students' level,

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8531-2913

11

interests and familiarity with digital tools. The projects were produced individually and

collaboratively by the students outside class and presented individually and collaboratively on

a virtual learning platform. The learning design employed in the study mobilized the students'

digital competence and enabled them to demonstrate acquisition of knowledge and skills in

different modalities (text, image, audio and video). It also engaged the students in content

creation, facilitated synchronous and remote collaboration in the preparation and presentation

of projects, created authentic out-of-class learning opportunities, encouraged active learning,

and enabled learning at the highest level of Bloom's taxonomy.

Keywords: Bloom's taxonomy, Bloom's digital taxonomy, project-based learning, technology,

Web2.0, learning design

1. Introduction

In 1956, Benjamin S. Bloom, aided in his effort by a team of educational and measurement

specialists from different parts of the United States, published a multitiered framework for

classifying the intended outcomes of learning according to cumulative levels of increasing

cognitive demands. The framework, known as Bloom's Taxonomy (of educational objectives),

categorizes thinking skills in a hierarchical manner to represent the process of learning. It is a

continuum of thinking skills from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order

Thinking Skills (HOTS), with knowledge at lowest level of the hierarchy and evaluation at the

highest level. According to Bloom's Taxonomy, you need to know a concept first and progress

through comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis before you can evaluate it.

Bloom's Taxonomy was originally conceived to guide the creation, and facilitate the exchange,

of banks of test items measuring common educational objectives in educational institutions in

the United States (Krathwohl, 2002). Since its conception, however, Bloom's Cognitive

Taxonomy has been used as more than a measurement tool. It "permeated teaching and

instructional planning for almost 50 years", providing a common language for educators all

over the world, guiding successful teaching practices, and informing the design of effective

instructional material. In 2001, Lorin Anderson, a student of Bloom, and David Krathwohl, a

member of Bloom's original team, assembled a group of educators and educational

psychologists with the aim of modifying the Taxonomy in order to make it "increasingly and

more broadly effective" (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001, p. 264).

12

In order to increase the relevance of the Taxonomy and accommodate uses other than

assessment and contexts other than higher education, Anderson & Krathwohl (2001) introduce

structural and terminological changes to the original Taxonomy. A major change is splitting

Knowledge, the first of the six major categories in the original framework, into a name

component, which became a separate dimension named the Knowledge Dimension with four

sub-categories of types of knowledge, and a verb component, remember, which replaces the

Knowledge category in the original Taxonomy and forms the first of six levels forming a

hierarchy in the Cognitive Dimension in the Revised Taxonomy. The other five levels in the

Cognitive Dimension are mostly verbal counterparts of the categories in the original

Taxonomy, with two categories renamed (Comprehension renamed Understand, and Synthesis

renamed Create) and the order of the last two levels interchanged (Figure 1).

Noun aspect

Revised Taxonomy, Taxonomy Table - Cognitive Dimension

Knowledge

Dimension Level 6

Create Level 5

Evaluate

Level 4

Analyze Level 3

Apply

Level 2

Understand Level 1

Remember

Factual Verb

aspect

Level 1

Knowledge

Conceptual Level 2

Comprehension

Procedural Level 3

Application

Metacognitive Level 4

Analysis

Level 5

Synthesis

Level 6

Evaluation

Original Taxonomy

Figure 1: Original vs. Revised Taxonomy (Adapted from Krathwohl 2002)

The structural and terminological changes support the expansion of focus "from the original

focus on assessment" to "the use of Taxonomy in planning curriculum, instruction, assessment,

and the alignment of these three" (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001, p. 263). The Revised

Taxonomy offers a two-dimensional table (aka the Taxonomy Table) in which the vertical axis

includes four sub-categories of knowledge and the horizontal axis includes six verbs that

describe what is/may be done with or to the different types of Knowledge in an ordered level

of increasing cognitive complexity. The two-dimensionality of the Taxonomy Table provides

a common language for educators across the world and makes it an effective tool that aids in

evaluating the content of textbooks for the cognitive processes they engage (Mizbani, Salehi,

13

& Tabatabaei, 2020), conducting content analysis of standardized international language tests

(Baghaei, Bagheri, & Yamini, 2020), building effective lesson plans (Bümen, 2007), reflecting

on classroom practices (Byrd, 2002), informing course design (Prihatin, 2018), creating course-

related assignments and projects requiring advanced levels of thinking (Ferguson, 2002), and

estimating curriculum alignment, including instruction, materials, objectives and tests

(Anderson, 2002).

The Revised Taxonomy enjoyed increasing popularity among educators and curriculum

planners in various discipline, including, but not limited to, engineering (Swart, 2010), tourism

(Wang, 2012) and business administration (Ben-Zvi & Carton, 2008). Despite its huge potential

and popularity, the Taxonomy did not address "the newer objectives, processes and actions

presented by the emergence and integration of Information and Communication Technologies

(ICT) in to the classroom and their impact on the lives of our students" (Churches, 2008, p. 5).

The emergence of the internet in the 1980s and the immense growth it has undergone since

then has offered great promise for teachers and students. In particular, it has offered a multitude

of learning resources, maximized an individual's choice of resources, optimized the

authenticity of learning materials, and significantly increased access to both resources and

materials.

The internet itself has undergone extensive changes. The first generation of the World Wide

Web introduced in the 1990s (henceforth Web 1.0), is a read-only medium of communication.

In Web 1.0, a limited number of people create web pages that offer a platform for service

provides to broadcast information and promote services and products to a wide audience around

the world. It allowed users to search for and read information but allowed limited user

interaction and content contribution and. The second generation of World Wide Web

(henceforth Web 2.0), introduced at the turn of the twenty-first century, however, is a read-

and-write medium of interactive communication (O'Reilly, 2007). Web 2.0 technologies, such

as wikis, blogs, video upload sites, photo sharing sites and social networking sites, are

characterized by dynamism, interactivity and user participation. They allow users to download

and upload, read and contribute content, and connect and interact with other web users. Web

2.0 technologies have, in a sense, democratized the internet, making it possible for less expert

users to interact with the creators of content as well as participate in content creation and

dissemination. The introduction of the multitouch handheld mobile devices in 2007, and later

multitouch tablet computers, has accelerated the proliferation of the internet, making mobile

14

web the most used form of internet access. The World Wide Web landscape will continue to

change as new forms of individual-machine interactive communication emerge (aka Web 3.0).

In order to accommodate the new learning opportunities emerging from the evolution, as well

as the ubiquitous presence, of Web 2.0 technologies, Churches (2008) proposed a digital update

of the Taxonomy. The revision introduced by Churches is "fundamentally based on the revised

taxonomy proposed by Anderson et al, but is more inclusive of digital technologies and digital

cognitive objectives" (Churches, 2008, p. 5). It is referred to henceforth, and in the literature,

as the (Bloom's) Digital Taxonomy (Churches, 2008; Lightle, 2011; Nikolić & Dabić, 2016;

Cardoso, 2019; Amin & Mirza, 2020). Churches' Digital Taxonomy retains the categories, and

their arrangement, in the Cognitive Dimension of the Revised Taxonomy and adds a set of

digital verbs to each category in order to capture the learning opportunities generated by

technology and suggest the digital tools to facilitate cognitive development and progression

through the hierarchy from LOTs to HOTs (Figure 2).

Recognizing, Listing, Describing, Identifying, Retrieving, Naming, Locating, Finding Revised Bloom Level 1

Remembering Bullet pointing, bookmarking, social networking, social bookmarking, searching/googling Digital Bloom

Interpreting, Summarizing, Inferring, Paraphrasing, Classifying, Comparing, Explaining Revised Bloom Level 2

Understanding Advanced searching, Blog journaling, Categorizing & Tagging, Commenting, Subscribing Digital Bloom

Carrying out, Using, Executing, Implementing, Showing, Exhibiting Revised Bloom Level 3

Applying Running and operating, Playing, Uploading and sharing, Hacking, Editing Digital Bloom

Comparing, Organizing, Deconstructing, Attributing, Outlining, Structuring, Integrating Revised Bloom Level 4

Analyzing Mashing, Linking, Reverse-engineering, Cracking Digital Bloom

Checking, Hypothesizing, Critiquing, Experimenting, Judging, Testing, Monitoring Revised Bloom Level 5

Evaluating Blog commenting, Posting, Moderating, Collaborating, Networking, Testing, Validating Digital Bloom

Designing, Constructing, Planning, Producing, Inventing, Devising, Making Revised Bloom Level 6

Creating Programming, Filming, Animating, Mixing, Directing, Producing, Blogging, Publishing Digital Bloom

Figure 2: Key terms from the Revised and Digital Taxonomies (Adapted from Churches 2008)

The present study uses Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and the Digital Taxonomy in designing a

set of learning projects in online environments in order to develop higher order thinking skills

among university students in Saudi Arabia. The approach underlying the projects is social

constructivist (Vygotsky, 1978). It views learning as an activity constructed primarily in social

interaction and secondarily on the personal plane. The learner is actively engaged in the process

throughout. The learning design of each project involves defining the type of knowledge to

learn, the (higher-order) thinking skills to promote, the Web 2.0 digital tools to enable

15

collaborative and personalized learning, and the appropriate online pedagogy for each learning

design.

2. Methodology

2.1 Participants

The participants in the study are second-year undergraduate students of English taking

ENG202 (Computer Assisted Language Learning) at Unaizah College of Sciences and Arts,

Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. The total number of students participating in the projects is

12. The different tasks in the project were part of the internal assessment for the course. The

students were given a choice to participate in the set projects or mees the course requirement

by creating their own projects. This study reports on ten projects pre-planned by the course

instructor in discussion with the whole class. The course was offered during the transition to

online learning due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak and the students presented the projects

remotely on the Blackboard learning management system.

2.2 Research Design

The study uses the integrated framework for conceptualizing and performing Web 2.0-enabled

learning design proposed by Bower, Hedberg, & Kuswara (2010). The framework is based on

Mishra and Koehler's (2006) Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK)

conceptual framework (Figure 3), which aligns three knowledge domains (i.e., content

knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technical knowledge) to conceptualize the knowledge

base required by teachers to effectively implement technology-based teaching (Mishra and

Koehler, 2006; Koehler and Mishra, 2008). The content knowledge component of the

framework is based upon Anderson and Krathwohl's (2001) revised taxonomy, the pedagogical

component draws on contemporary pedagogies in technology-enhanced language instruction,

and the technological component is informed by the "vast range of Web 2.0 technologies at the

educator's disposal" (Bower, Hedberg, & Kuswara, 2010, p. 184).

The Knowledge dimension in Anderson and Krathwohl's (2001) revised taxonomy includes

four sub-categories. The first of these categories is factual knowledge, which covers knowledge

of terminology, details and bits of information. The second is conceptual knowledge, which

covers knowledge of patterns, theories, classifications and other organized forms of

knowledge. The third is procedural knowledge, which includes knowledge of skills, procedures

16

and criteria used to perform processes. The fourth category is metacognitive knowledge, which

refers to self-knowledge and awareness of one's own cognitive processing.

The Cognitive Processes dimension of Anderson and Krathwohl's (2001) revised taxonomy

includes the six sub-categories of remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing,

evaluating, and creating. These categories are a refined version of those in Bloom's original

taxonomy in terms of their linguistic form (the use of the participle form) and order (creativity

is considered higher than evaluation within the cognitive domain). These sub-categories

include a number of key verbs which represent actions representing the category. Churches'

(2008) digital additions to the verbs in the six sub-categories address the newer purposes

presented by the emergence and integration of technology into the classroom and into the

students' lives (Figure 2).

The learning design also incorporates four online pedagogies to address the pedagogical

demands of different learning activities and the technical demands of collaborative and

contributory Web 2.0 tools and resources. The first is a transmissive pedagogy, which involves

direct instruction and the transmission of knowledge to the students. The second is a dialogic

pedagogy, which involves students in dialogic interaction using technology. The third is a

constructionist pedagogy, which engages students in the creation of meaningful products using

technology. The fourth pedagogy is a co-constructivist pedagogy, which involves groups of

students in collectively negotiating and creating meaningful products using language.

Drawing on this conceptual framework, the study proposes a learning design for each project.

Learning design is used here to refer to "learners and a space where they act with the tools and

devices to collect and interpret information through a process of interaction with others"

(Oliver, Harper, Wills, Agostinho, & Hedberg, 2007, p. 65). For each project, an online

learning pedagogy is mapped on to a set of Web 2.0-enabled tools supporting different

modalities and synchronicities in order to enable the aquisition of the knowledge type and the

thnking skills specific to each project.

17

Figure 3: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Reproduced

by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org)

2.3 Procedure

As part of the requirements for their ENG202 course, the students have to carry out a project

and make a presentation of it to class. Ten projects were designed by the course instructor, in

discussion with the class, in order to achieve specific learning outcomes. The projects were

announced on the discussion forum on the virtual learning platform, Blackboard. The students

were given two weeks to make a choice and write their names against the selected project in

the forum. They were also given the option of collaborating on the projects in groups of two or

three. After the elapse of the time for project selection, the course instructor, who is also the

researcher, designed a project sheet for each project (Appendix 1). The project sheet has been

designed to provide task scaffolding. Each sheet includes the project number and name, a

description of the project, a break-down of the project sub-tasks, a categorization of the

knowledge types, pedagogies, thinking skills, modalities and synchronicities, and the apps and

websites suggested for successful project completion.

18

The projects have been designed to engage the students in learning at higher levels of Bloom's

taxonomy such as applying (e.g., project 3), evaluating (e.g., project 4) and creating (e.g.,

project 8). Some projects even enabled learning at multiple levels of the taxonomy (e.g., project

6). The projects facilitated interaction with, and promotion of, subject-related knowledge

(projects 5, 6, 10) and developed L2 language productive skills, namely, speaking (projects 1,

2, 7) and writing (projects 3, 4, 8, 9).

The nature of each project dictated the online pedagogy to use. Some projects were executed

and presented individually (projects 1, 5, 8, 9), some in dialogic interaction (projects 2, 6, 10)

and the rest in collaboration with peers (projects 3, 4, 7). The projects also required different

modalities of representation, such as text (e.g., project 9), text and images (e.g., project 10),

video (e.g., project 1) and many of the projects involved multiple modalities of representation

(e.g., projects 2, 6, 7, 8). In carrying out the collaborative projects (projects 3, 4, 7), the students

worked synchronously (e.g., project 4) and asynchronously (e.g., projects 3, 7) as entailed by

the nature of the task and degree of synchronicity required. The selection of Web 2.0

technologies for each project was guided by the nature of content and skills, the modality of

representation, and the degree of collaboration and synchronicity required by and for each

project. All the projects, upon completion of the tasks, were uploaded on Google Drive and a

hyper-link added to them for ease of reference (Appendix 2).

3. Results

In the discussion of projects in this section, I will be grouping projects by the aspect of the

knowledge domain they promote. For example, the projects that build on the students' speaking

competence to improve their peers' listening competence will be presented together, and so will

the projects that target improving writing proficiency and the projects that introduce subject-

related content. Accordingly, the discussion will be structured into three sub-sections.

3.1 Speaking projects

This set includes three projects (projects 1, 2, 7). The first project (project 1) is the work of an

individual student. The task in this project is creating listening material and designing a set of

comprehension quiz questions on it. To provide task scaffold, the course instructor broke down

the task into the following ten steps and suggested a number of applications and websites to

use at the different stages of the project to facilitate project completion.

19

N. Project steps Technology used

1 look up a news website Google Search

2 follow the news website Bookmarking

3 select a current news item https://saudigazette.com.sa

4 divide the speech into tone units, assign an

intonation pattern to each unit, and ensure correct

pronunciation

This was done manually

5 practice reading aloud to yourself CuePrompter 6 video-record yourself reading it and add music Audacity

7 create a Quizlet account Quizlet

8 create a study set based on the video recording

9 merge the video clip and the quiz into one video YouCut video editor 10 present the project to class online Blackboard

Table 1. Project 1: Creating listening material and designing comprehension questions on it

The project develops factual knowledge of English prosody. After ensuring correct

pronunciation of all the words in the news item, the student learned how to divide the text into

tone units that are well-formed and meaningful and learned what intonation pattern to assign

to each tone unit. Working individually throughout, the student created a news item, developed

an online quiz (using the authoring software Quizlet) based on it and later merged the whole

project into one video which was presented to class on a virtual learning platform. Therefore,

a constructionist pedagogy was in place. To construct the listening material and the

compression set of questions on it, the student used the Web 2.0-based apps and resources

mentioned against each step in the project (Table 1). The project, in its different stages, engaged

the student in learning at the high-order levels of evaluating and creating in Bloom's Revised

Taxonomy and involved the use of text and video modalities of representation (see Appendix

2).

The second project in this set (project 2) was also an individual project but the student engaged

in dialogic interaction with a number of people, mainly senior family members, in the process

of producing the project. The task in this project is producing a video to promote a historic site,

and tourist attraction, in the student's hometown to an English-speaking audience. The task was

also broken down into steps to provide task scaffolding. The table below (Table 2) lists the

steps and the technology used in each step.


1 carry out research on the local heritage site Google Search

2 look up (and take) relevant photos and videos

3 write the script Microsoft Word 2016

4 practice reading out the script CuePrompter

https://www.google.com/?client=safari

https://saudigazette.com.sa/

https://cueprompter.com/

https://www.audacityteam.org/

https://quizlet.com/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camerasideas.trimmer&hl=en&gl=US

https://lms.qu.edu.sa/


https://cueprompter.com/

20

5 edit the sound files Audacity

6 go down to the site and shoot video clips iPhone 6+

7 merge the photos and the videos clips

Filmora 8 add text notes and remarks

9 create the final video

10 present the project to class online Blackboard

Table 2. Project 2: Promoting a local historic site

This project also develops factual knowledge of English prosody. The student learned how to

segment speech into tone units and use pitch variation and intonation patterns (falling, rising,

fall-rise) to capture audience attention and communicate attitudinal meanings. The project also

develops factual knowledge about the history of the local heritage site. The student learned

historical facts about the place, such as its location, dimensions and the history of its name. In

putting the project together, the student created a script, made audio recordings, took pictures,

shot videos, and merged all these into a mini-movie, which was presented in front of a class

studying online on a virtual leaning platform. The development of the mini-movie project

required the use of multiple modalities of representation (text, images and video), involved a

constructionist pedagogy, and the use of the range of Web 2.0 technologies mentioned against

the relevant step of the project (Table 2). The project developed the higher-order thinking skills

of evaluating and creating (see Appendix 2).

The third project in this set (project 7) is a collaborative effort by two students. The task in this

project is creating an animated movie of a murder investigation scene to be used as listening

material by lower-level students in the same department, and elsewhere. The task was divided

into smaller steps and appropriate Web 2 tools were suggested for each step to facilitate task

completion and provide the appropriate task scaffolding (Table 3).


1 write the script for a murder investigation scene Microsoft Word 2016

2 download an animated video creation app Plotagon

3 practice the turns in the scenes Smartphones

4 record your turns in the scene Plotagon

5 merge the two video files into one animated video


Table 3. Project 7: Creating an animated movie of a murder investigation scene

This project develops procedural knowledge of structuring English conversations. The students

learned how to alternate turns in a conversational exchange, how to minimize silence, how to

signal discourse transition, and how to structure their conversational contributions accordingly.

https://www.audacityteam.org/

https://filmora.wondershare.net/filmora-video-editor.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_qD_BRDiARIsANjZ2LAQEOD3vPzm9M2fSqRsYtBMz3uErREzF2lV_obbg2lCyq7D5k9I0nYaAj64EALw_wcB


https://www.plotagon.com/

https://www.plotagon.com/


21

Even though the students worked asynchronously, in different places and at different times,

they both kept an eye on each other's turns so that outcome is a coherent conversation. The

students collaborated in planning the murder scene, writing the script and creating the animated

video (Using Plotagon) by merging the video that had previously been recorded independently.

Accordingly, the project involved a co-constructionist pedagogy and engaged the students in

learning at the higher-order levels of applying and creating in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (see

Appendix 2). The development of the project required the use of text and video modalities and

involved the Web 2.0 technologies indicated in Table 3 to facilitate the co-construction of the

project.

3.2 Writing projects

This set includes four projects (projects 3, 4, 8, 9). The first project in this set (project 3) is the

work of two students. The task in this project is editing an English Wikipedia page. The course

instructor scaffolded the two learners into task accomplishment by breaking down the project

into the steps in Table 4.


1 identify an Arabic Wikipedia page on an Arab

author Wikipedia

2 compare the Arabic page with the English page on

the same author Google Docs

3 translate the under-developed sections in the

Arabic version into English

4 create a Wikipedia account Wikipedia

5 edit the English Wikipedia page on the Arabic poet

6 video-record the whole project Bandicam


Table 4. Project 3: Editing an English Wikipedia page

This project develops factual knowledge about an Arab poet. The students learned new facts

and information about the life and works of the Tunisian poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi. The

project also develops procedural knowledge about editing entries on Wikipedia pages. The

students learned how to collaborate on writing and translating on Google docs, how to negotiate

a common style and a writing product, how to edit a Wikipedia page while keeping in view its

style and audience, and how to collaborate on article editing on the Wikipedia interface. The

project enabled learning at the higher-order levels of evaluating and creating in Bloom's

Revised Taxonomy (see Appendix 2). The different stages of the project, namely, translating

the entry, co-writing the text, and editing the final product, involved a textual modality of

https://www.wikipedia.org/

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin/identifier?passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&emr=1&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=AddSession

https://www.wikipedia.org/

https://www.bandicam.com/


22

presentation and a co-constructionist pedagogy in which the students worked asynchronously

and required the use of the Web 2.0-based technologies listed in Table (4) above.

In the second project in this set (project 4), a more able peer engaged in dialogic interaction

with a less able peer to offer him scaffolding support in writing a descriptive essay. The task

in the project is scaffolding a less able peer through online collaboration to produce a piece of

writing. The course instructor was present throughout the process to offer instructional

scaffolding to both students and the project was broken down into the following smaller steps

(Table 5).


1 create a Gmail account (both students)

Google Docs

2 start a Google Docs file and invite the less able

peer and the course instructor

3 provide support (content, structure and language)

as and when needed using the suggest tool

4 discuss any arguments or problems the less able

peer may have in the chat window in the language

of the lower-level student's choice

5 monitor the less able student's progress and uptake

of feedback

6 make a video of the whole project Icescreen Screen Recorder 7 present the project to class online Blackboard

Table 5. Project 4: Scaffolding a less able peer through online collaboration

The less able peer is enlisted in an intensive English course in preparation to joining the English

B.A. program, while the more able peer is a second-year student in the same B.A. program and

had successfully passed three English writing courses prior to starting the project. The project

develops factual knowledge of the elements of a good English descriptive essay. In the course

of the project, the less able peer, scaffolded by the more able peer, learned how to write main

idea sentences, how to use supporting details and linking words, and how to make a paragraph

both coherent and cohesive. The project also develops procedural knowledge about using

online writing collaborative tools, namely, Google docs. Both students learned the process of

using collaborative tools for purposes of synchronous writing, editing and collaborating. The

project involved a textual modality of presentation and co-constructionist pedagogy. The final

product was a descriptive paragraph produced after days of synchronous collaboration using

the Web 2.0 tools indicated in Table 5. The project developed the higher-order thinking skills

of evaluating. The more able peer had to make decisions about when to intervene, how much

feedback to provide and how to respond to his peer's emotional comments in order to not to

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin/identifier?passive=1209600&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&followup=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2F&emr=1&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=AddSession

https://icecream-screen-recorder.en.softonic.com/mac


23

lose sight of the task purpose. The less able peer, on the other hand, had to make decisions

about what feedback to accept as relevant, how to make changes to the text but retain authorial

identity, and how to respond to irrelevant critical comments without sounding impertinent (see

Appendix 2).

The third project in this set (project 8) is an individual project. The task in the project is creating

a picture-based story. The final product is an audio-visual story that may be used as learning

material by students at the same department and by other students elsewhere. Proper task

scaffolding was provided by the course instructor by breaking down the task into the following

steps (Table 6).


1 look up an inspirational story for children Google Search

2 summarize the story Microsoft Word 2016

3 create an account on Storybird

Storybird

4 select a set of pictures to match the story

5 match bits of the story to each picture

6 read out the text with your voice

7 export the audio-visual story as a video project


Table 6. Project 8: Creating a picture-based story

This project develops factual knowledge. It improves the student's phonological awareness and

eventually reading fluency. It also improves procedural knowledge. In particular, it develops

the skills to summarize a longer text and adapt it for presentation to an intended audience. It

also develops the skills to read out sentences to match the flow of pictures in an audio-visual

story. The creation of an audio-visual story using specialized software involved the use of

multiple modalities of presentation. The student has to write the script, select pictures to match

the development of the narrative, and eventually produce an audio-visual story. The pedagogy

involved is constructionist and the project developed the lower-order skills of understanding

(e.g., summarizing and paraphrasing) and the higher-order skills of creating (e.g., planning and

constructing) as shown in Appendix 2. The Web 2.0 technologies used in the project are listed

in Table 6.

The last project in this set (project 9) is also an individual project. The task in the project is

summarizing news items and posting them on a microblogging platform. The course instructor


https://storybird.com/


24

suggested the news source and provided summary writing instruction in order to provide the

appropriate instructional scaffolding (Table 7).


1 bookmark a news website https://saudigazette.com.sa

2 select three news items

3 summarize the news items Microsoft Word 2016

4 start a social media account twitter

5 post the summaries of the news items, one a day

6 screen-record the project Huawei honor 8x


Table 7. Project 9: Summarizing news items and posting them on a microblogging platform

The project develops procedural knowledge about summary writing. The student learned to

summarize extended news items in under 280 characters, which is he character count limit

imposed by Twitter. The summary writing involved identifying main and supporting ideas,

making decisions about what to include and what to leave out, paraphrasing sentences using

the student's own vocabulary, making decisions about what parts of the news item to prioritize,

and editing the final product to ensure consistency with the original text compliance with word

count limit imposed by the microblogging platform. The project involved the use of a textual

modality and a transmissive online pedagogy in which information is passed directly to the

audience . However, it developed the higher-order thinking skills of applying and evaluating

(see Appendix 2). The student applied the knowledge of summary writing skills learned in

ENG 247 to produce summaries of news items intended for a large, unknown audience. The

student also had to make criteria-based judgements about importance and relevance. He has to

decide what is relevant in relation to the original news article and to the imposed post length

constraints. In putting the project together, the student utilized the Web 2.0-based tools and

resources listed in Table 7.

3.3 Subject-related projects

This set includes three projects (projects 5, 10, 6). The first project in this set (project 5) is the

work of an individual student. The task in the project is using mind mapping software to create

mind maps on subject-related content for use by peers. The course instructor scaffolded the

learner into task accomplishment by providing the following steps leading to project

completion (Table 8).


https://twitter.com/


25


1 summarize key concepts & relationships in chapter

1

Microsoft Word 2016


2

Microsoft Word 2016


3

Microsoft Word 2016

4 download a mind mapping software

SimpleMind Lite

5 make a mind map of concepts and relationships in

chapter 1


chapter 2


chapter 3

8 merge the mind maps and export as images

9 make a video of the whole project Icescreen Screen Recorder 10 present the project to class online Blackboard

Table 8. Project 5: Using mind mapping software to create mind maps on subject-related

content

This project develops factual knowledge about sentence structure, noun and verb phrases, and

morphemes and word formation processes in English. It also develops conceptual knowledge

about the categorization of English morphemes into free and bound morphemes and further

sub-categorizations within this classification. The project also develops procedural knowledge

about the skills to generate mind maps and demonstrate relationships diagrammatically. The

online pedagogy used in creating the mind maps and the final video project is both transmissive

and constructionist, and the modality of representation is textual. The project employed the

Web 2.0 technologies in Table 7 to develop the lower-order thinking skills of understanding

(in relation to the retrieval, organization and categorization of information) as well as the

higher-order thinking skills of creating (in relation to the creation of mind maps) (see Appendix

2).

The second project in this set (project 10), is an individual project produced in dialogic

interaction with the course instructor. The project involves choice and presentation of language

learning apps that aim at improving peers and lower-level language students' performance on

courses offered in the department. The task in the project is using the smartphone's screen

recording feature to introduce useful applications for EFL learners. Proper task scaffolding was

provided as shown in Table 10.


1 look up language learning apps on the App store

https://simplemind.eu/

https://icecream-screen-recorder.en.softonic.com/mac


26

2 download the apps that meet the selection criteria App Store

3 use the apps and list their plus and minus points Microsoft Word 2016

4 make a video of to introduce the apps, how to use

them, and their plus and minute points iPhone 12 pro


Table 9. Project 10: Using the smartphone to introduce useful applications for EFL learners

This project develops conceptual knowledge about language skills. The student learned about

the different aspects of each language skill and how to relate these aspects to features of popular

language learning apps. The project also develops metacognitive knowledge. The student

gained awareness about his own language knowledge and the way to look up resources to

support its development. The communication of knowledge about language learning apps to

peers and other language students support a transmissive pedagogy. The project involved the

use of images and video modality of representation, required use of the Web 2.0 technologies

listed in Table 9, and developed the analyzing skills (examining the features of language

learning applications and relating them to the relevant language skills) and evaluating skills

(making judgements about the value and usefulness of language learning apps in relation to the

target audience's proficiency and language learning needs) in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (see

Appendix 2).

In the third project in this set, and last project reported in the study (project 6), the student also

engaged in dialogic interaction with the course instructor in order to finalize a list of

applications that support learning English as a foreign language for use by peers and lower-

level students. The task in this project, however, is creating a blog that provides language

learning resources for fellow students at the same department, and beyond. The course

instructor provided assistance throughout the stages of the project to ensure that the apps

selected offer appropriate content and suit the target students' needs. He also provided a step-

by-step guide to ensure smooth task completion and offer task scaffolding (Table 10).


1 look up language learning apps on Google Play

and the App store Google Play and App Store

2 download the apps that meet the selection criteria

3 use the apps and list their plus and minus points Microsoft Word 2016

4 take screenshots of the apps smartphone

5 create a blog

wix 6 create posts for speaking apps and websites

7 create posts for listening apps and websites

8 create posts for writing apps and websites

https://www.apple.com/sa/app-store/


https://play.google.com/store

https://www.apple.com/sa/app-store/

https://www.wix.com/

27

9 create posts for reading apps and websites

10 make a video of the whole project windows screen recoding


Table 10. Project 6: Creating a blog that provides language learning resources

This project develops conceptual knowledge about the four language skills. The student learned

about the sub-skills of each language skills and the language applications relevant to the

development of these sub-skills. The project also develops metacognitive knowledge. In the

process of scaffolding fellow students, the student gained awareness about his own knowledge

of language and the learned how to use digital resources to enhance knowledge of language.

The project involved the use of multiple modalities of presentation. The student wrote texts

(advantages and disadvantages of each application), took screen shots of the applications to

promote, and produced a video that introduces the project to class. The creation of the blog by

the student involved a constructionist online pedagogy, and the use of posts in the blog to

introduce useful language learning applications supports a transmissive online pedagogy. This

project developed the analyzing and evaluating skills in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy (see

Appendix 2) and made use of the contributory Web 2.0 tools and resources listed in Table 10.

4. Discussion

This paper reports on a set of student-centered projects engaging Web-2.0 technologies,

modalities and synchronicities specific to each project in order to enable the acquisition of

subject-related knowledge and skills and the use of multiple thinking skills in Bloom's Digital

Taxonomy. A significant feature of the learning designs used in the projects is the use of

constructionist and co-constructionist learning pedagogies, with eight of the ten projects

involving either or both types of pedagogy. The special attention given to these pedagogies in

the learning designs is consistent with the significance and relevance highlighted in previous

studies (e.g., De Lang & Wittek, 2018; Willet, 2007; Neale, Carroll & Rosson, 2004). These

types of pedagogy promote responsibility, leadership and negotiation skills. The students

engage in dialogic interaction outside class time and negotiate the production of meaningful

projects. They have to make decisions about the choice of the project, the distribution of roles

and responsibilities, the types of modalities to use, and the Web 2.0 tools and resources that

enable the production and presentation of the projects. These pedagogies gave the students

agency and control, and involved them in constructing meaningful 'products', articulating

knowledge about them, and scaffolding each other throughout the stages of the project.


28

The learning designs also aligned the tasks in the projects with the different cognitive levels of

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. The projects developed lower-order thinking skills (projects 5, 8,

and 9). These three projects involved the students in understanding, summarizing, and

paraphrasing language as well subject-related content. All the projects, including projects 5, 8,

and 9, promoted thinking skills at higher levels of the taxonomy. The students were involved

in making judgements about language learning apps, creating mind-maps to demonstrate

knowledge of relationships between concepts, negotiating a common style in editing a page on

the internet, collaborating on writing a text, producing a picture-based story, and creating

videos and animated movies to be used as listening material by lower-level students.

The learning designs of the projects also utilized a variety of Web 2.0 tools and resources that

enabled the use of multiple modalities and facilitated the mobilization of thinking skills and

the deployment of (co-)constructionist pedagogies. These resources enabled online

collaboration (e.g., Google Docs), creating complex mind-maps (SimpleMind Lite), creating

blogs (wix.com), creating listening material (Plotagon), and creating and sharing picture-based

stories (Storybird). The collaborative and contributory nature of these apps and resources

enhanced the students' agency and created opportunities for interactive learning in online

learning contexts. The nature of contemporary Web 2.0 tools and resources holds "great

promise for the future of education" because "it appears that there is finally accord between the

design of technology and the student-centered, interactive approaches being advocated by

contemporary educational theory" (Bower, Hedberg, Kuswara, 2010, p. 178).

There remain two areas in the learning designs of the projects that require further attention.

These are collaboration and the development of metacognitive knowledge. Only three projects

(projects 3, 4, and 7) involved students in working in collaboration and only one of those

(project 4) enabled scaffolding through collaboration. The learning designs need to allow more

collaboration in order to allow learning to take place within the zone of proximal development

(ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978), maximize benefit from the collaborative nature of contemporary Web

2.0 technological resources, and provide the required scaffolding to facilitate learning at

higher-order levels of the Taxonomy. The learning designs also need to consider developing

metacognitive knowledge. At present, only two projects (projects 6 and 10) encourage students

to gain awareness about their knowledge and reflect on their learning experiences. Projects

should include tasks that require students to monitor their own learning and self-direct it in

accordance with their learning preferences.

29

5. Conclusions

Digital tools and resources are increasingly becoming an essential feature of language

classrooms. They can be used to personalize the learning experience, maximize learner choices,

optimize the authenticity of materials, facilitate interaction with real-life themes and concerns,

and provide opportunities for meaningful learning opportunities. Recognition of this potential

of technology for teaching and learning has led practitioners (e.g., Churches, 2008) to provide

frameworks that connect digital tools with Bloom's (Revised) Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives in order to capture the ways technology can enhance learning and facilitate the

attainment of learning objectives. This study has offered further support to this argument. It

has incorporated Web 2.0 digital tools in project-based learning designs in order to provide

students with opportunities to demonstrates acquisition of knowledge and skills in different

modalities of representation. The learning designs have proved effective in engaging students

in content creation, (a-)synchronous collaboration and in learning at higher-order levels of

Bloom's (Revised) Taxonomy.

The different learning designs in the study have resulted in tangible outcomes that can be of

direct relevance to students wishing to improve their language skills or subject-related

knowledge. For example, project 2 has resulted in a promotional video that promotes a local

tourist attraction, project 6 has resulted in a blog that offers guided introduction to useful

language learning apps, and project 5 has resulted in mind-maps that summarize subject-related

concepts and relations between concepts. Other projects have contributed material that may be

used to improve listening skills. Project 1 has contributed an animated video of a murder scene

and project 8 has contributed an audio-visual picture-based story. In producing these content-

specific and skill-related materials, the projects benefited from the contribution-based nature

of Web 2.0 apps and resources, thereby making learners more independent, creative and

engaged.

The educational technology landscape, however, is characterized by transience. The pace at

which digital tools appear and disappear offers a serious challenge to educators using

technology-assisted learning designs. The challenge is to be able to leverage the educational

potential of technology to facilitate attainment of intended learning outcomes by way of

contributing learning designs that create authentic learning experiences for new generations of

learners with digital literacy. The learning designs should be guided by the different types of

knowledge and the different levels of cognitive ability on the Taxonomy, which are mostly

30

constant, rather than by the Web 2.0, perhaps eventually Web 3.0 or Web 4.0, digital tools and

resources, which are quintessentially transient.

31

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Appendix 1

Project Sheet

Knowledge Factual: knowledge of a specific discipline – aspects of the language system (sounds, words, etc). Conceptual: knowledge of the principles of a discipline - the way the elements of language combine to make meaning Procedural:

knowledge that helps learners do something specific related to the discipline – knowledge of how to use language in context Metacognitive: knowledge of one’s cognitive processes – awareness of one’s

linguistic/sociolinguistic/discourse/strategic linguistic competence

Source: https://quincycollege.edu/content/uploads/Anderson-and-Krathwohl_Revised-Blooms-Taxonomy.pdf Online pedagogies Transmission: subject matter knowledge is directly imparted to learners Dialogic: interaction between learners (and with the teacher) allows learners to learn in their Zone of Proximal Development beyond what they could not have

achieved in isolation (Vygotsky, 1978) Constructionist: learning is most effective when learners are engaged in constructing meaningful products (integrated with e-learning technologies) Co-constructionist: place responsibility for

production on groups o learners so that they can benefit from both the peer-assisted elements of dialogic pedagogies as well as the productive component of constructionist pedagogies

Source: https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/92475673/5944263_AV.pdf

Thinking skills Remembering: the lowest level of the taxonomy, is the ability to retrieve information digitally. It involves using a search engine (choosing the engine, knowing how it works, entering correct key words) to retrieve information.

Understanding: the construction of meaning and relationships. A learning activity at this level involves bookmarking websites/articles and categorizing them to create relationships and organize the information retrieved. Applying:

the application of the knowledge/skills learned to a situation. An example of a learning activity at this level is editing a wiki page. It involves creating an account on a search engine, bookmarking web pages to retrieve information,

adding information/images to the page, and saving the changes. Analyzing: processing data to detect patterns and relate parts to the project. An example of a learning activity at this level is using an online survey. The learner writes

survey items, invites responses, and eventually compares responses to decide how responses compare and relate to overall topic. Evaluating: making criteria-based judgements. An example of an activity at this level is blogging. A

learner creates a blog post, invites comments, and moderates responses by deciding what is relevant and producing critical responses to irrelevant comments in relation to the post topic and purpose. Creating: a higher-order thinking

skill, is the creation of a new product by drawing on the other five levels. Using a word processor, for example, the learner formats the headings, selects the fonts, adds images and hyperlinks, and saves the document. The learner will

then create an account on Amazon Direct Publishing Website, inputs the e-book’s metadata, uploads the manuscript, creates a cover, decides on a price and publishes the e-book.

Source: https://www.niallmcnulty.com/2017/11/blooms-digital-taxonomy/

Student Name: ………………………………………………………………………

Activity Sub-

tasks

Knowledge Pedagogy Thinking skills Modality Synchronicity Apps &

websites

factual conceptual procedural Meta-

cognitive transmissive dialogic constructionist

Co-

constructionist remember understand apply analyze evaluate create text image audio video Synchronous asynchronous

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/92475673/5944263_AV.pdf

https://www.niallmcnulty.com/2017/11/blooms-digital-taxonomy/

35

Appendix 2

Report on Students’ Projects

no Activity Sub-tasks Knowledge Pedagogy Thinking skills

Modality Synchronicity Apps & websites Students factual conceptual procedural

Meta-

cognitive transmissive dialogic constructionist

Co-

constructionist remember understand apply analyze evaluate create

1

Creating

listening

material and

designing

comprehension

questions on it

1. Follow a news website

2. Choose a news item

3. Practice reading using

CuePrompter

4. Record yourself reading

5. Add music

6. Create a Quizlet account

7. Create a study set based

on the video clip

8. Merge the video clip and

the quiz in one video

9. Present to class on a VLE

Text

Video N.A.

1. Google search

2. Saudi Gazette

3. CuePrompter

4. Youcut-video

editor

5. Audacity

6. Quizlet

7. Oneplus6 phone

8. Blackboard

Abdulaziz

Saleh

2

Promoting a

historic site in

Qassim

1. Carry out research on the

Tourist site

2. Look up photos & videos

3. Write the script

4. Go to site and make

videos related to text

5. Record yourself

promoting the site

6. Merge audio, pictures &

videos


Multimodal

(Text,

Images,

Video)

N.A.

1. Filmora9

2. iPhone 6+ camera

3. Google images

4. Microsoft Word

5. Audacity

6. Blackboard

Abdullah

Alnaim

3

Editing a

Wikipedia entry

in English

1. Identify an Arabic

wikipedia entry on an

Arab site/author

2. Compare with the

English version on the

same topic

3. Translate the under-

developed sections in the

English version into

English.

4. Create a Wikipedia

account

5. Edit the entry in English

6. Make a video of the

whole project


Text Asynchronous

1. Google Search

2. Google translate

3. Microsoft Word

4. BandiCam

5. Google drive

6. Wikipedia

7. Blackboard

Yaser

Alharbi &

Mouath

Alharbi

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19muopuIRXwbIefKu4Yd9doGtcXB6Q-y-/view?usp=sharing






https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VO1QzH68JlHtx6MpM63Eb6sIOQ46vUYY/view?usp=sharing



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xvo4gCvCmWdJDS-bW0fRJZFLUGeQM5Eg/view?usp=sharing



36

4

Scaffolding a

less able peer

through online

collaboration

1. Choose a less able peer

from the ICP program

2. Give him a writing task

3. Create a Gmail account/

ask learner to create one

4. Ask the learner to write

the task on Google Docs

and share the file with

you.

5. Review the student’s

paragraph and make

suggestions to improve

his writing

6. Monitor the student’s

progress and uptake of

feedback

7. Make a video of the

whole project

8. Present the project to

class on a VLE

Text Synchronous

1. Google Mail

2. Google Docs

3. IceScreen Video

Recording

4. Blackboard

Moh’d

Fahd

5

Using mind

mapping

software to

create mind

maps of subject-

related concepts

for classmates

1. Summarize key concepts

and relationships in three

book chapters.

2. Download SimpleMind

Lite.

3. Make mind maps for

every chapter; export as

images

4. Use a screen recording

software to present the

project to the class on a

VLE.

Text N.A.

1. SimpleMild Lite

2. Screen Recorder

3. Blackboard

Abdullah

Alfawzan

6

Creating a blog

to share

knowledge about

interesting

resources for

EFL learning

1. Look up apps on Google

Play and the App Store.

2. Download apps; use them

3. Write the list of

(dis-)advantages for each

app.

4. Taks screenshots of apps.

5. Create an account on

wix.com.

5. Start the blog and create

posts using information

and screen shots.

6. Use screen recording to

present the blog to class

on a VLE.

Multimodal

(Text,

Images,

Video)

N.A.

1. Google Play

2. App Store

3. wix.com

4. screen recording

feature on

windows

(windows icon+g)

Jasim

Alfreidi

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uZ14CTwd5-s98a_ojQ5mJmxhujsSHlLc/view?usp=sharing




https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TRKredxigoGd3Clcdz2QqC4SR4zLJtmV/view?usp=sharing







https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oBfSR55y2Ng_ja_HxjOZ9SPSfas-EolL/view?usp=sharing






https://jassimaltemail.wixsite.com/mysite

https://www.wix.com/

37

7

Creating

listening

material by

acting out a

murder

investigation

scene and

producing an

animated video

on it

1. Write the script for the

murder investigation s

scene.

2. Download Plotagon

3. Play turns in conversation

4. Create the video project

5. Export the project and

present to class on a

VLE.

Text

Video Asynchronous

1. Google Search

2. Plotagon

3. Blackboard

Khaled &

Yaser

8

Creating and

sharing picture-

based stories

1. Google a short

inspirational story.

2. Summarize the story.

3. Create an account on

Storybird.

4. Create a picture-based

story.

5. Read out the story with

your voice.

6. Export the audio-visual

story as a video project.

7. Present the project to

class on a VLE.

Multimodal

(Text,

Images,

Video)

N.A.

1. Google Search

2. Storybird

3. Microsoft Word

4. CuePrompter

5. Blackboard

Ayub

9

Summarizing

news and posting

it in

microblogging

platforms

1. Bookmark a news

website (SaudiGazzette).

2. Summarize news items news item 1, news items 2,

news item 3

3. Start a social media

account

4. Post summaries

5. Screen record project


Text N.A.

1. Saudi Gazzette

2. Twitter

3. Screen Recording

afforadance on

smartphone

Huawei honor 8x

4. Blackboard

Ali

Alzumae

10

Using

smartphone

screen recording

feature to

introduce useful

apps for EFL

learners

1. Choose five apps,

download and use them

2. Write down the plus and

minus points for each

3. Make video to introduce

apps and how to use them


Images

Video N.A.

1. Screen recording

on smartphone

2. Five apps: Bright,

Mondly, Speak,

Cambly, Quizlet

3. Blackboard

Ahmad

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iCEd3EUr-UYPTFEFDt3OsTLY9SPAuZeK/view?usp=sharing










https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sLuOg4mKwZRdZzOHRzKkcKiJNxIAKFwP/view?usp=sharing



https://wealthygorilla.com/10-most-inspirational-short-stories/

https://wealthygorilla.com/10-most-inspirational-short-stories/

https://storybird.com/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-ZXLg09emBdHO63-kyVZySuAF4w93OL/view?usp=sharing






https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/600829/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-is-among-6-safest-travel-destinations-in-world

https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/600795/SAUDI-ARABIA/King-Abdulaziz-Falconry-Festival-to-kick-off-Saturday

https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/600878/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudia-Cargo-is-ready-to-transport-and-receive-coronavirus-vaccine

https://twitter.com/Ali_Alzumaya

https://twitter.com/Ali_Alzumaya

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Vw-wpXm6gSu_q9Ua_Aq64kvTwq4nayR/view?usp=drivesdk







38


The Adoption of Edmodo in a Hybrid EFL Writing Class: What do Indonesian

Students and Lecturers Say?

Rahmah Fithriani (Corresponding author)

State Islamic University of North Sumatera, Indonesia

Majed Abdullah Alharbi

Department of English, College of Education, Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Bio-profiles:

Rahmah Fithriani, PhD, is a lecturer of English Education Department at State Islamic

University of North Sumatra, Indonesia. She received her doctorate in Language, Literacy, and

Sociocultural Studies from University of New Mexico, USA. Her current research interests

include feedback in L2 writing, creative writing in EFL context, and technology integration in

L2 writing teaching and learning.

Dr. Majed Abdullah Alharbi works as an assistant professor in the Department of English at

Majma’ah University, Saudi Arabia. He earned his Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and

Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico. His research focuses on second

language writing and writers' agency and voice, discourse analysis, and critical literacy.

Abstract

Hybrid learning integrates conventional teaching and learning with educational technologies

and combines the advantages of on-site class and online learning. Edmodo, as a cloud-based

informative Social Networking Site (SNS) has much been used in entirely virtual as well as

hybrid learning all over the world. This paper presents a discussion of lecturers' and students’

perspectives of the adoption of Edmodo as a learning platform in some hybrid English as a

foreign language (EFL) writing classes, with a particular focus on its benefits. With two

lecturers and 65 students as the participants, the collection of data in this study was through

sobservation, questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. Generally, the results indicated

39

that the lecturers and the students shared positive experiences towards the adoption of Edmodo

as a supplement to the on-site writing instruction. Specifically, the participants mentioned that

“user-friendly features,” “opportunity to collaborative learning,” and “enhancement of

students’ participation” are among its benefits. This study implies that understanding users’

perceptions of the learning platforms used in a hybrid class may maximize the impact of

technology integration into education

Keywords: Edmodo; hybrid EFL writing class; MALL; RASE pedagogical model; Social

network site (SNS)

Introduction

In this digital era, the use of technology in language teaching and learning (LTL) has become

prevalent, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language

(ESL) classrooms to improve the outcomes. Early researchers like Beatty (2003), Chang

(2005), and González-Bueno (1998) found that the application of computers and other

technological advances provides some features that can enhance foreign/second language

(FL/SL) learning including more language functions, higher levels of participation, more

motivation and interest, and greater autonomy. In addition, the use of technology in language

classrooms may maximize learning outcomes in different language skills classes (Seo & Choi,

2014; Wang & Smith, 2013); promote interaction by providing a shared and interactive forum

(Aydin & Yildiz, 2014; Sabzian et al, 2013); and encourage learners’ engagement and

motivation (Bashori, 2018; Caldwell, 2018; Park & Wu, 2020; Setiawan & Wiedarti, 2020).

However, despite all advantages of technology-assisted education, the practice of LTL does

not necessarily adopt entirely virtual learning and leave the conventional face-to-face one. In

fact, the adoption of fully virtual teaching and learning may face a number of challenges which

cover diverse aspects including motivational, physical, skills, and usage access (Prasojo et al,

2020). These challenges are commonly known as the digital divide, which becomes a

paramount issue facing by third world countries such as Indonesia in technology-based learning

(Rahman, Arifin, & Al-furqan, 2019) due to “the lack of access to ICT [Information and

Communication Technology] devices, internet access, and sufficient bandwidth” (Ivone,

Jacobs, & Renandya, 2020, p. 272).

To overcome such technical issues, combining both traditional and on-site classroom meetings,

which are popularly known as hybrid learning, may minimize these challenges as well as

provide learners with more learning experience. The unique feature of hybrid classes is that

40

they offer two instruction delivery methods, creating two distinct classroom communities; the

community of face-to-face interaction and the online community. Hybrid learning is especially

beneficial for learners with different learning styles since the internet-based class has no time

and place limitation allowing them to work at their own pace at any suitable location

(Rosenberg, 2001). It also provides access to information sources (Coffman, 2009), encourages

meaningful interactions among learners and between the teacher and learners (Kearsley &

Shneiderman, 1998). Thus, nowadays, online learning platforms such as Moodle, Edmodo,

ATutor, and Eliademy are much used in various educational settings.

Edmodo as a platform of learning management system (LMS) has increasingly been used in

entirely virtual as well as hybrid language teaching all over the world, including that in EFL

contexts. A growing number of researchers focusing their investigation on the adoption of

Edmodo in various EFL contexts have reported the positive impacts on students’ language

learning and skill development (Abadi, Ahmedi, & Mehrdad, 2015; Ma’azi & Janfeshan, 2018;

Vijayakumar & Viswanathan, 2018; Wichadee, 2017). However, some other studies have also

revealed its pitfalls, which are much related to financial and technical aspects (Al-Kathiri,

2015; Purnawarman, Susilawati, &Sundayana, 2016). In addition to the advantages and

disadvantages of Edmodo as a learning platform, several studies exploring EFL learners’

attitudes towards its adoption as classroom practice have shown promising results as a

supplementary tool in a hybrid learning setting.

However, despite a plethora of studies delving into the adoption of Edmodo in language

education, much empirical evidence reports solely on students’ views of its utilization without

further exploring teachers’ perspectives (e.g., Al-Khatiri, 2015; Ekmekçi, 2016; Purnawarman

et al., 2016; Thongmak, 2013). Since teachers’ perception influences their professional

decision, it is, therefore, essential to explore their experiences in integrating Edmodo in their

teaching practices, particularly in the higher education context. In an attempt to fulfill the

empirical gap, this current study specifically explicates both students’ and teachers’

perceptions of the adoption of Edmodo as a supplementary learning tool in an Indonesian EFL

writing class.

Literature Review

Technology Integration and Hybrid Instruction in EFL Context

Learning a new language has always faced many challenges, especially when it is done outside

the countries where the target language is spoken. One of the biggest challenges is to create an

authentic environment for learners to practice the language. Fortunately, those challenges can

41

be greatly reduced in this age of advanced technology. Early researchers have reported that

the use of information technologies in LTL helps provide EFL learners opportunity for

exposure to authentic materials in the target language (Ajayi, 2009; Zhao, 2004). Besides these

benefits, other studies have also found that the integration of technology into LTL practice has

led to positive outcomes that can be used to solve issues typically found in conventional face-

to-face coaching, such as; build a learning experience through the idea of anytime/anyplace

(Hwang & Chen, 2017; Kukulska-Hulme, 2012) so learners can develop their time

management skill (Katemba, 2019); allow learner-learner and learner-teacher to communicate

and collaborate outside the classroom (Kim, Rueckert, Kim,& Seo, 2013; Maulina, Noni, Basri,

2019; Oberg & Daniels, 2013); provide learners as well as teachers experiences in using

technology with unlimited resources and applications (Hains-Wesson, McKenzie, & Bangay,

2015; Surayatika, 2017); and enable learners to simultaneously acquire integrated English

literacy and digital literacy skills (Beach, 2012; Taylor & Gitsaki, 2013).

The positive effects of technology integration in language learning (TILL) have resulted in its

increasing use in various contexts, including that in the EFL context. In their teaching activities,

more and more EFL teachers have adopted TILL, which gradually stimulates improvements in

the instructional model of EFL learning, from traditional ones, where teachers are viewed as

the only source of information and students are required to listen passively, to progressive ones

offering unlimited time and opportunity for learners’ active participation and encouraging

discussion and collaboration among them to solve problems both inside and outside classroom

settings. This particular type of learning, which integrates the traditional face-to-face and

online meetings is popularly known as hybrid learning. Collis and Moonen (2002) specifically

delineated that in hybrid learning instruction online learning becomes a natural extension of

traditional classroom one. In different EFL contexts, the practice of hybrid learning has been

reported to have various positive impacts on the students, which include increasing learners’

participation and collaboration (Al-Kathiri, 2015; Khan & Hameed, 2021); promoting learning

autonomy (Leis, 2014; Yu, 2014); increasing learning motivation (Cakrawati, 2017; Chao &

Lo, 2011); and improving language skills and fluency (Wu, Yang, Hsieh, & Yamamoto, 2019).

Edmodo as a Learning Platform in EFL Instruction

This current era Industrial Revolution 4.0 is distinguished by how technology is incorporated

into educational practices, including that of EFL teaching and learning. Hybrid learning, which

combines offline and online interactions, is also transforming to prepare EFL learners for the

future workforce while optimizing the use of advanced technology. Various new media

42

technologies have been integrated into hybrid learning practices in EFL contexts to achieve

these objectives, such as Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), Web-Based

Distance Learning (WBDL), Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), Learning

Management System (SMS), and Social Network Sites (SNSs). One of the popular types of

SNSs for educational purposes is Edmodo. Unlike typical SNSs, such as Facebook and Twitter,

Edmodo was created to allow educators and learners to make use of the social networking

technologies with minimum privacy and safety concerns (Brady, Holcomb, & Smith, 2010).

Edmodo is equipped with multifunctional features, including microblogging discussions, video

sharing, private messages, assignments, quizzes, and polls management, which are very useful

for various online learning activities. In addition to its feature-related factor, Edmodo has been

gaining popularity among educators particularly in higher education institutions due to two

other ones; first, its interface similarity with Facebook allowing students to use it effortlessly;

and second, being easily accessible through mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones

(Al-Said, 2015; Kongchan, 2013).

Synchronized with its growing popularity as a learning platform in EFL teaching and learning,

research on the adoption of Edmodo in EFL instruction is also increasing. A growing number

of studies have examined various aspects related to the use of Edmodo in EFL teaching and

learning. Some have investigated the effectiveness of Edmodo in improving learners’ language

skills from the quantitative point of view (Abadi et al., 2015; Ma’azi & Janfeshan, 2018;

Wichadee, 2017) while some others have focused on the users’ (mostly the students)

perceptions of its adoption as a learning platform, either in an entirely virtual or a hybrid

learning setting (Al-Kathiri, 2015; Ekmekçi, 2016; Kongchan, 2012; Purnawarman et al., 2016;

Thongmak, 2013).

Despite this growing body of research investigating the adoption of Edmodo in EFL

instruction, very few have explored both teachers’ and students’ insights into the utilization of

Edmodo as a learning platform in a hybrid EFL writing class. Since perception is based on an

individual’s evaluation of what happened to the real-world events (Haman, Donald, &

Birt2010), the effectiveness of Edmodo as a learning platform will relatively depend on the

users’ perceptions (in this case, the teachers and the students) of its usage. Furthermore, since

teachers and students use Edmodo for different functions, the former views it as a teaching tool

while the latter a learning one, it could be assumed that they may perceive Edmodo differently.

It is in this regard that this study is considered essential to conduct. This present study, therefore

aimed to explore Indonesian students’ and lecturers’ experiences towards the adoption of

43

Edmodo in a hybrid EFL writing instruction. Specifically, it addressed the following two

research questions:

1. In terms of acceptation or rejection, what is Indonesian students’ preference towards the

adoption of Edmodo in a hybrid EFL writing instruction?

2. What benefits, if any, of Edmodo do Indonesian students and lecturers find during its

adoption?

Method

This study applied a qualitative case study approach. Baxter and Jack (2008) define qualitative

case study as “an approach to research that facilitates exploration of a phenomenon within its

context using a variety of data sources which ensures that the issue is not explored through one

lens, but rather a variety of lenses which allows for multiple facets of the phenomenon to be

revealed and understood” (p.544). In this case, this approach was used to explore lecturers’ and

students’ experiences using Edmodo as a learning platform in two hybrid EFL writing classes.

Participants

Two lecturers and 65 (47 female and 18 male) students from a state university in Indonesia

participated in this study. The participants were selected using purposeful sampling technique.

The student participants enrolled in two classes of Advanced Writing offered in 2018/2019

academic year. All participants were deemed to have similar competence in writing skills

because they had taken and passed two writing courses offered in previous semesters (Basic

Writing and Intermediate Writing). Two lecturers teaching the two selected classes also

participated in this study. Both lecturers were considered to have similar academic backgrounds

and experience in teaching hybrid writing classes.

Data Collection

The data in this study were elicited from multiple sources, namely; observations, online survey

via Google Forms, and semi-structured interviews. The observation was used to keep track of

the students’ activities in the hybrid learning course managed by the two lecturers on the

Edmodo platform. To assess students’ preferences and experiences in using Edmodo during

the class, the link to the Google Forms survey consisting of closed- and open-ended questions

was sent to all student participants after the last session of the online course. The closed-ended

items were used to obtain students’ preference of the adoption of Edmodo as a learning

platform in four aspects namely; Resource, Activity, Support, and Evaluation, known as RASE

44

pedagogical model (Churchill, King, & Fox, 2013), meanwhile the open-ended ones to explore

their perception of the platform. The semi-structured interview was used to dig further

information related to what they had stated in the surveys. Ten students voluntarily participated

in the interview session.

To gain the insight of lecturers about the use of Edmodo during the teaching and learning

process; a semi-structured group interview and individual interviews were employed. The

group interview was conducted when the hybrid teaching and learning process still took place.

After the initial analysis of the data from the group interview, the individual interviews were

conducted in a one-hour session for each participant. With the participants’ consent, both group

and personal interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed non-verbatim.

Data Analysis

The data obtained from the responses to the closed-ended questions of the survey were analyzed

quantitatively by frequency count. The answers to the open-ended questions of the survey and

the interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using thematic content analysis as

proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). There were five steps in the data analysis process. First,

get familiar with the data, which was internalized through thoroughly reading participants’

responses on the survey and the audio transcription from the interview session. Second,

generate initial codes through the color-coding technique, which was done manually. Third and

fourth, look for themes and review them. At this stage, the coded excerpts from the data were

read and reread to make categories and identify themes. The first four steps used in this analysis

were somewhat iterative than sequential and built upon the previous stage. The final step is to

write up the findings.

To ensure the trustworthiness of the findings, member checking and peer debriefing were

employed in this study. Member checking was done by showing the participants the analysis

of the data collected through the survey and interview and providing them the opportunity to

further explain what they meant in their responses and to refute the data interpretations. The

peer debriefing involved another writing instructor as a critical friend who reviewed and gave

feedback related to the data analysis.

The Writing Class

This study was conducted in two Advanced Writing classes offered to the fifth-semester

students of the English education department for half a semester (7 meetings). The course was

delivered in a hybrid model through which conventional and online meetings were conducted

45

alternately (see Figure 1 for details). Although the two classes were managed separately, the

instructors collaborated in preparing teaching and learning materials and activities. For the

class requirements, each student was asked to perform a sequence of tasks including posting

an entry introducing themselves on the timeline of their Edmodo profiles, commenting on their

peers’ introductory posts, taking part in instructor-created polls, writing and uploading a review

of a film, providing feedback on peers’ drafts, and actively participating in any Edmodo

discussion.

Figure 1. The procedure of the hybrid writing class

Results

Students’ Preferences

For the first research question on the students’ preference towards the adoption of Edmodo as

a learning platform in a hybrid class setting, the results of frequency count (Figure 2) showed

that overall, the students had high acceptance of Edmodo due to three out of four aspects of

RASE, namely Resource, Support, and Activity, respectively. Meanwhile, for the other aspect

(Evaluation), the majority of the students appeared to have a different level of acceptance; those

46

who preferred Edmodo be used as an evaluation tool, and those who partly agreed. In other

words, Resource and Evaluation received the students’ highest and lowest acceptance

regarding the adoption of Edmodo in this hybrid writing course.

Figure 2. Students’ preferences towards Edmodo usage

A closer look at the outcome of each dimension revealed that 97% (n = 63) of the students liked

Edmodo because of its function as a platform to share, receive, as well as store class materials

and resources; 3% (n = 2) tended to be ambivalent, and, none of Edmodo’s views of this feature

were useful. In terms of Activity aspect, 74% (n = 48) found Edmodo useful for doing various

teaching-learning activities such as quizzes, Polling, online discussion, etc.; 18 % (n = 12) had

a neutral opinion, and, 0.8% (n = 5) did not find the activities on Edmodo platform useful for

their learning. For the third aspect, namely Support, the majority of the students comprising

83% of the total (n = 54) admitted that Edmodo is useful for receiving feedback from the

teacher as well as peers, getting course-related information, and communicating with other

class members either in a forum or via private chat; 1.2% (n = 8) partly agreed of the usefulness

of this particular function of Edmodo, while 0,5% (n = 3) did not find Edmodo helpful to

support their learning. An entirely different result established from the role of Edmodo as a

platform to perform the class evaluation. Despite a more significant portion comprising 50%

(n = 32) of the student participants showed preferences on its Evaluation aspect, it was a worth

notice that the rest, 30% (n = 20) and 20% (n = 13) was divided into either partly agree or

disagree with it.

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Perceived Benefits

Regarding the second research question, the thematic content analysis of the students’

responses to the closed-ended part of the questionnaire and the transcripts of the focus group

and individual interviews with the lecturers identified three significant themes. It displayed the

benefits of Edmodo when being used as a learning platform in a hybrid writing class setting,

namely; “user-friendly features,” “opportunity to collaborative learning,” and “enhancement

of students’ participation.”

Theme one: User-friendly features

Based on the results of the data analysis from the two instruments, questionnaire and interview,

it is found that the most mentioned benefit of Edmodo as a learning platform is its user-friendly

feature. Most students reported that it was quite easy to navigate the Edmodo class even for

those who have little to no experience with online learning. Among the features that both

teachers and students found it easy to use is the user interface which resembles that of Facebook

(see Figure 3 for an example), as seen in the following excerpts:

I never joined an online class before, but when the first time I tried to enter (log in to

Edmodo), I felt dejavu. It didn’t feel like learning but more like playing Facebook. They

(Edmodo) has like, comment, and share buttons. Just like Facebook, right? (student 1,

interview)

I like it. It’s like playing Facebook. I wish they had emoticons (student 2, questionnaire)

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Figure 3. The lecturer’s interface on Edmodo

The lecturers seemed to share a similar idea related to Facebook-like display of Edmodo as

seen in the following excerpt:

My students were quite active in almost all discussions (on Edmodo). Maybe because

they find it easy to navigate as it’s very similar to a popular social media (Facebook).

Some of them even logged on to Edmodo during our face-to-face meeting (lecturer 1,

individual interview)

Other features of Edmodo, which are labeled as user-friendly by the students, include ‘note

sharing,’ ‘shared folder,’ ‘assignment uploading,’ and ‘digital media sharing such as links and

videos.’. Meanwhile, from the lecturers’ points of view, features such as ‘assignment grading,’

‘teacher library,’ ‘polling and questionnaire,’ and ‘online test’ are found easy to use yet very

49

helpful to support their teaching activities. One feature of Edmodo that the two lecturers found

distinct from most other online learning platforms is that it does not require an administrator to

create and run an online class on Edmodo. The lecturers themselves can do the work of an

administrator, such as resetting student passwords and managing the content of the class.

I once ran an online class using the default platform from our institution, but it’s so

difficult to use. There always problems here and there. When I asked them (the

institution’s tech support team) for help, nobody responded. So I never offered online

classes since then. But Edmodo is different, very easy to use. I have never got any

technical problems with my class that I can’t manage. (lecturer 2, individual interview)

Theme two: Opportunity for collaborative learning

The second benefit that emerged from the analysis of the data is the opportunity to learn

collaboratively with peers. Since Edmodo allows its users to interact in meaningful tasks, the

students in this study reported that they used the note sharing menu to start a discussion with

other members of the class (as seen in Figure 4) or to share some part of their writing draft on

the class timeline with the hope to get feedback from the class members through the comment

section as seen in the following quotation.

When I get stuck with idea when writing, I share it on my timeline… some friends

comment about the idea, but some friends only care about my grammar

mistake…usually reading it (the comments) I get inspiration of what to write next.

(student 2, interview)

It can be inferred from the interview excerpt above that the student found the feedback provided

by peers through note sharing beneficial in helping her develop her writing. When consulted

with the lecturers, they agreed that students’ collaboration through Edmodo discussion had

somehow helped improve the quality of students’ works particularly those who were active in

sharing their drafts before submission.

The lecturers also confirmed the benefit of Edmodo for collaborative learning. They found

Edmodo useful to encourage their students to work together as a team, as seen in the following

excerpts:

50

I create folders in Edmodo to share with all students in the course. Not only can they

download materials in it but they can also upload materials that they think useful to

broaden knowledge related to our topics of discussion. At the end, I sort the materials

(they uploaded) to decide which to stay and to delete (from the folder) (lecturer 1, group

interview)

I designed study cohorts on Edmodo and assigned students to study in small groups… I

can see them communicate with each other and actively participated in any group

discussion. Well most of them, there are a few who are not quite active. (lecturer 2, group

interview)

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Figure 4. Sample of students’ discussion through the note sharing feature

Theme three: Enhancement of students’ participation

The other benefit perceived by the students and the lecturers is that Edmodo enhances students’

participation in doing class activities and tasks. As it is mentioned earlier that Edmodo shares

similarities in terms of ideas and layout models with popular social networking sites (SNS)

such as Facebook and Twitter. One feature of SNS is allowing users to participate in an

interactive environment. The students in this study were found to enjoy expressing their

opinions and sharing their thoughts in class discussions and other activities such as polling and

note sharing. One of the reasons why the students were encouraged to participate in Edmodo

is the feeling of comfort and less pressure compared to that in a conventional classroom setting.

Interviewer : How often do you login to your Edmodo class?

Student 5 : Hmm I think almost every day

Interviewer : Really? Can you explain the routine when you are online?

Student 5 : Usually giving comments and likes on my friends’ posts,

checking if people reply my comments. Oh, reading my

friends’ comments too. Sharing videos. Asking Mam ***

(mentioned the name of lecturer 2) if I don’t understand the

task.

Interviewer : You seem very active in class. Are you also this active in

regular meeting?

Student 5 : No

Interviewer : Can you explain why?

Student 5 : I’m afraid people know my English not good.

As it can be inferred from the student’s explanation in the interactions above that shy students

who struggle with face-to-face communication in a regular classroom setting can take

advantage of Edmodo class. They feel comfortable to actively participate by expressing

opinions, sharing ideas, or asking questions to the lecturers through different channels of

communication Edmodo has to offer, such as the Polling, as seen in Figure 5.

The enhancement of students’ participation in Edmodo class activities is also acknowledged

by the lecturers as shown in the following interactions:

52

Interviewer : Any main difference of the class atmosphere (between face-to-

face and online class)?

Lecturer 1 : The discussion is much alive. Almost all students took part.

Maybe not everybody wants to start a thread but the rest either

leave a comment, reply peers’ comments or simply showing

their agreement or disagreement.

Interviewer : What about the regular class?

Lecturer 1 : We hardly have a Q & A session. Every time I stop explaining

the lesson and ask if there’s anything they want to ask, nobody

raise hands. Maybe only one or two who want to ask. But on

Edmodo, can you believe that even the quietest student

becomes the most diligent to give comments.

Figure 5. Sample of student’s participation through polling feature

Discussion

The present study attempted to address two questions of research: (1) What is the preference

of Indonesian students towards the adoption of Edmodo in a hybrid EFL writing instruction?

And (2) What benefits, if any, of Edmodo do Indonesian students and lecturers find during its

53

adoption? For the first research question, the results indicated that in general, Indonesian EFL

learners perceived Edmodo as a useful supplementary in a hybrid class setting, which provides

them with more resources, activities, and opportunities to improve their writing skills beyond

on-site meetings. This result showed that the students’ high acceptance of Edmodo is because

of its functions underlines its strength as a course management system, referring to its name,

which can facilitate different nuances of course management for traditional face-to-face

meeting, yet it has advances in online learning, making EFL instruction a continuous process

breaking time and space constraints (Al-Kathiri, 2015). These results coincide with those of

Ma’azi & Janfeshan’s, (2018), who found Iranian EFL learners welcomed Edmodo as a

supplementary to the curriculum since it offers more professional and interactive experiences.

However, in terms of the usage of Edmodo for evaluation, the result of this study differs from

that of Ekmekci’s (2016) who found that Turkish EFL students believed that Edmodo could be

employed as an assessment tool in language classes. One possible explanation for this

difference is because the lecturers in this study did not perform any evaluation directly

contributing to the students’ final grades for this course. Both mid- and final tests were

administered during the on-site meetings through the traditional pen and paper method.

For the second research question, the results revealed three benefits of the adoption of Edmodo

in a hybrid writing class as perceived by Indonesian students and lecturers. Firstly, Edmodo

has friendly-user features, which enable its users to easily navigate it, including those with

limited online learning experience or low digital literacy skills. The participants in this study

specifically emphasized its resemblance to Facebook, which made them feel familiar when

navigating on it. The similarity between Edmodo and Facebook have also been reported in

other studies (Kongchan, 2012; Wichadee, 2017). Considering the fact that Indonesia is the

fourth-ranked country with the highest number of Facebook users (“Indonesia, fourth-highest

number,” 2018), it could be understood why the students and the lecturers in this study enjoyed

Edmodo as a learning platform and felt familiar to it despite their limited experience with online

learning previously. This result displays apparent conformity of the benefit of Edmodo due to

its user-friendly features echoes many other studies (Kongchan, 2012; Thongmak, 2013).

Kongchan (2012) concluded that Edmodo is a great and user-friendly social learning network,

even for a non-digital-native teacher. Similar to this, Thongmak (2013) reported that perceived

ease of use is among the factors causing an acceptance of Edmodo in his study.

Secondly, Edmodo was found beneficial in promoting collaborative learning. In this study,

collaboration through Edmodo commonly took place in two conditions; first, within a whole-

class discussion, when a class member shared any works on their timeline or uploaded it to a

54

class-shared folder so other class members could provide comments and opinions that helped

develop the original work posted; and second, within a designated group when each member

of the group uploaded their drafts to a folder so they could provide and receive feedback on

each other’s’ works. This finding mirrors those of other studies showing that the use of Edmodo

for teaching and learning promotes interaction for collaboration and cooperation among the

users (Abadi et al., 2015; Purnawarman et al., 2016). Abadi et al. (2015) believe the

improvement of collaboration through Edmodo because it “allows (learners) to keep in touch

with their teacher and other classmates every time during the week out of class.” (p. 95). In

addition to this, Purnawarman et al. (2016) assert that students’ eagerness to correct their works

based on the feedback they received is proof for collaboration and participation.

Finally, Edmodo is perceived to enhance participation. The finding showing improvement of

students’ involvement in Edmodo class may not be surprising regarding the function of

Edmodo as a Social Networking Site (SNS). Its various communication-purpose features

provide students with different methods of interactions and opportunities to choose one(s)

through which they are more comfortable to communicate. It particularly benefited students

who have issues with face-to-face encounters with other students or with the teacher. In general,

it could be interpreted from this finding that Edmodo has the potential as a learning platform

encouraging social and active learning and a perfect supplement for on-site learning, which is

time- and space-limited (Al-Kathiri, 2015). In particular, Edmodo is arguably an ideal learning

platform for EFL instruction because it encourages interactions between its users as a basic

necessity in language teaching and learning (Bates, 2005). Other studies have also reported the

benefit of Edmodo in enhancing students’ participation (Al-Khatiri, 2015; Ma’azi & Janfeshan,

2018). Al-Khatiri (2015) revealed that the chat features of Edmodo allow students to broaden

both the type and amount of their communication, which eventually increase their confidence

to involve in discussion and class activities. In line with this, Ma’azi and Janfeshan (2018)

found that most student learning through Edmodo actively participated in class discussion.

They mainly were enthusiastic about sharing their works with the hope of receiving feedback

from other class members and eager to modify their mistakes. On the contrary, those who

studied writing in conventional classrooms avoided the discussions and were embarrassed to

show their works so people could not notice the errors they made.

Conclusion

Technology-integration in language teaching and learning in this millennial era is inevitable.

Since understanding students and teachers is very important to ensure the maximized use of

55

technology in classrooms, their experiences in using technology need investigation. This

present study showed that the use of Edmodo in LTL, particularly in EFL hybrid writing class,

is perceived beneficial by Indonesian students and lecturers. Based on the experiences of the

students and the lecturers in this study, Edmodo, as a learning platform, has three main benefits.

First, Edmodo includes features that are easy to use even for those who are not familiar with

LM platforms since Edmodo has a similar layout with that of Facebook, a social networking

site popular among millennials. Second, Edmodo provides the users with the opportunity to

learn collaboratively through interactions and communication via meaningful tasks. Finally,

unlike the traditional classrooms where students have face-to-face contact, Edmodo enhances

students’ participation in class discussions and activities.

This study is hoped to enrich current literature related to Edmodo-based LTL, particularly in

the Indonesian EFL context as well as to fill the gaps in Edmodo-related studies, as it discussed

Indonesian students’ and lecturers’ perceptions, which have not been much explored. The

findings of this study support the notion that Edmodo is a beneficial and useful learning

platform, particularly in a hybrid class context. However, it does not necessarily mean that

Edmodo is free of challenges or barriers when used as a learning platform. Thus, further studies

are needed to identify what challenges of Edmodo as perceived by Indonesian students and

lecturers.

56

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Reconceptualising the Elements of Effective English Language Teaching through the

Lens of Pandemic Induced Online Teaching: An Exploratory Study of Jordanian EFL

Teachers’ Perceptions

Mohammad Hamad Al-Khresheh

Department of English Language, Faculty of Science and Arts, Northern Border University,

Arar, Saudi Arabia

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8647-8854

Bio-profile:

Dr. Mohammad is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics. His research interest areas

include but not limited to first-second language acquisition, language teaching methods,

psycholinguistics, comparative linguistics, and translation.

Abstract

With the pandemic catalysing a rising need for online teaching, this has had a subsequent major

impact across global education systems. The need to explore the dimensions of pandemic

induced remote teaching has steadily become a focal point for new research. Undeniably, the

drawback of this sudden change in learning platforms has caused a range of issues, particularly

EFL teaching effectiveness. To address the current situation, this study delved into Jordanian

EFL teachers’ belief as to how far the pandemic influenced EFL teaching, thus leading to a

hypothesis: ‘The effective teaching of EFL is influenced by the pandemic induced online

teaching’. In order to attain and justify this hypothesis, a varied approach was implemented,

which consisted of two different methods. 302 chosen Jordanian EFL teachers participated in

a questionnaire; while 21 teachers partook in an open-ended structured interview. The study’s

results brought light to these teachers’ specific elements believed to have the most importance

in EFL teaching. The top priority to teachers was placed on subject matter knowledge as well

as pandemic induced socio-affective skills. It was then uncovered that the teachers in question

placed pedagogical knowledge as the least important teaching area. Teachers within the

interview group delved further into this. They explained how undertaking pedagogical

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activities had been drastically restricted and complicated due to the pandemic limiting

education to online platforms.

It was found that the most important aspect for maintaining EFL teaching was to provide

students with a constructive learning environment outside of the school context, taking the fact

that traditional teaching methods are unattainable due to the concern for health and safety. This

was then developed into the third point, in which teachers emphasised the special skill set

required to efficiently conduct lessons for EFL students, which has placed an increased strain

on educators. The skillset is categorised by four inclusive teaching areas– presuming, planning,

preparing, and performing, hence 4ps. With these findings, teachers' teaching methods have to

be entirely reconceptualised to meet the current health crisis’s demands to sustain effective

EFL teaching. Based on these findings, recommendations were provided.

Keywords: English; effective teaching; Jordanian EFL teachers, pandemic; perceptions,

online teaching elements

Introduction

The CoronaVirus outbreak in late 2019 placed the world at an inevitable standstill, which

penultimately dominated the entirety of 2020 and is forecasted to interfere further throughout

the current year. The pneumonia outbreak has led to international repercussions and has caused

detrimental impacts across all industries internationally (Dashraath et al., 2020; Spinelli &

Pellino, 2020). Due to the contagious and dangerous nature of the disease, the World Health

Organisation have imposed that where possible, close contact with others is to be limited,

particularly for those who have underlying health conditions that could make them more

susceptible to contracting the virus - this is also to act as a preventative for unnecessary

spreading and the consequences following (World Health Organisation, 2020). The pandemic

has led to a major impact on every educational system across the globe (Toquero, 2020), due

to how traditional teaching methods have been abandoned to help prevent infection, which has

subsequently disrupted teaching and learning practices due to classroom contexts now being

brought to a home environment (Chen et al., 2020)

In order to adapt to the current situation, educators and policymakers recognised the growing

need to migrate learning activities from the classroom to online platforms (Toquero, 2020).

This then led to online teaching being made compulsory, adapted to various platforms

depending on the country in question’s specific regulatory implementation. For example,

Australia has taken advantage of the Microsoft Teams platform, whilst Belgium and Costa Rica

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have adapted daytime television to have live educational broadcasts. So forth - some countries

have taken this a step further and have started to use social media platforms such as YouTube

and Facebook to deliver teaching (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020).

With the pandemic being so unanticipated, global education systems have been placed with

one of the biggest challenges throughout history (Karalis, 2020). Educational institutes were

left with a lack of time to prepare for the migration to home-schooling. Suddenly providing

students with accessible study materials, appropriate teacher training, and assessment methods

became an unprecedented challenge for teachers (Daniel, 2020). Considering that the pandemic

is forecasted to outlast previous expectations, researchers advocate for a ‘New Normal

Education Policy’ to help sustain current education quality (Tria, 2020). If this is enforced, this

places a need for educators to embrace online education as the best alternate substitution for

in-classroom learning (Alqahtani & Rajkhan, 2020).

With issues such as both students and teachers access to the internet proving to be more

prominent than expected, EFL teaching has become more critical within the pandemic (Agung

& Surtikanti, 2020). There are five potential drawbacks the current situation might pose to EFL

students: learners and teachers lack previous online learning use, a lack of pedagogical

knowledge, a lack of technological knowledge, and a lack of support system (Lie et al., 2020).

With the pandemic presenting an even greater need for intercultural communication, English

has steadily become one of the most crucial languages to support communication (Piller et al.,

2020); EFL studies have become more important than they have been in years prior.

EFL teaching requires a higher level of interaction between students and teachers and more

diverse participation methods for students to adopt, yet the pandemic has inhibited these

necessities (Maher, 2020). Recognisably, some studies have emphasised EFL studies’ positive

outcomes on an online platform, as this new teaching style presents a more student-centric and

constructive learning approach (Agung & Surtikanti, 2020; Hamzah et al., 2020). However, the

underlying fact is that EFL teachers are still facing complications with:1) the availability of

facilities, 2) ensuring all participants have network and internet usage, 3) how to plan,

implement, and evaluate students' learning, 4) how to attain the cooperation of parents (Fauzi

& Khusuma, 2020).

Before the pandemic, appropriate teaching of EFL was recognised specifically in literature as

English proficiency, pedagogical skills, and socio-affective skills (Park & Lee, 2006). The

present study argues that the pandemic has influenced teachers’ perception of important aspects

of effective EFL teaching. Considering the drastic shift in teaching environments, it is

unavoidable that EFL teachers have had to reimagine their teaching practice to coincide with

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the provision of online learning. As a result, the study aims to address EFL teachers’ view on

how they can practice effective EFL teaching.

Firstly, the study explored the extent to which the pandemic had limited effective EFL teaching

practice, and suggested that the underlying contributors to this need to be accurately identified

if this was a true factor. As a result, this led to a reconceptualisation of the most important skills

to effectively teach EFL throughout the pandemic duration. To achieve this conclusion, one

research question is put forward:

1. How does the pandemic influence Jordanian teachers’ perception of effective EFL teaching

regarding their priority to the specific aspects- subject matter knowledge, pedagogical

knowledge, socio-affective skills, and necessity for a special skill set?

Literature Review

The Worldwide Pandemic and its Impact on Education: A Shift towards Online Learning

Since the close of 2019, CoronaVirus has swept across the globe and presented one of the most

debilitating challenges to every business sector and individual throughout the world. As of the

29th of December 2020, the World Health Organisation reported a devastating total of 79

million infections, which is then overshadowed by the staggering 1.7 million deaths that have

torn through families (World Health Organisation, 2020).

Taking the virus’s airborne nature into account, government bodies have established

preventative recommendations to slow the spread and protect vulnerable demographics. Social

distancing, hand-washing, and masks are a few of many precautionary measures that have been

implemented in workplaces, city centres, and schools (Spitzer, 2020). However, despite these

measures being recommended in schools due to the safety they can provide, studies have

argued that schools pose a greater risk of infection amongst children regardless of the measures

implemented (Szablewski et al., 2020). As the virus has progressively worsened, many

governments enforced mandatory curfews and the previously noted preventatives as law, which

then catalysed schools shifting to teaching on entirely digital platforms for the first time in

history (Saribas & Çetinkaya, 2020).

Acknowledgedly, teaching through online platforms has previously been used as a support

measure for those in higher education, specifically those of college and university

demographics, which has subsequently extended education to students’ broader population

(Gillet-Swan, 2017). The previous use of online education on a small scale has allowed

education bodies to formulate models that have been created, evaluated, revised, and developed

depending on their contributions to institutional learning; as demonstrated by the

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‘Supplementary Model’, ‘Replacement Model’, ‘Emporium Model’, ‘Fully Online Model’,

and ‘The Buffest Model’ (Twigg, 2011). Yet despite this previous trialling, criticism has been

rife as to the one-size-fits-all approach adopted by educators, which fails to provide comparable

levels of support for diverse student needs, and has further suggested that educators should

facilitate accessible e-activities that can be brought to the curriculum to provide an optimal

learning experience for all students (Gillet-Swan, 2017; Salmon, 2003). Inevitably it can be

suggested that the transition towards an entirely digital education requires comprehensive

planning and an articulate design that accommodates a range of courses (Griffiths, 2004).

With the pandemic being entirely unprecedented, an immense level of strain has been imposed

on schools to entirely shift their curriculum online, leading researchers to hypothesise the

extent to which teachers have accepted online learning within such a short period and whether

they are exhibiting dissatisfaction when undertaking teaching activities, despite how inhibiting

the pandemic has been on education (Fauzi & Khusuma, 2020). Similarly, other studies have

identified the lack of preparation teachers have been faced with curating online materials,

building their curriculum whilst also highlighting teachers’ inefficient instructions within an

online teaching environment. Contrarily, other studies ponder as to whether online studies have

decreased teachers’ content overload whilst simultaneously increasing collaborative efforts

between students, parents, and other stakeholders in education (Aliyyah et al., 2020), which

has led to a more effective teaching method and stronger student outcomes (Bahasoan et al.,

2020).

The Impact of Pandemic on Effective EFL Teaching: The Cause-Effect Relationship

With the pandemic reimagining online teaching as the ‘new normal’, the birth of a new cause-

effect relationship has become more relevant within the effective teaching practice of EFL.

Two distinguishable repercussions this shift in teaching methods have had can be categorised

as the implications on teachers themselves and the influences this new teaching trend has had,

specifically on students’ learning outcomes. Throughout, these two repercussions are

respectively discussed.

With the recent global turmoil caused by the pandemic, teaching and learning across all

manners of subjects have taken an exponential leap from a traditional schooling environment

to an incongruous digital format, which in some cases has arisen concerns as to the

effectiveness of EFL teaching based on the current climate and poses the need for impactful

change (Nartiningrum, 2020). Barring resource issues (including limited access to the internet),

EFL teaching as a whole has faced an array of major issues that have begun to affect the overall

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quality of the teaching experience, including students’ low motivation and poor attention,

incoherent instructions from teachers, excessive study materials, and an indistinguishable

student evaluation system, and so forth (Karalis, 2020). Because of the pandemic, online study

is the only practical means of sustaining an appropriate EFL teaching-learning process. They

allow some form of engagement between students and teachers and help introduce a more

individualistic focus on tasks due to the inability of students to collaborate efficiently on

projects.

Retrospectively, when the emphasis is placed on the potential outcome for this new teaching

trend, the growing adaptation to the ‘new normal’ is resulting in a constructive outlook towards

the opportunities of this teaching reformation, whilst pointing to the notable advantages of

online learning and how this can be used to reconstruct a more effective EFL teaching.

Particularly, this is evident through the importance of student learning autonomy within EFL

(Aljohani, 2017), which is easily provided due to current online learning formats and the focus

on a learner-centric environment (Reinig, 2010).

Pandemic Induced Changes in the Characteristics of Effective EFL Teaching

Effective EFL teaching has been rigorously studied over the past two decades, following a

relatively distinct pattern. However, due to the pandemic normalising online learning, it

prompts questions about whether or not it is appropriate to envisage the current rate of

effectiveness based on previous analytical methods due to the stark contrast between the past

year and those prior.

Before the pandemic, effective EFL teaching has been viewed as a multi-dimensional and

useful skill to attain, which placed a predominant focus on each students’ individual content

knowledge and development (Liton, 2012). EFL had always integrated minimal forms of

technology into the curriculum, even before it became a global necessity, to engage students

further and to encourage active participation (Mathew & Alidmat, 2013), which led to a more

strategic approach in terms of student progress evaluation (Shin & Son, 2007). Subsequently,

technology provides authentic teaching materials (Hwang, 2005) and helped establish more

communicative approaches (Kourieos & Evripidou, 2013). The most recent research studies

conducted before the pandemic on EFL teaching propose a paradigm shift from typical

classroom environments (Zhang, 2018) that could aid in establishing amicable relationships

between both the teacher and learners to help in addressing current socio-cultural and wider

communal issues through EFL teaching practices (Alzeebaree & Hazan, 2020), as a result

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placing a greater emphasis on students’ attitude, motivation, and individuality (Halvaei &

Ansarin, 2018).

Since the emergence of the pandemic, a detrimental breakdown of the quality of students

mental health worldwide has become a pressing issue, as the inducement of stress (Alhadad et

al., 2020), xenophobia (Claravall & Evans, 2020), amongst a collective of other damaging

mental health problems. As a result, a commissioned report on the ‘State of the Nation’ on e-

learning in Canada has emphasised the need for a more innovative pedagogy to help sustain

the education system throughout the pandemic (Barbour et al., 2020). To maximise the

opportunities of this sudden transition to an online format whilst promoting students’ taking

autonomy over their learning, studies have called for more emphasis to be placed on the role

of compassion within educational environments (Alhadad et al., 2020; Clavarall & Evans,

2020; Stoller, 2020). In a study conducted by Barret-Fox et al. (2020), predictions were made

as to how the pandemic is not only limiting current teaching abilities, but in fact, it is

establishing a long-lasting change in attitudes towards students, thus allowing more flexibility

and compassion towards them, that will likely withstand even following the pandemic. This

evidence promotes the growing need for a more specialised skill set to be developed amongst

teachers to sustain effective EFL teaching.

Alongside previous studies used to measure effective EFL teaching, this study explores the

extent to which the pandemic has influenced teachers’ perception of the varying levels of

importance on particular aspects of EFL teaching. Identified by Park and Lee (2006), there are

three essential criteria of effective EFL teaching - subject matter knowledge, pedagogical

knowledge, and socio-affective skills - each of which covers the three primary areas, cognitive,

psychomotor, socio-affective domains. However, from the previous argument, it is deductible

that throughout the lasting duration of the pandemic, a need to explore both teachers’

perception of the challenges they face, but also the strategies implemented to help them cope

during such a time of volatility and change, which was induced by the pandemic. In the

following, the first element, effective EFL teaching during the pandemic has been visualised

in figure 1.

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Figure 1

Pandemic influenced the effective teaching of EFL

Generally, EFL teaching tends to be measured following a concept accepted throughout wider

communities, defined by subject matter knowledge, socio-affective skills, pedagogical

knowledge (Park & Lee, 2006), which is built on below.

A. Subject Matter Knowledge: Following extensive research, there has been an increased

emphasis placed on teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter, as due to the responsibility of

EFL teaching, there has to be an increased focus on precision, hence why teachers are expected

to maintain adequate grammar knowledge and use this to positively impact their teaching

(Andrews, 2003; Borg, 2001). In Kourieos’s study (2014), he categorised the levels of teachers’

subject knowledge based on his findings, as emulated below in Figure 2:

Figure 2

The level of teachers’ subject knowledge according to Kourieos’ study

EFL Teachers' Subject Matter Knowledge

1. Planning phase

a. Decision-making skills

1. Theories of how languages are learnt

2. Knowledge of the English primary curriculum

3. Lesson planning

4. Textbook / material evaluation

5. Designing instructional material

2. Implementation phase

b. Language teaching skills

1. Teaching speaking

2. Teaching listening

3. Teaching writing

4. Teaching reading

5. Teaching vocabulary

6. Teaching grammar

c. Classroom activities

1. Drama and games 2. Storytelling 3. Using technology 4. Activities for oral practice 5. Activities that promote intercultural understanding 6. Activities for integrating cross-curricular contents

d. Teachers’ role

1. Using language as an instrument of communication 2. Using language as a means of instruction 3. Adapting language to pupils 4. Motivating young language learners 5. Dealing with mixed-ability classes

3. Evaluation phase

e. Assessing young language learners

Subject Matter Knowledge

Pedagogical Knowledge

Special skills for teaching during the pandemic

Socio-affective Skills

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B. Pedagogical Knowledge: In addition to subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge

or the ‘pedagogical knowledge base’ is undeniably one of the most crucial aspects of the

teaching of EFL, with several studies alleging that alongside teachers’ content knowledge,

there are additional variables that reflect on the quality of their teaching (Akbari & Dadvand,

2014). More specifically, in EFL teaching, teachers’ ability to reflect on their pedagogical

knowledge base carries a strong allusion towards the standard of their teaching (Estaji &

Dezfoolian, 2018). With some studies portraying the challenges faced by students when

learning EFL (Baykalova et al., 2018; Kormos, 2020; Niazifar & Shakibaei, 2019), juxtaposing

studies highlight the primary role of teachers to motivate their students to actively want to learn

a second language (L2) in addition to a first language (L1), through the quality of their

pedagogical skills (Niazifar & Shakibaei, 2019).

C. Socio-Affective Skills: If ruminated upon, the contributors to effective EFL teaching can be

applied to Bloom’s taxonomy, with the subject matter knowledge belonging to the cognitive

layer of the hierarchy (Kurniawati & Fitriati, 2017). Teaching involving the use of motor skills

to move about the classroom and the coordination of different skills aligns with the

psychomotor domain (Begam & Tholappan, 2018). Reigning at the highest form of knowledge

within the hierarchy amongst Bloom’s taxonomy is socio-affective skills, which are a

culmination of motivational, psychological, and emotional aspects, which is defined by Begam

and Tholappan (2018) as:

‘the influence of changes in lifestyle, L2 learning motivation, overall well-being, self-esteem,

different life and learning histories, present-day conditions, general communicative skills,

construction of third age identity, and sense of purpose.’ (pp. 2)

D. Special Skills for Teaching Which Embrace the Cause-Effect Relationship during the

Pandemic: With prominent gaps in literature existing, researchers can assess the special skills

required by teachers about previous documentation to help adapt to the current change in

teaching platforms. Both strategies used to help manage students’ mental health have an

important set of criteria during a pandemic-induced transition to online teaching methods.

Teachers’ who are subject to challenges catalysed by the pandemic have repercussions on their

teaching and attainment of learning outcomes, defined as the cause-effect relationship. This

study focuses on addressing the literary gap and exploring unforeseen obstacles, strategies, and

perceived importance of special skills required to maintain effective EFL teaching.

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Context of the Study

Contextually, this study was conducted in Jordan, where English is commonly taught to

students as an FL (Abu Samak, 2006). Previous studies have also recognised that in the context

of Jordan, EFL teachers are subject to a higher volume of challenges - which as a result is

emulated in their teaching through the exhibition of a lack of motivation, experience, cognition,

and support (Shashaa & Taher, 2020; Bataineh et al., 2021). Mabrook’s study (2020) also

brought light to the complications of providing cohesive lecture delivery, accurately assessing

students, and communicating despite the barriers. Other studies have even suggested that the

adoption of social media platforms that have unanimous popularity amongst the youth could

result in a higher level of engagement and a more accessible learning channel (Lily et al., 2020).

Similar studies exploring this context concerning EFL have recognised the level of importance

for group activities in EFL learning environments (Al-Saleem, 2011; Shashaa & Taher, 2020),

which is due to the pandemic’s dangerous nature, cannot operate as they previously have. Yet,

additional studies carried out prior to the pandemic, brought the need for communicative

language teaching to the attention of educators over the grammar-translation methods

previously relied upon (Bataineh et al., 2021), which could develop the potential to contribute

to a more educational and constructive online learning environment during the current situation

(Abu Samak, 2006).

Studies conducted within a more recent timeframe reflect on the necessity of digital language

labs to provide efficient teaching of EFL (Al- Wreikat, 2011), placing more emphasis on the

need for teachers be proactive in reconceptualising the integration of creativity within their

teaching methods (Alhabahba et al., 2016), by using software to their advantage to effectively

the evaluate language, to address the psycholinguistic issues faced by students such as anxiety,

which can negatively influence English speaking (Batiha et al., 2018), and increasing the

prevalence of the professional needs of Jordanian EFL teachers to teach grammar appropriately

(Al-Buzoor & Smadi, 2017).

Taking the shift in teaching practices into account, at this current time, there have been no

studies undertaken to gauge teachers’ perception of the importance of EFL practices that may

have been altered due to the pandemic in terms of their implemented strategies, current

obstacles, and view as to what specialised skills are required to teach EFL in the current climate

effectively. Therefore, the study only seeks to evaluate teachers’ perception of importance in

aspects constituting EFL teaching through an online platform.

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Methodology

Research Objective and Approach

The study explores how the pandemic influenced teachers’ perspective on the aspects of

effective EFL teaching. To achieve this, the first stage was an initial quantitative study, which

was conducted using a pre-developed instrumental basis that was formulated before the

pandemic, with the addition of more personalised questions that relate to the specific skills

teachers believe contributes to adequate EFL teaching, with the consideration of the pandemic.

As the responses were gathered, this led to the second phase of the study, which was focused

on analysing these survey results by conducting a more personal interview group that produced

more in-depth results about teachers’ perception of the wider effect of the pandemic. The final

stage involved conceptualising a range of specialised skills designated as important in the

current climate, as identified by Jordanian EFL teachers. Thus, the mixed-method approach of

this research study has abided by Creswell’s (2012) proposition that mixed-method studies are

the most suitable research type for gathering quantitative data which is then analysed in the

same format.

The overall format of the study can be envisaged as:

Samples

a. During the first stage, to maximise the participation of the target demographic, snowball

sampling was applied to reach an optimal sized sample of participants (Naderifar et al., 2017).

The collaborative efforts of 15 university teachers distributed the survey questionnaire to 643

Jordanian EFL teachers, thus reaping a participant response volume of 302, each of which

exhibited a willingness to cooperate with the study. Across the survey, 53% (160) of all EFL

teachers were identified as female, with the remaining 47% (142) being male teachers; with

the general professional academic and personal profiles of the participants elaborated upon in

the following:

Interview with the teachers to analyse the responses of the survey questions with special consideration

of the pandemic, reflecting on teachers' perception of the effect of

pandemic, their obstacles and strategies for effective EFL teaching

Conceptualization of a specific set of skills,

perceived by the teachers of both survey and interview groups, as important to reflect on for effective EFL

teaching during pandemic

Survey with an instrument, which was developed prior to the

pandemic, added with an open-ended question reflecting on teachers' perception of the pandemic on effective EFL

teaching

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Table 1

Participant Teachers’ Profiles for Quantitative Survey

Academic and Professional Profiles

Teaching Experience Participants Qualifications Participants

Number percentage Number percentage

Less than one year 12 4% Bachelors 81 26.8%

1-5 years 65 21.5% Masters 72 23.8%

6-10 years 91 30.1% Diploma 67 22.2%

11-15 years 124 41.1% PhD 72 23.8%

More than 15 years 10 3.3% Post-Doctoral 10 3.3%

b. Within the second stage, for the interview, participants were carefully selected through

purposeful sampling (Palinkas et al., 2015). At first, 50 teachers were directly approached,

assuming that they would willingly participate in the study; however, 21 teachers actively

participated in the interview process. Teachers within the participant sample were from Jordan

and specialised in EFL teaching, and have taught throughout the pandemic entirely online.

Instruments

For this study to be conducted, two separate instruments were implemented throughout two

stages. The first was a teachers’ perception of the effective EFL teaching questionnaire,

followed by structured open-ended questions within an interview environment. First

developed, validated, and implemented by Park and Lee (2006), the questionnaire was the

initial basis for the first stage. The primary instrument is constructed of three major categories:

subject matter knowledge (8 items), pedagogical knowledge (10 items), and socio-affective

skills (9 items). With the instrumental development predating the pandemic, a non-mandatory

open-ended question was inserted within the survey to receive teachers’ views on what they

consider the most impactful elements of effective EFL teaching.

Within the second stage, following the close analysis of data derived from the first stage, the

need for additional information arose to help in understanding teachers’ perception of the

pandemic on effective EFL teaching. More structured open-ended questions were created based

on the data provided by the first stage to attain the necessary information. Results gathered

from this survey suggested that teachers have had to rapidly adjust their prioritised teaching

aspects to provide sufficient EFL study through online classroom environments. These

interviews were conducted with an unbiased null hypothesis that the pandemic has caused

teachers’ notable perception changes. The null hypothesis was subsequently dissected piece by

piece as teachers elaborated on the pandemic’s influence on efficient EFL teaching, the

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obstacles this generated, and the experiences of online teaching, their current strategies used

that aim to maintain a strong learning outcome, followed by their perception as to the required

specialised skill set that prompts optimal EFL teaching. To conclude the interview, the

participant sample was asked if they believed that compassion could play a notable role within

online teaching, which was derived from previous literary propositions.

In the following, the questions are presented as they were presented to the participant sample:

1. Has the induced change of the pandemic influenced your teaching structure and pattern?

If applicable, can you please elaborate further if possible?

2. Have you encountered any obstacles within the maintenance of teaching effective EFL

as a result of the pandemic? If so, can you please discuss this further if possible?

3. As a result of the pandemic, have you devised any particular strategies or skills to cope

with this new teaching trend? If you have, can you explore this further if possible?

4. Have you endured a different experience when interacting with students during the

pandemic, than prior? If so, can you please discuss this?

5. Based on your opinion, considering the current pandemic, what aspect of effective EFL

teaching do you consider holding the most important? Can you please discuss this

further in your answer?

6. Based on your opinion and experience, considering the current pandemic, do you

believe that ‘compassion’ has a role within effective EFL teaching? If so, can you

explore this in more detail?

Data Collection and Analysis

Throughout the first stage, the data harvested from the samples was collated using a Google

Form, which was subsequently distributed to Jordanian EFL teachers via email services. To

efficiently analyse this data and reduce human error, Microsoft Excel was used to compile

statistical data and coding ready for further analysis. Data from the open-ended and descriptive

statistics were then implemented into SPSS and JASP to be processed. With the data compiled

from the second stage, interview data was collected using online platforms and assessed

through thematic analysis. The interviewees were contacted via email and they were asked to

provide their standpoints on the same platform.

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument

Due to the survey instrument originating several years before this study (Park & Lee, 2006), it

had already been certified with validity through the item, content, and construct validation

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provided by experts. With a starting total of 35 items, the revisions made on 24 items were

subcategorised into three groups. With the support of expert validation, 27 items were

ultimately constructed and deemed suitable for the survey, which was piloted. The exploratory

factor analysis was first combined with the pilot data alongside confirmatory factor analysis by

the authors to assess this against the primary data to confirm the reliability of the survey - which

was proven, hence why this instrument has been used across a wide variety of studies. Within

the study, items were measured against ‘The Cronbach Alpha for Internal Consistency’, thus

attaining a result of 0.964, which emphasises the instrument’s reliability and validity, due to

the assurance that the items were not derivative of one another. During the second phase of the

study, six specific interview questions were implemented to attain open-ended results from

participants’ broad demographic. The six items were derivative of previous results and

literature to help the researcher develop his questions to effectively isolate specific niches of

results and achieve the fundamental aim of the study. Alongside this, expert verification was

undertaken to ensure the validity of these six items before they were put into practice, with any

necessary revisions being made prior to release to retain a lack of bias and provide participants

with control as to the direction of their answers - thus resulting in a more in-depth response

from the teachers.

Results and Analysis

1. Quantitative Data Analysis

A. Among the three constructs

Study findings imply that as a result of the pandemic, participant Jordanian EFL teachers have

emphasised EFL teaching’s predominant importance on the subject matter knowledge, which

consequently placed emphasis on socio-affective skills, with the least important being

delegated to pedagogical skills. Staggeringly, male teachers placed a higher status of

importance on pedagogical knowledge and socio-affective skills than their female counterparts,

thus insinuating a lack of unanimity when it comes to formulating the most effective strategies

for teaching EFL. The table below amplifies these comparative results and provides statistical

description amongst the previously mentioned three constructs:

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Table 2

Descriptive data of three major constructs from the study’s participant

Domains

Percentage Gender

Mean Std.

D

t df 95% CI for

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

1.Subject matter

knowledge

68.74% Male 2.15 0.14 0.00129 7 1.76 2.35

Female 1.88 0.11

2.Pedagogical

knowledge

59.93% Male 2.17 0.06 0.00017 9 1.72 2.29

Female 1.87 0.12

3.Socio-affective

skills

63.26% Male 2.17 0.14 0.00047 8 1.78 2.23

Female 1.89 0.09

B. Within the Constructs:

i) Subject Matter Knowledge

Across most participant teachers placed a high standard of English vocabulary as crucial during

the current pandemic. It was revealed through the study that male teachers unanimously held

the highest perceived importance in terms of having proficient English vocabulary; in

comparison to female teachers who leaned more towards well-rounded knowledge of English

culture is a primary contributor for effective EFL teaching during the pandemic.

Throughout the study, it was revealed that teachers’ experience level seldom influenced their

perception of importance in terms of the most effective ways of carrying out EFL teaching.

Contradicting this to some extent is that teachers with less than a year of EFL experience

presented the lowest perceived importance in maintaining a high-quality English vocabulary

level. Yet, teachers’ ability to write in English coherently and accurately was a high priority

for this demographic of teachers. Contrarily, however, the qualification level of the teachers’

degree influenced their responses. Those who have a Bachelor's degree shifted their priority

towards high-quality vocabulary, writing, appropriate speaking skills, and proficiency with

English grammar to help establish the most effective EFL teaching during the pandemic

situation. Parallel to this, teachers who had obtained a Master's degree focused their efforts on

establishing students’ ability to understand spoken English and English culture as the most

impactful EFL teaching elements. Finally, those with PhD’s or post-doctoral degrees in their

respective EFL field perceived the level of understanding of spoken English as the most

important aspect of teaching EFL.

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Figure 3

Teaches’ perception of the importance of subject matter knowledge for effective EFL teaching

B. Within the constructs:

ii) Pedagogical skills

Across the board, participant Jordanian teachers retained the highest perception of importance

to effectively teach English outside of the traditional classroom environment (e.g. introducing

a higher volume of EBS programmes into the curriculum) to sustain high-quality EFL teaching

despite the pandemic - with both genders of teachers having similar perceptions.

In addition to other influencing variables, the duration in which teachers have taught EFL

resulted in a notable impact on the data. Teachers maintaining a consistent experience of over

15 years were aligned with the viewpoint that the most crucial pedagogical skill was teaching

English efficiently tailored to the individual student’s current English proficiency levels,

ultimately providing the most appropriate education for students. Yet, teachers with fewer than

15 years of experience recognised this as the aspect of EFL teaching with the least relevance

to providing substantial education for students. On the contrary, teachers with between 6-15

years of experience pinpointed lesson preparation as the highest perceived aspect of EFL

teaching - whilst teachers with between 1-5 years of teaching experience also perceived this as

a low contributor to effective maintenance of EFL teaching.

As alluded to previously, the recency in which teachers attained their degree was an influential

factor in how teachers responded. Participants who have obtained a PhD degree established

most perceived importance focused on maintaining appropriate classroom conduct using

Less than

one year

1-5 years 6-10

years

11-15

years

More

than 15

years

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

Teacher experience

Per

centa

ge

of

agre

emen

t

Teacher perception of importance on subject

matter knowlege for effective EFL teaching

during pandemic - Teacher experience

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4


0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

Latest academic degree achievedP

erce

nta

ge

of

agre

emen

t

Teacher perception of importance on

subject matter knowlege for effective EFL

teaching during pandemic - Qualifications



77

authoritative measures, if applicable to the current pandemic scenario. However, teachers with

various academic degrees had a distinguishably lower perceived importance based on the

former. Additionally, Jordanian participant teachers with a Master’s degree placed the highest

levels of emphasis on a multimedia approach within the classroom that effectively incorporates

video, audio, and other mediums to create an immersive and interactive EFL teaching

experience despite the pandemic, an isolated group that displayed proportionately lower

perceived importance to this category was teachers with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree.

Figure 4

Teaches’ perception of the importance of pedagogical knowledge for effective EFL teaching

B. Within the Constructs:

iii) Socio-affective Skills

A majority of the Jordan teachers who acted as participants responded with the most important

socio-affective skill for sustaining high-quality EFL teaching during the current state of the

education was to provide individual help to students who require additional support both inside

and outside of the classroom environment in these trying times. Considering this, the lowest

perceived importance as ranked by the teachers was to effectively pique students’ interest and

motivation and maintains this as they endure EFL teaching - with results from both male and

female participants being on a similar basis.

Less

than one

year

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

More

than 15

years

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Teacher experience

Per

centa

ge

of

agre

emen

t


pedagogical knowlege for effective EFL

teaching during pandemic - Teacher

expereince

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5


0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

Latest academic degree achieved

Per

centa

ge

of

agre

emen

t


pedagogical knowlege for effective EFL

teaching during pandemic - Qualifications



78

The level of experience throughout each teachers’ career was a determining factor that

contributed to the overall nature of their response, as demonstrated by teachers pertaining less

than one year’s worth of experience showing a more active concern and level of importance

when it comes to alleviating the anxiety faced by students than teachers with a more diversified

and extensive level of experience. Subsequently, the teachers with an average of a year’s worth

of experience perceived friendliness and deliberate care targeted towards their students are

impactful during a pandemic. Contrarily, teachers with more than 15 years of experience placed

a higher level of importance on taking a more proactive interest in their students’ opinions and

the least importance in terms of taking time to learn more about them, even if this is achieved

solely by remembering their name and their strengths within EFL. Like teachers with the

attainment of a PhD, those with a post-doctorate degree emphasised students personally as a

very low priority and their learning ability within English. Notably, however, was that teachers

with a Master’s who participated placed a far lower level of importance on helping increase

students’ self-confidence in their ability to learn English than other teachers from varying

academic degree demographics who held this feature of EFL teaching at a far higher level of

importance to sustain efficient teaching.

Figure 5

Teaches’ perception of the importance of socio-affective skills for effective EFL teaching

Less than

one year

1-5 years 6-10

years

11-15

years

More

than 15

years

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

Teacher experience

Per

cen

tag

e o

f ag

reem

ent

Teacher perception of importance on socio-

affective skills for effective EFL teaching

during pandemic - Teacher experience



0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

Latest academic degree achieved

Per

centa

ge

of

agre

emen

t

Teacher perception of importance on socio-

affective skills for effective EFL teaching

during pandemic - Qualifications



79

2. Qualitative Data Analysis

A. From the Questionnaire

The additional implementation of an open-ended question devised to extend the questionnaire’s

reliability to the current state of EFL education asked teachers to provide their opinion about

how to sustain effective EFL teaching throughout the pandemic, which was not included in the

original instrument. Responses varied from cognitive to pedagogical to socio-affective domain

as a primary factor that each participant believed to contribute to EFL teaching. However, these

responses provided from the additional open-ended question provided insight that reflected

upon what the teachers’ held as priorities, given the current situation. These varying arrays of

answers have been deductively analysed to provide a response categorised by two major

themes.

i) A better teacher-student rapport: Following the previous correlation of important aspects of

effective EFL during the pandemic, teachers now perceived the relationship between them and

their students to take a higher priority than before. In order to maintain effective

‘communication’, ‘interaction’, and a professional ‘relationship’ with their students, regular

and positive communication has become more relevant than it previously was in a traditional

classroom environment. Additional responses elaborated further on this by stating how by

taking a friendly and non-arrogant approach to communicating with students, they have begun

to build ‘caring relationships’ with their students allowing teachers to facilitate help for any

student who requires it imminently. Through the consistent maintenance of a friendly rapport

between students and teachers during the current pandemic, teachers have been recommended

to take this further by being an ‘approachab[le]’ figure for students to confide in. Teachers have

also emphasised Non-discriminatory attitudes amongst students as a secure way of maintaining

effective EFL teaching throughout the pandemic’s remaining duration.

ii) Special skills for pandemic teaching: Additionally, participant teachers also brought

attention to a range of specialised skills required to teach EFL in the pandemic that was

excluded by the questionnaire. A particular focus was placed on ‘emotional intelligence’ by

teachers who felt that this was a crucial aspect for consideration as the pandemic ensues,

alongside patience, knowledge on their students, and ‘superior listening skills, which display a

level of care to students. Participating teachers also recognised the importance of retaining a

strong work ethic, immense dedication to teaching, sustainable team-work, and time

management skills that can all equally accumulate to an efficient strategy for teaching EFL. It

was also suggested that creativity, critical thinking, and promoting student engagement could

further improve EFL teaching quality.

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B. From the Interview

i) Acknowledging the Shift in the Teaching-learning of EFL

Out of twenty-one teachers, eight felt that they did not feel any apparent alteration in the

teaching pattern for EFL teaching, which has shifted to online mediums because of the

pandemic. In the interview, seven participants highlighted that the shift of EFL teaching to an

online platform had established a ‘hybrid environment’ that has catalysed ‘adaptability to

computer-based instruction in a virtual classroom’ and helped further technology education.

Participant 18 summarises the perception of change in the EFL teaching structure as: “I tried

integrating audio and video activities to engage my students in listening and speaking activities,

which has been hard given the current situation. But this has never been done before, so trialling

various options may engross my students.”

Out of the twenty-one teachers, only two fixated on the positive repercussions brought about

by this change due to the pandemic granting a greater level of freedom and opportunities to

approach all students with the same levels of fairness and equity, whilst others recognised this

as time-consuming and potentially problematic in terms of interacting with students through

the internet. Participant 19 expressed the shift in EFL teaching as: “This has massively

impacted my face-to-face classroom environment and limited interaction with individual

students who require help and assistance. With students living in more rural areas with less

access to resources other students may have, this creates a negative repercussion on my

students, who educators can’t simply send a note or resources to their homes - as we can with

students in the city. Conventional teaching for students without power or technology is more

disadvantaged than they’ve ever been before.” Participant 17 perceived the change in EFL

teaching as generating a decrease in student participation and reducing students’ ability to

cooperate in group discussion due to the restrictive nature of online platforms.

ii) Obstacles to Effective EFL Teaching during the Pandemic

With almost half of all participating teachers within the twelve-person interview group

responding that they were not subject to any significant obstacles during their pandemic

teaching experience, the remaining half of the sample described the challenges they faced as a

lack of resources for internet access, decreased student participation, short group work, and no

opportunities for face-to-face interaction - which complicated the efficiency of EFL teaching.

Yet, it was fundamentally assessed that the biggest challenge presented was the inability to

evaluate students’ progress fairly across most teachers. This challenge has arisen due to

students’ unethical behaviours during assessments, which led to cheating and brought attention

to the incompatibility between technology and the fair assessment of student learning. Teachers

81

have recognised an additional foreseen challenge that disrupts effective EFL teaching as being

an increase in stress and anxiety as a result of the pandemic - which was expressed by

Participant 17 as: “My entire teaching process has been challenging and has limited our

collective EFL progress. Teachers and students alike have been placed under immense stress

from institutions, and a surplus of work is always expected - I feel like all I do is teaching

without seeing the benefits.”

Other teachers from the interview group emphasised teachers’ lack of dedication and a

significant lack of students’ attention as obstacles that disrupt effective EFL teaching during

pandemic.

iii) Special Skills for Effective EFL Teaching during the Pandemic

A further nine out of the twenty-one participants did not perceive or identify any specific skills

outside of general teaching methods that could impact the effective teaching of EFL during the

pandemic. Yet, other teachers identified that technological skills are a primary contributor to

maintaining an efficient working environment for EFL students. This can be applied to utilise

technology in engaging and productive ways to help students throughout the teaching-learning

period. Three of the interviewees elaborated on this by mentioning additional specific skills

such as creating a fair teaching ‘dynamic’ and finding ways to engage students so that they can

keep up their motivation levels; the former was expanded upon by Participant one as: “This

huge sudden change has left many teachers underprepared and lost as to where we should direct

our teaching strategies. Teaching strategies now are extremely dependent on online technology,

and on days where it is insufficient, it can cause issues. I have now implemented routine one

by one call through my student register to engage in a two-way conversation to ensure that they

are actively practising and able to speak English and are not letting the current situation damage

that.”

Placing more focus on what students need from their education during the pandemic allows

teachers to emphasise varying areas of importance to sustain effective EFL teaching.

Particularly, the importance of teachers’ availability is highlighted, which is furthered by

Participant 18: “As teachers, it is crucial to balance rigour and support, yet the current situation

requires more support than rigour towards our students. Establishing a sustainable and

continual working environment does not mean increasing the work volume. I say this as some

teachers may be inclined to increase their rigour and subsequently increase the current

workload on students.”

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iv) Perception of Pandemic based on the Experience through EFL Teaching

Of the twelve-person interview group, an average of half of all participants responded,

suggesting that they had not been subject to a different teaching experience, as previously

anticipated due to the transition to online platforms. However, the remaining portion of the

sample expressed their contrasting experiences with the pandemic-induced online teaching

format, with both positive and negative elaborations presented. From a more negative

standpoint, a portion of teachers noted that their teaching experience had differed from the

traditional classroom environment due to the inequalities faced by students from a lower socio-

economic class than their peers, which has disadvantaged them primarily due to poor wifi

connections that cause disruption, noisier households inhibiting the teaching of EFL, low

participation rates, and a way one-way channel of communication due to large class sizes

affecting teachers’ ability to communicate with students via an online platform directly.

Nevertheless, from a positive standpoint, participant teachers also emphasised their positive

experiences during the pandemic, which are mostly rooted in the challenging nature of the

current situation that has prompted them to acquire new skill sets and shift to technological

platforms may not have previously encountered. Still, it was identifiable that the positive

increase in students’ interest and motivation levels in terms of EFL was a primary factor

amongst all of this - which was extended upon by Participant 19, who detailed the unique

teaching experience: “I found that the experience has presented a challenge to my students and

me. I have had to grow as a teacher using new tools to provide a comparable teaching

environment, despite my students learning from different contexts. I was driven by the

exceptional nature of the current situation as I want to provide an education to my students,

despite the pandemic.”

v) The Most Important Aspect of Effective EFL Teaching Considering the Pandemic

Participating teachers within the interview group presented various opinions regarding the most

crucial aspect of EFL teaching during the pandemic. The responses provided emphasised the

need for being well prepared, focusing on active interaction between all participating students,

rapidly increasing their proficiency with technology to help engage students, dedicating their

teaching efforts to bettering students’ capabilities with EFL, accurate grammatical knowledge,

attending to students’ needs throughout the lesson, and adequate evaluative measures.

However, the most important aspect of EFL teaching, as recognised by most of teachers’

perceptions was that being ‘strict’ and authoritative to create a calm and respectful teaching

environment, delegating time to know your students’ names, and speaking in fluent English

with proper pronunciation and grammar. Similar aspects were identified as patience,

83

dedication, paying attention to students’ needs and motivation, adopting a kind and caring

demeanour, addressing students’ needs, teaching students constructively how to use the new

technology, and creating a comfortable environment for students, and so forth. Participant 20

defined the most integral aspect of EFL teaching during the pandemic as: “Straight away I went

to reach out to my peers and fellow teachers to receive planning advice so that I could

effectively manage my lessons. I have found that confidence is the key to classroom

management, and it has helped me connect with my students.”

vi) The Role of Compassion in Effective Teaching of EFL during the Pandemic

Out of the twenty-one person participant sample, twelve from the interview groups did not

perceive compassion as playing a vital role in sustaining effective EFL teaching. Teachers

excluded from this majority viewed compassion as playing a crucial role in teaching EFL

throughout a pandemic. Due to it being so unexpected and impactful, compassion allows

teachers and students to relate with one another, thus increasing EFL teaching effectiveness

strategies. Also, by the provision of one-on-one private lessons implemented by some teachers,

students who are experiencing health or grief problems concerning the pandemic allowed

teachers to lend students’ more sympathy and understanding, which was further explained by

Participant 2: “As the pandemic was so sudden and unprecedented for both students and

teachers alike, with a lack of preparation across all fronts, compassion became a crucial

element.”

Contrarily, some teachers identified potential negative consequences of allowing compassion

into a classroom environment, as they perceive compassion as potentially leading to unethical

unconscious biases towards their students during evaluative processes, thus reducing the

possibility that EFL teaching will attain their goals of being effective, this was then amplified

by Participant 1 as: “Many teachers became very compassionate, which created a bias that

propelled specific students to unrealistic grades and ultimately pushed against the grade

boundaries, which left other students who received less compassion but had higher language

proficiency to lose out. Ultimately compassion leads to students putting in less effort and losing

their language proficiency.”

Discussion

This study sought to establish the extent to which the pandemic has influenced teachers’

perception of what constitutes effective EFL teaching, which is contextualised through the

challenges, experiences, and shift in education style within Jordan. It is determinable from both

the qualitative and quantitative results gathered that the inevitability of the pandemic impacting

84

teachers’ belief in EFL teaching efficiency became a reality. The survey and interview results

uncovered several EFL aspects that have never previously been recorded in literature due to

the pandemic. The quantitative study conducted acted as a measurement for teachers’ perceived

importance of various aspects in EFL teaching during a pandemic climate. In contrast, the

qualitative data delved into more detailed opinions and recollection of experiences regarding

the current impact the pandemic has had on EFL study. The quantitative survey was developed

prior to the pandemic, therefore excluding the reflection on more important aspects of currency

EFL teaching, as emphasised by the teachers within the interview group, thus prompting a

growing need to explore the perception of a wider demographic of teachers on the influence of

the pandemic itself and the correlation this has specifically had with EFL teaching.

Participant teachers within the survey group emphasised their most perceived importance to lie

within the subject matter, followed closely by socio-affective skills and lastly by pedagogical

skills. Generally, subject or content knowledge is the primary basis of teaching effective EFL

(Andrews, 2003; Borg, 2001). Therefore, it is provable that even despite the pandemic’s

education situation, the teachers’ priority in terms of crucial elements of EFL teaching is the

teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter. Nevertheless, with pedagogical knowledge being

the second priority, this suggests the level of importance it holds within the teaching of EFL as

perceived by the literature (Estaji & Dezfoolian, 2018). Yet, with the participant group placing

pedagogical knowledge as the lowest priority, this emphasises how this element is complicated

to introduce within a virtual classroom. It might also be due to the teachers having to implement

more socio-affective skills within the virtual classroom instead of pedagogical skills.

Additionally, participants from the interview group suggested that due to their teaching

obligations only stretching as far as technology can permit, they have received fewer tasks,

which has resulted in a lack of face-to-face teaching due to the current circumstances. Still, this

has led to a decrease in group discussion, dialogic teaching, and reduced the possibility of

efficient group tasks. Furthermore, teaching throughout the pandemic solely using online

platforms requires a very specific and niched set of pedagogical skills, as perceived by teachers

within both participant samples from either group within the study, which may contribute to

why it was placed lower than additional categories.

Within the survey group, participant teachers placed the highest level of perceived importance

on the subject matter, yet more significantly on maintaining a high standard of vocabulary

which contributes to the effective teaching of EFL, which can be interpreted as a a one-way

result teaching channel. Participating teachers from the interview group elaborated that one of

the primary obstacles they have faced throughout the pandemic-induced online classroom shift

85

is the lack of engagement from students and the decreased interaction with individual students

due to proportionate class sizes. Given the current scenario, teachers tend to be adhering to the

monologic lecture method, which allows them to provide instructions and content overviews

before assessing the students’ outcomes based on their cognitive domains. These results align

with the literature, focusing on the drawbacks of teaching through online platforms for having

less diversity to address individual student needs and stressing towards only content knowledge

(Gillet-Swan, 2017). Coming from a varying perspective is that the differing experience level

of each teacher’s personal experience teaching EFL has impacted their perception of what

constitutes EFL teaching in a notable way. Participant teachers within the survey group who

had less than one year of experience teaching did not view high English vocabulary levels as

the most important aspect of efficient EFL teaching, instead of placing it at the bottom of their

importance hierarchy. These teachers placed their highest level of importance on their students’

ability to write coherently in English, which can be viewed as a result of the teaching structure

now being entirely online - thus placing more emphasis on written materials and resources

(Karalis, 2020) and assigning students these tasks as a result. Therefore, their firmest belief on

the indication of appropriate EFL teaching is based on the skill level asserted by the student

who completed the task over their level vocabulary.

When it comes to pedagogical skills, the participant teachers from the survey group identified

their perceived highest importance in efficiently teaching EFL as teaching students how to

learn English outside of the classroom despite restrictions (implementing more regular viewing

of EBS programmes and increasing their volume throughout the curriculum). With the

pandemic rendering face-to-face teaching impossible due to safety measures imposed (Saribas

& Çetinkaya, 2020), teachers’ have prioritised the measures they implement during lessons to

teach students English outside the traditional classroom environment with rationale and in a

time-efficient manner. Also, through taking advantage of the possibilities online learning can

provide, the promotion of student autonomy can become more prevalent as they take

responsibility for their learning when provided with the resources to further their study outside

of a classroom environment, which is confirmed by literature as having an immense amount of

influence on how impactful EFL teaching is (Aljohani, 2017).

Combining both the academic context in which the teacher studied and their levels of

experience indicates their response towards their perception of the important factors

contributing to the teaching of EFL throughout the pandemic; judging by the results gathered,

the certainty of even the most experienced teachers facing challenges with adapting their

teaching skills to such a drastically different setting and to meet the needs of their students is

86

significant. Participants within the interview group also reference their struggle to address

individual students and help fulfil their needs to further their understanding, which reflects

against participants in the interview group stating that they find adapting their content to

accommodate for all of their students has presented proportionate challenges, thus emphasising

that the more experienced teachers can grasp the immense importance of facilitating their

lessons for all students.

Once again, reflecting upon the academic background, many teachers focus on the importance

of maintaining a sustainably good classroom atmosphere by implementing authority and

strictness if necessary, yet view this as a subsidiary priority; however, teacher possessing PhD’s

or post-doctoral degrees perceive this as the most important aspect as it maintains a healthy

learning environment for the teaching of EFL. Based upon the participants’ response, it was

suggested that the increased use of technology to aid in education has allowed teachers to fully

gauge students’ attention due to the easy ways in which they can participate and navigate the

software. With regard to this, highly educated teachers with significant academic degrees may

address authority and autonomy within the classroom, thus leading them to place pedagogical

skills as the most important priority within a pandemic environment. Additionally, teachers

from the interview group identified how they view student autonomy as integral within the

classroom to help establish a learner-centric environment (Reinig, 2010), which has led to

teachers in both participating study groups emphasising the dominant and authoritative role

required by the teacher in order to sustain effective EFL teaching.

Socio-affective skills primarily reflect upon the motivational, psychological, and emotional

aspects of teaching (Began & Tholappan, 2018). It is viewed as a crucial aspect in terms of

appropriate EFL teaching. Considering the implications of the current pandemic, this skill has

been revealed to have several dimensions. With the survey instrument being developed before

the pandemic, the instrumental basis reflects less upon the pandemic itself, hence integrating

qualitative data harvesting questions constructed in an open-ended format. The participant

group recognised that the most important aspect of socio-affective skills concerning effective

EFL teaching is to provide help to students both in and outside of the classroom, with the least

importance lying with rousing motivation amongst students.

Ruminating on the current pandemic situation, students’ real repercussion is a general declining

state of mental health, with stress and anxiety creating further challenges within their personal

and educational lives (Aldhadad et al., 2020). This reinforces why teachers are now placing

their priorities towards providing adequate support and assistance to students. Yet, participants

within the interview group alleged that they had faced issues when trying to motivate their

87

students as a collective, which may even reflect the teachers retaining a low perception of

importance on this aspect of EFL teaching. During this current educational climate, teachers’

collective experiences are impactful factors that determine their perception of the most crucial

aspects of effective EFL teaching. With the most experienced teachers from the survey group

placing their priorities within listening to and engaging with their students, this has been

implicated by teachers from the interview group posing the belief that online teaching has

inhibited effective communication with their students, leading to a one-way communication

channel instigated from the teachers’ end, which aligns with the responses recorded in the

literature (Fauzi & Khusuma, 2020). This provides effective justification as to why the most

experienced teachers’ instincts are to pay more attention to their students to establish a

sustainable and welcoming teaching environment. However, contradicting this to some extent

is the fact that the same highly educated teachers aligned factors such as recognising their

students’ names and details about them as the least important priority, which suggests a lack

of active involvement with students, yet is justifiable by the recorded response due to the large

volumes of students within each class.

Another integral aspect of this study is to foresee effective EFL learning and teaching practices

from the stance of the current pandemic solely, which has led to increased conceptualisation

for the perceived requirements for a specialised skill set that can act as beneficial resources for

teachers to use throughout the remainder of virtual teaching and the pandemic itself.

Throughout the open-ended questions posed to participants, teachers were asked to record their

opinion on varying aspects of EFL teaching that hold importance in a current pandemic

scenario. An array of responses was recorded, each presenting a distinguishably different

dimension to another, which provided the researcher with the opportunity to efficiently

elaborate on previous explanations of the challenges faced by teachers and their perception of

a required skill set to surpass these issues strategically and efficiently. The conclusive results

of this survey and interview process are visualised below, considering the aspects mentioned

in the literature as the most important areas for effective EFL teaching, which juxtapose

findings from the study, due to the consideration the pandemic as an extraneous variable not

previously being accounted for. These key aspects of effective EFL teaching during the

pandemic are categorised into 4Ps- Presuming, Planning, Preparing and Performing.

The presume stage (P1) refers to the teachers’ prediction of the students’ contextual state, i.e.

their prior knowledge, students’ condition (their availability to access the internet, their health

and needs), the need for flexibility in teaching to meet the students’ need which may arise

anytime, readiness to help students in any situation, and most importantly the aim of the lesson.

88

In the planning stage (P2), teachers are advised to design EFL teaching with a special focus on

online lessons’ technological use. In doing so, teachers are encouraged to seek peer teachers

guidance and plan the lesson to provide a comfortable environment for the students considering

the pandemic. The teachers are also suggested to use technology for planning ELT activities

which will intrigue the students’ motivation for learning EFL and, at the same time, frequent

assessment of the students’ learning.

In the preparing stage (P3), the study advocates that the teachers should prepare a friendly,

non-threatening environment in the online platform of teaching EFL, ensuring non-

discrimination, fairness and equity, and strategic assessment of the EFL learning. In this stage,

teachers must be-adaptable to the computer-based instruction in a virtual classroom, creative,

enabled to think critically, show strong work ethics and most importantly dedication towards

effective teaching of EFL using an online platform, during the pandemic.

The last stage, performing (P4) includes activities which the teachers incorporate in their actual

teaching practice. Given the situation of the pandemic and the sudden shift towards online

teaching, the teachers are advised to improve their active listening skills, considering the

teaching is not taking place in face-to-face contact, rather in a platform where paying attention

to learners are considered a challenge. During the teaching, it is not enough to intrigue students’

motivation to learn EFL; rather it is more crucial to keep their motivation continued the whole

time through different techniques and strategies which the teachers need to improvise in the

situation. In doing so, the teachers are encouraged to maintain good communication,

interaction, and relationship with them. Teachers’ patience, caring and kind attitude, ability to

conduct team-work with the students and specially time management skills help teach EFL

through online platform in the pandemic situation.

Point to be noted that these special skills are supplement to the previously identified elements

of effective EFL teaching. The present study advocates incorporating these skills for effective

EFL teaching during the pandemic induced online teaching, along with the previously

identified elements, not as substitutes. The following figure, Figure 6, gives an overview of the

special skill set, identified from both survey group and interview group participants, as key

aspects to reflect on for effective EFL teaching during the pandemic along with subject matter

knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and socio-affective skills.

89

Figure 6

Special skill set, identified by the participants supplementary to the previously identified

elements of effective EFL teaching

Pedagogical implications

Based on the findings, this study conceptualises the desired skill set that is necessary for

sustainable and effective EFL teaching to help the study progress even despite the pandemic,

which can be developed by the teacher themselves or collaborate with other teachers to help

establish a relatively unanimous approach to EFL teaching. Organisational institutes can also

facilitate specialised training to help teachers achieve this skill set once fully conceptualised

and applied to a classroom environment.

Limitations and Recommendations

The study uses a purposeful sampling which does not represent all Jordanian EFL teachers.

Also, with the use of open-ended questions conducted through written interviews, it is likely

that the results are not as comprehensive as they potentially could have been if safety

implications did not inhibit the potential for face-to-face interviews. With the use of remote

interviews and surveys, these interviews likely lacked the provocative nature integrated within

a research environment to invoke more insightful and reflective answers. However, the present

study acknowledges that further studies researching facilities need to engage in further studies

90

on EFL effectiveness when safety is ensured and researchers can engage directly with

participants to establish a representative sample to reap a greater quantity of more generalisable

results. The potential for cross-cultural studies to be undertaken will likely draw attention to

significant contrasts between developed and developing countries due to the differences

between widespread resource accessibility and the varying ways in which online schooling has

been enforced during the remainder of the pandemic.

Conclusion

The study’s fundamental aim is to address the most crucial aspects of what teachers’ perceive

to have had the most significant repercussions on the teaching of EFL. Before CoronaVirus

swept across the globe, the effectiveness of EFL teaching was defined. Nevertheless, the

inevitability of change due to the pandemic has led to the marginalisation of specific teaching

aspects by teachers recognising other attributes of the criteria of successful EFL teaching as

suiting the requirements of the current situation. To efficiently isolate those aspects as teachers

perceive them, the study focuses on using an unbiased null hypothesis that the pandemic has

influenced the characteristics of effective EFL teaching to some extent. As a means of attaining

the study’s desired data, the use of a questionnaire developed before the pandemic, which was

tailored to fit the current teaching situation, led to results implying that the pandemic truly has

impacted the characteristics of effective EFL teaching, which aligns these results with the

findings of the literature that explores the study of EFL. Following this, the study then engaged

a willing sample of participants in an open-ended structured interview form an unbiased

perspective to help identify whether the sample participants felt as if the pandemic had created

impactful changes to their teaching regime, their perception of any arising challenges, their

experience teaching on solely online platforms, the strategies they enforced to help overcome

these obstacles, and the level of importance they perceived a special skill set as having when

teaching throughout a pandemic. This interview addresses more provocative aspects of the

study. It also allows a more exploratory approach to deduce qualitative data to coincide with

the quantitative answers provided on the previous questionnaire. It was noted that some

teachers did not directly experience any change induced by the pandemic and the subsequent

enforcement of online teaching; other teachers followed up their answers with notes on their

own experiences, positive or negative. Justifying the responses from participant teachers within

the survey group, teachers’ elaborative answers within the interview group provide more clarity

as to the reimagined EFL teaching skill set, formulated by teachers to provide more efficient

teaching throughout the pandemic and the subsequent online teaching methods imposed.

91

Concluding the study is the ultimate verdict that the pandemic truly did affect the effective

teaching of EFL and that a special skill set has to be adapted for teachers to achieve their

learning outcomes.

The teachers’ explanation from the interviews justified the teachers’ responses from the survey

group, along with the added significance of the study- the conceptualisation of a special skill

set perceived by the teachers for effective teaching of EFL during pandemic induced online

teaching. The study concludes with the remark that the pandemic induced online teaching

indeed affects the effective teaching of EFL and requires a special skill set which the teachers

need to develop to achieve the learning outcome.

92

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98


Learning in Crisis: An Investigation of Saudi EFL learners’ Perceptions of E-Learning

During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Yasamiyan Alolaywi

Department of English Language and Translation, College of Science and Arts, Methnab,

Qassim University, Saudi Arabia

Bio-profile:

Dr. Yasamiyan Saleh Alolaywi is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, College of

Science and Arts, Methnab, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Her research interests include

teacher professional development, pragmatics, and translation. Dr. Alolaywi has presented

research at national and international conferences. She has also published research in highly

ranked journals, including Scopus-indexed journals. In addition, she is a certified and licensed

trainer both nationally and internationally. She has held a number of training workshops on

areas including translation, research writing, and language teaching. She has been teaching

English for more than 17 years and has taught a number of translation and linguistics courses

at the B.A. level, including Translation Theories, Interpreting, Introduction to Translation,

Introduction to Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, and Semantics and Pragmatics.

Moreover, she has a Certificate of Authority in Arabic Syntax from the Arabic Academy of

Syntax. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

In crises, miracles are made, and it is commonly said that every cloud has a silver lining. These

and other sayings have become evident on the ground during the ongoing Coronavirus crisis.

In fact, the current circumstances have led to the search for alternatives to keep life going

smoothly without obstacles or interruptions, particularly in education. However, to what extent

are these means effective, and whether or not they are sustainable alternatives to the traditional

style of learning is a matter of investigation. One aspect of this is the subject matter of the

current study which aimed to explore EFL students’ perceptions toward online learning during

the COVID-19 pandemic, with special emphasis on the difficulties they encountered and the

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pros and cons of this mode of education. The participants in this study were 158 EFL

undergraduate students (M = 35.4%, F = 64.6%) from the Department of English at Qassim

University, Saudi Arabia. Data for this research were collected by distributing a semi-

structured survey designed by the researcher. The results showed that one of the main obstacles

students faced in e-learning was technical issues associated with inefficient internet service.

Although the results showed that students were easily able to handle educational platforms and

manage their online studies, the majority of the participants preferred traditional learning styles

over the recent online mode. Moreover, the students found it difficult to concentrate and follow

up with their instructors through online mediums. Yet, they acknowledged that the most

prominent advantages of distance learning are protection from the virus, mobility, convenience,

and flexibility, as well as the elimination of transportation problems associated with traditional

schooling. Based on these conclusions, some implications are drawn and suggestions for

improvement are put forward to educators and policymakers working in the field of education.

Keywords: students’ perceptions, COVID-19, online studying, advantages, disadvantages

Introduction

In the digital era, the educational sphere has witnessed the considerable change over the

past two decades and must cope with rapidly developing technologies. New innovations have

transcended to the teaching and learning domains in the age of globalization. Due to the

dynamic nature of learning processes, people seek information using such innovations; most

notably, the internet.

In the Saudi Arabian context, many educational institutions employed blended learning

and e-learning systems as an integral part of the educational process even before the virtual

shift caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the Ministry of Higher

Education established the National Plan for Information Technology to encourage e-learning

and distance education in higher education. In 2006, it created the National e-Learning and

Distance Learning Center (NeLC) to offer educators and students technical support, tools, and

the necessary means to develop digital educational content in higher education throughout the

country (Alebaikan & Troudi, 2016).

In recent years, some universities have used learning management systems such as

Blackboard, WebCT, and Tadarus (an Arabic-based learning management system) to facilitate

learning and teaching online. For example, in 2013, Qassim University launched its Deanship

of e-Learning and Distance Education, with the main aim of diversifying learning sources. In

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an official and institutional capacity, the university has provided the educational platforms

Blackboard and Zoom free of charge to students and teachers alike.

Educational institutions ought to be flexible and professional enough to handle

emergency challenges. In fact, the current crisis clearly demonstrates the value of modern

technology and stresses the need to adequately plan education schemes and prepare valid

alternatives. This begs the question of whether or not these alternatives are effective

substitutions to the traditional learning patterns or if they have multiplied the effects of the

crisis and created new challenges? Any teaching style, especially a novice one, may be

deficient, especially in the early stages of experimentation. Moreover, the target audience’s

level of acceptance and satisfaction of these new channels constitutes a second challenge,

which is why these issues are the focus of the current study.

Literature Review

Research findings from previous studies showed positive attitudes to virtual education

during the Corona virus crisis. For example, Krishnapatria (2020) carried out a study to explore

university students’ perceptions of e-learning during the COVID-19 outbreak. Findings

showed that 56% of the research participants expressed satisfaction with the implementation

of e-learning. This result indicates that the students view e-learning as being somewhat

advantageous. The study also found that e-learning can promote flexibility, offering

personalization whereby learners can choose their learning path and pace. Similarly, a study

conducted in Pakistan to investigate the impact of virtual teaching (VT) on the behavior of ESL

higher education students under COVID-19 circumstances found that the students were

committed to and motivated by their studies, and they welcomed VT. Many of the students

have positive attitudes toward online studying and find the experience exciting. They express

the convenience of learning and attending lectures through VT. According to them, teachers

are easily accessible; they can ask questions by voice or text messages, and the teacher replies

to them on the spot while the online class is being conducted or later in their free time (Shahzad

et al., 2020). Moreover, Basilaia and Kvavadze (2020), in their study on 950 students from a

private school in Georgia, confirmed that the quick transition to the online form of education

was successful and that the experience gained could be useful in the future.

Contrary to the above-mentioned results, other studies revealed dissatisfaction with or

negative impressions of the online studying mode. For instance, Al-Nofaie (2020) investigated

the perceptions of Saudi university students of learning via Blackboard following the spread of

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COVID-19. The study revealed that virtual education is not always appealing to students.

Furthermore, the students preferred the flexibility of the asynchronous (not occurring at the

same time) environment to the synchronous (occurring at the same time). Also, Aguilera-

Hermida (2020) explored college students’ perceptions of their adoption, use, and acceptance

of emergency online learning. The findings show that participants prefer face-to-face learning

to online learning. Chik and Benson (2020), in a commentary written during the COVID-19

pandemic, argued that online learning became “homeschooling,” with various educators saying

students have “lost” education rather than have been educated differently. They also added that

technology had been adopted without giving too much consideration to young people’s digital

practices.

Moreover, Maican and Cocorada (2021) examined university students’ behaviors,

emotions, and attitudes related to online foreign language learning during the pandemic. Some

of the results, such as the negative association between anxiety and FLE, are consistent with

those revealed in studies conducted at normal times. Other results are novel, such as the higher

level of enjoyment among lower-achieving students. Reference is made to students’

preferences for certain online resources during the pandemic (e.g., preference for PowerPoint

presentations) and to their opinions regarding the entire or partial use of online foreign

language teaching in the post-COVID period.

Finally, Soni (2020) commented that though there are few challenges related to e-

learning, it has actually emerged as a benefit to learners and educators around the world. The

global crisis has especially manifested the immense importance of e-learning in today’s modern

world. Without the means of e-learning platforms, education would have come to a sudden halt

since the outbreak of the virus.

There have also been researches that investigated the uses of social media, smart

devices, and internet applications during the crisis. For example, a study was conducted to

examine the media and the Arabic learning process at the higher education level in the COVID-

19 pandemic situation. The results show that the majority of students use WhatsApp, and most

of them study autonomously on online platforms. The study discovered a shift in Arabic

learning by students at UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang in Indonesia from personal to

instrumental as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. Moreover, there was a

transformation in Arabic learning from a personal cultural approach to an instrumental-

functional approach (Wargadinata et al., 2020).

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A similar study conducted by Naciri et al. (2020) reflected on the role of online learning in

remote teaching strategies sustaining student-centered learning. Although online learning is an

unavoidable alternative during COVID-19, the use of online learning allows learning anytime,

anyplace, anywhere. Moreover, a study carried out of students from Kuwait International Law

School (KILAW) in 2020 reported that KILAW students’ use of SM (short messages) for

learning the English language had increased dramatically due to COVID-19. In addition, the

participants showed a positive attitude to the use of SM (Al-Shammari, 2020).

Famularsih (2020) studied the utilization of online learning applications in EFL English

classrooms in Indonesia. The investigation showed that most of the students considered the

utilization of online learning applications in learning English to be effective and efficient in

this emergency situation. However, the obstacles to using online learning applications in the

English classroom were slow-speed internet connection, the volume of work to be covered, the

fact that not all teaching material can be taught through online learning, and the lack of

interaction between lecturers and students.

The role of social media during the pandemic was a research focus during the COVID-

19 pandemic. Shariq and Alfauzan (2020) indicated that social media were found to be effective

in creating awareness among the Saudi public as well as among university students. Their study

reported that 80% of the student participants learned about COVID from social media,

compared to 13.3% from parents and 6.7% from government announcements. Another study

by Alfallaj and Al-Ma’amari (2020) measured linguistic competence as a research variable in

relation to social media usage. They interviewed 105 male students at Qassim University to

compare crisis-readiness and access to information between two types of respondents, English

users and non-English users. The findings show that the English users had better access to

quality information on the pandemic before and after its declaration as a pandemic by the World

Health Organization (WHO).

Other studies dealt with the obstacles faced by learners during their e-learning

experiences. For instance, Putri et al. (2020) carried out a study in primary schools in Indonesia

to obtain information about the constraints and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on

teaching and learning activities. Their research identified challenges experienced by students,

teachers, and parents in online learning. These challenges included the limited communication

devices available to students, socializing among students, greater challenges for students with

special education needs, and longer screen time. Parents saw the problem as related to a lack

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of discipline in learning at home. They had to spend more time assisting their children’s

learning at home, especially in the case of children below Grade 4 in primary school. There

was a general lack of technology skills and increased internet bills. The lack of e-resources in

the Indonesian language resulted in more screen time being spent developing e-content.

Teachers needed time to give feedback on students’ work.

A study conducted in Malaysia by Chung et al. (2020) to examine the preferred methods

of online learning and the challenges university students face found that the respondents were

generally ready for online learning. However, females were found to be more ready than males;

degree students were more ready than diploma students, while female students and degree

students were more satisfied with online learning and had better learning experiences compared

to male students and diploma students. More than half of the respondents indicated that if given

a choice, they would not wish to continue with online learning. Most respondents expressed a

preference for online learning via pre-recorded lectures in Google Classroom and YouTube.

The biggest challenge for degree students was shown to be internet connectivity.

Finally, Agung et al. (2021) investigated students’ opinions about the challenges

associated with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study identified three

major obstacles to online learning in the English Language Education Study Program at

Pamane Talino College of Education, Indonesia. The first challenge is the availability and

sustainability of an internet connection. The second is the accessibility of the teaching media,

and the third is the compatibility of the devices needed to access the media.

In essence, this study aims to survey undergraduate EFL (English as a Foreign

Language) students’ to gauge their opinions of the online mode of education associated with

the coronavirus lockdown and the extent to which they have adapted to it. It will also identify

the pros and cons of distance education from the viewpoints of EFL students.

Method:

Population and Participants

The population of this study is EFL undergraduate students specializing in English at

Saudi Universities. The participants in this study are 158 college students majoring in English

at the Department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University. 35.4% and 64.6%

of the participants were male and female, respectively. The respondents were randomly

selected from all department levels—levels one to eight. The age of the participants ranged

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from 18-30 years old, where the average is 20 years old (27.8%), (n=44). It is worth pointing

out that the study plan of the department comprises a collection of translation and linguistics

courses. The students are officially enrolled in the program only after passing a one-semester

intensive course on major language skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing) and a

course on vocabulary building.

Research Design and Data Collection:

The data for this research was collected during the first semester of the academic year

2020-2021. An online survey devised by the researcher was used as a data-gathering tool. The

survey included 20 closed-ended and open-ended questions inquiring about demographic,

factual, and attitudinal information of the participants (Appendix A). This study employed a

case study design. Data was analyzed utilizing quantitative and qualitative approaches

corresponding to the question type. Frequency counts were generated to estimate the mean of

the responses to each question.

Research questions:

The study aims to answer the following research questions:

1. What are EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions toward online education during the

COVID-19 pandemic?

2. What are the advantages of online studying from the students’ perspectives?

3. What are the disadvantages of online studying from the students’ perspectives?

Results

The analysis of the participants’ responses revealed that 17.1% of participants strongly

agreed that they frequently experienced technical problems when studying online, 34.2%

agreed, 26.6% neither agreed nor disagreed, 13.9% disagreed, while only 8.2% strongly

disagreed that they frequently experienced such problems.

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Figure 1

As figure 1 indicates, 29.1% of participants strongly agreed that they had experienced

difficulties following up on issues with their teachers when studying online. Moreover, 21.5%

of participants agreed that they had experienced such difficulties, 20.9% neither agreed nor

disagreed, 14.6% disagreed, while 13.9% strongly disagreed.

Figure 2

In terms of the participants’ opinions regarding whether they found studying online to

be enjoyable, the results showed that 16.5% of participants strongly agreed that they enjoyed

studying online, 25.9% agreed, 18.4% were neutral, 17.1% disagreed, and 22.2% strongly

disagreed that they enjoyed studying online.

Figure 3

Figure 2 demonstrates that only 14.6% of participants strongly agreed that they fully

understood their lectures when studying online, while 28.5% agreed, 15.2% neither agreed nor

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disagreed, 25.3% disagreed, and 16.5% strongly disagreed that they were able to fully

comprehend their online lectures.

Figure 4

With regard to the question of whether the participants preferred online learning over

traditional in-class learning, some 19% of participants strongly agreed that online learning was

preferable, 12.7% agreed, 17.7% were undecided, 15.8% disagreed, and 34.8% strongly

disagreed. These findings indicate that a majority of participants reported preferring traditional

in-class learning when compared with online learning.

Figure 5

When asked about whether they enjoyed the tools offered by educational platforms

(e.g., Blackboard), 17.1% of participants strongly agreed that such tools were enjoyable, 32.9%

agreed, 24.1% neither agreed nor disagreed, 12% disagreed, and 13.9% strongly disagreed.

Figure 6

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As figure 3 indicates, 18.4% of participants strongly agreed that they were easily able

to deal with the utilized online educational platforms (e.g., Blackboard), 41.1% agreed, 18.4%

were neutral, 13.3% disagreed, and 8.9% strongly disagreed that dealing with such platforms

was straightforward.

Figure 7

When questioned regarding the perceived comfort of online learning, 24.7% of

participants strongly agreed that online learning was a comfortable experience, 27.2% agreed,

21.5% were neutral, 16.5 disagreed, while 10.1% strongly disagreed.

Figure 8

As for the elimination of transportation problems due to studying online during the

COVID-19 pandemic, 18.4% of participants strongly agreed that online learning had provided

them with an opportunity to avoid transportation problems. Moreover, 35.4% of participants

agreed, 32.3% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 10.8% disagreed that online learning led to

the elimination of transportation problems.

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Figure 9

Interestingly, when asked if they considered the online learning environment to be

interactive, only 22.2% of participants strongly agreed that the online environment was

interactive, while 19.6% agreed, 24.1% were neutral, 22.8% disagreed, and 11.4% strongly

disagreed.

Figure 10

As for the participants’ opinions regarding whether the teaching techniques possible

within virtual classrooms were limited, 11.4% of participants strongly agreed that the available

teaching techniques were limited, 33.5% agreed, 29.7% were neutral, while 19% disagreed.

Figure 11

When asked if they found it difficult to interact with their teachers when studying

online, 27.8% of participants strongly agreed that they found such interaction difficult, 18.4%

agreed, 23.4% neither agreed nor disagreed, 18.4% disagreed, and 12% strongly disagreed.

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Figure 12

In addition, 23.4% of participants strongly agreed that they found studying online to be

stressful, 19% agreed, 16.5% were neutral, 29.7% disagreed, while 11.4% strongly disagreed

that they found online learning stressful.

Figure 13

When asked if they were more frequently forced to skip classes when studying online

than when engaging in traditional in-class learning, some 18.4% of participants strongly agreed

that they more frequently had to skip classes, 24.7% agreed, 25.3% were undecided, 14.6%

disagreed, and 17.1% strongly disagreed.

Figure 14

In terms of the participants’ perspectives on whether online learning had negatively

affected their grades, 29.1% of participants strongly agreed that having to learn online had had

a negative effect on their grades, 20.3% agreed, 20.3% neither agreed nor disagreed, 15.8%

disagreed, while 14.6% strongly disagreed.

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Figure 15

When questioned as to whether they found online learning to be boring, 28.5% of

participants strongly agreed that it was boring, 19% agreed, 18.4% were neutral, 19.6%

disagreed, and 14.6% strongly disagreed.

Figure 16

According to the participants’ responses, the main advantages of e-learning were

considered to be increased protection from the virus, the elimination of the transportation

problems associated with accessing traditional classroom learning, increased mobility, greater

convenience, the recording of lectures, reduced effort, and cost savings. The following quotes

illustrate the participants’ views regarding the advantages of online learning:

• “Study anywhere, whether inside or outside the home.”

• “We don’t need to travel to college every day.”

• “It saves gasoline for students who are in a different city to their college.”

• “Comfort, use time wisely, and not worry about other classes to attend in person, u only

need a mobile or laptop.”

• “Saving effort, money, and transportation.”

• “There are no disadvantages. It is so perfect for students far away from the college.”

• “To protect against COVID-19.”

• “Just the comfort of getting up, making a coffee or breakfast, and the lecture is next to

you in your room.”

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• “I really love studying on the internet, it is fun and it does not cost much. I don’t need

to buy clothes or look for transportation, which saves a lot of money for more important

things. I don’t waste time getting to the university or getting home. The comfort is much

greater and the tension is less. A lot of time, [online lectures] are faster and more secure.

Students can speak more freely. I really want to study from a distance always because

it is very fun and inexpensive.”

• “The lecture is recorded and we can listen to it any time we want, especially if there is

a problem with the connection.”

However, the participants also highlighted a number of disadvantages associated with

online learning, including technical problems resulting from poor network connections, which

ultimately caused increased tension on the part of students; an inability to concentrate and

follow up adequately with instructors, which resulted in learning gaps; an inability to

communicate well with instructors; a tendency to feel bored during lectures; and health-related

problems such as eye trouble. The following quotes illustrate the participants’ views regarding

the disadvantages of studying online:

• “It’s really disastrous, there’s nothing good about it. To be honest, I wish I died before

they put online study in place.”

• “The internet problems, and the mic problems”

• “A lot actually. First, I spent almost a whole day on my screen and that is very stressful.

Second, I prefer participating in a traditional class because it’s easier. Third, I

understand better in a traditional class”.

• “The lack of a permanent and strong internet connection.”

• “Taking unclear online classes and then doing exams in the college, it’s just not right.”

• “The Blackboard app is so bad and I can’t understand the teachers. The students don’t

understand much.”

• “(1) It makes it easier for students to miss classes. (2) Some students have bad internet,

which is out of their hands.”

• “It’s so boring N sometime u cannt find a quiet place to sit in N maybe u hv to work in

ur house and cannt focus with the teacher.”

• “I can’t understand anything. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I’m studying.

It’s frustrating to the point of anxiety, depression.”

• “It is difficult to communicate with teachers on the bad internet sometimes.”

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• “As virtual world’s nature, sometimes I am not awake, and I suffer to wake up usually.

So if I do not make effort to stay in work place as collage, I think it will be a problem

of most student.”

• “I can’t meet colleagues and teachers. It feels boring.”

• “Bad internet connection, Blackboard sometimes crashes, sometimes Blackboard

refuses to let you get in, and many other problems.”

• “A drop in the academic average and studying becomes more boring and impossible to

understand.”

• "Waist of future"

• “Lack of understanding, difficulty communicating, and internet problems.

• “There are technical problems, and the students’ understanding of the lesson does not

exceed 60%.”

• “It is boring.”

• “The bad network.”

• “Online learning can cause social isolation.”

• “The internet connection. Difficulty accessing the site due to too much pressure on it.”

• “Ask China.”

• “Boring + Cause of poor eyesight.”

• “I hope the traditional in-class studying will back soon...”

• “When I try to focus on my lecture, the internet often goes off, so that’s why online

learning is not good enough.”

• “Studying online is stressful.”

Discussion

After reviewing students' opinions of e-learning during the pandemic, the findings show

that they have mixed views, with the majority favoring traditional forms of education. This is

consistent with the findings of Aguilera-Hermida (2020) and Al-Nofaie (2020) who indicated

that participants preferred face-to-face learning to study online and that virtual learning does

not always appeal to students. On the other hand, this contradicted the findings of Krishnapatria

(2020), Basilaia & Kvavadze (2020), Shahzad et al. (2020), and Famularsih (2020). All these

studies investigated the same issue, but they found that the majority of participants showed

satisfaction with and positive attitudes towards online studying during the pandemic .

This study's participants pinpointed several obstacles related to e-learning, such as

spending long hours in front of a computer screen and the associated problems of affected

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vision and lack of socializing. This is in harmony with the study of Putri et al. (2020) who came

to a similar conclusion. However, it is worth noting that the most significant struggles that

students face are the technical problems represented by a weak internet connection and an

inefficient network, which cause sudden interruptions and disruptions in transmission. This is

also similar to the finding of Chung et al. (2020) and Agung et al. (2021) who reported that the

biggest challenge for students in online studying is internet connectivity .

These obstacles can cause psychological effects, such as anxiety. Some students

pointed out that missing classes due to technical issues contributed to an increase in their

anxiety, and this has been backed up by some studies on this issue. However, these contradict

Maican & Cocorada (2021) who stated that there is a negative association between anxiety and

foreign language enjoyment. In the current study, some of the responses to the survey included

phrases that reflected the depth of tension, such as "I feel that my future is lost". In fact, Chik

& Benson (2020) reported a similar finding when exploring college students’ perceptions of

their adoption, use, and acceptance of emergency online learning. They commented that online

learning had become ‘homeschooling’ and that various ministers believe that students have

‘lost’ education rather than being educated in a different manner .

It is also worth commenting on the student’s response "ask China" when inquired about

the disadvantages of online study. Although this response could evoke certain impressions, the

issue of ascribing the evolvement of the virus to China is controversial and was not proven by

official authorities such as the late investigation conducted by WHO. However, this response

gives the implication that the students have clues about current news and the course of

events. This conclusion also lends some support to the findings of some studies mentioned

earlier in this research such as the one conducted by Shariq and Alfauzan (2020) on the role of

social media during the crisis and to the study by Alfallaj and Al-Ma’amari (2020) on the

relationship between English competence and access to information.

Lastly, most of the studies conducted in 2020 and early 2021 have dealt with the

effectiveness of internet applications, smart devices, and social media and how they have

contributed to supporting e-learning during the crisis. However, this area was not the focus of

the current study, and therefore it is inappropriate for the results of this research to be compared

with previous studies in relation to this issue.

Conclusion

Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. Technical inventions have

also invaded the educational community, and they have become an additional form of

education in most universities and schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, during

114

the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became the only option to replace the traditional modes

of learning and to ensure the continuation of the educational process .

There is no doubt that this method of teaching and learning has allowed teachers and

students alike to experience a new type of education. How efficient is this educational method?

Can it replace traditional methods? What are the obstacles, positive aspects, and negatives

aspects associated with this educational style? The answers to these questions are the focus of

this study .

Perhaps one of the most prominent results of this study is that the traditional style of education

has proven to be the style preferred by students in spite of the many advantages of online

learning. This is because of the obstacles that accompany online learning. Technical issues and

the resulting missed lectures can increase levels of stress and anxiety among students. There

can also be eyesight problems resulting from excessive screen time. There can also be negative

socializing effects associated with homeschooling .

The study showed some positive sides of e-learning from the students’ point of view,

such as protection from the virus, convenience, comfort, elimination of transportation

associated with in-class learning, the ability to watch lectures anytime, anywhere, and the

ability to record lectures, allowing them to be listened to repeatedly at any time .

However, there were negative aspects to e-learning, including poor concentration, the

possibility of missing classes, and the inability to follow professors and communicate with

them efficiently online as compared to the traditional educational settings .

These were the most prominent obstacles, the positive and negatives aspects of e-learning from

the viewpoint of university students. The outcomes of this study could contribute to improving

the quality of distance learning and solving future e-learning problems. They could also be of

use to officials and educators involved in the development of quality education.

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learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study on the English students of STKIP

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class configuration: COVID-induced changes. Asian EFL Journal, 27(4.3), 336-355 .

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Covid-19 pandemic: A case study of language learning via Blackboard. Arab World

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coronavirus. Linguistics and Education, 62, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2020

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16(2), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.24191/ajue.v16i2.10294

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Appendix A

The Survey

Dear Student,

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020781

https://doi.org/10.29333/aquademia/8227

https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v13n9p1

https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3630073

https://doi.org/10.22219/jiz.v3i1.11862

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You are invited to take part in a survey on “Studying Online during the COVID-19

Crisis.” The main objective of the survey is to elicit your opinion of online studying and

understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with this mode of learning. You will

need only five minutes to complete the survey.

Please know that your participation is entirely voluntary. Your name is not required

and your identity will remain anonymous. In addition, the information provided is both

private and confidential and will be used only for the purpose of this research.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

The researcher,

Dr. Yasamiyan

Please answer these questions:

1. What is your gender?

2. What is your grade level?

3. What is your age?

Choose your response to the following:

1. I frequently experience technical problems when studying online.

I strongly disagree

I disagree

I neither agree nor disagree

I agree

I strongly agree

2. I have difficulties following up with my teachers when studying online.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

3. Studying online is enjoyable.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

4. I fully understand lectures when studying online.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

5. I prefer online learning over traditional, in-class learning.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

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I strongly agree

6. I enjoy the tools that educational platforms offer (e.g., Blackboard).

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

7. I deal easily with online educational platforms (e.g., Blackboard).

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

8. I enjoy the comfort that online studying offers.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

9. I eliminated transportation problems by studying online during the COVID-19

pandemic.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

10. The online learning environment is not interactive.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

11. Teaching techniques are limited in virtual classrooms.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

12. It is difficult to engage with my teachers when studying online.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

13. Studying online is stressful.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

119

I strongly agree

14. I skip classes more when online studying than in traditional, in-class study.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

15. Studying online has negatively affected my grades.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

16. Studying online is boring.

I strongly disagree

I disagree


I agree

I strongly agree

Please answer these questions:

1. In your opinion, what are the advantages of online learning?

2. In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of online learning?

120


Speaking Skills in Online Learning: An Investigation of the Strategies Used by EFL

Learners at the University of Bisha

Ghazwan Mohammed Saeed Mohammed

Department of English, College of Sciences and Arts (Alnamas), University of Bisha, Bisha,

Saudi Arabia

Bio-profile:

Dr. Ghazwan Mohammed Saeed Mohammed obtained his PhD in Linguistics from Aligarh

Muslim University, India. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the

Department of English, College of Sciences and Arts, Alnamas, University of Bisha, KSA, and

a permanent Faculty member of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Thamar

University, Yemen. His research interests include Applied Linguistics, Syntax, Grammar,

Error Analysis and Translation. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8853-9013.

Abstract

The current study endeavors to examine the strategies used by EFL learners at the University

of Bisha to enhance their speaking skills in online learning. The study uses the Strategy

Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) to collect data from 120 undergraduate EFL students

at the Departments of English at the University of Bisha, KSA. Thereafter collected data on

the strategies is analyzed by using SPSS (22.0), One-Way ANOVA, and Mann-Whitney U test.

The results indicate that: (1) the learners have a positive attitude towards the strategies used in

enhancing speaking skills during online learning (mean = 3.25). (2) There is no significant

difference between the male and female learners in their attitudes towards using strategies to

enhance their speaking skills (P. = .057). (3) There is an agreement on using strategies to

enhance speaking skills during online learning (M = 2.96). All the learners, both males and

females, use five types of learning strategies either individually or in combination, viz. in-class

strategies, study-based strategies, listening-based strategies, internet-based strategies, and

memory strategies, but memory strategy is used more than other strategies.

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Keywords: strategies, speaking skills, online learning, EFL learners, University of Bisha

Introduction

Since the 1970s, learning strategies (LSs) have played a major role in learning a foreign

language. They also have attracted the concern of many researchers and syllabus makers, who

are regularly moving their attention from teachers to learners. Moreover, extensive works have

been done to move language teaching to language learning domain. According to Corder

(1981), the viewpoint of cognitive learning had an essential role in this, which ascribes

language learning as an original and dynamic process, and learners as active strategy users and

constructors of knowledge. Oxford (1990) explains Language Learning Strategies (LLS) as

“specific action taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-

directed, and more effective and more transferable to new situations”. She further adds that

strategies play a considerable part in learning language learning and they are responsible for

the progress and development of learners’ language skills. Besides, Mechyan and Hernandez

(2002) stated that for the procedure of language learning to be effective in the case of a foreign

or second language, learners should be more acquainted with the use of language learning

strategies. O’Malley and Chamot (1990) stated that strategies are active tools and self-focused

engagement that are essential for the improvement of second or foreign language speaking

ability. Meanwhile, this study tries to examine the strategies used in enhancing speaking skills

in online learning by EFL learners at the University of Bisha.

Literature Review

A great deal of literature has been generated on the challenges and problems faced by EFL

learners (Gass&Selinker, 2008; Dulay& Burt, 1974; Abu Ghararah, 1990; Mudhsh and Laskar,

2021). Learning strategies are developmental processes that most learners can positively

practice at various levels of learning when these strategies come close to the systematical way

(Caswell & Mahler, 2004). The early studies on language learning strategies emphasized

strategies, behaviors and features of “the good language learner” which many studies attempted

to explain under taxonomies of language learning strategies. In addition, by carrying on many

types of research, scholars have displayed that there is a relation between the choosing and

using of learning strategies and other variables such as learning environment, educational

background and contexts(Mellat&Lavasani, 2011). A study by Chien(2010) has efficiently

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stated that learners of EFL are more likely to enhance their abilities, self-confidence, interests

and attitude towards learning English by taking into consideration significant learning

strategies. Furthermore, the study displays a vital relation between learning strategies and

language skills. In addition, there has been a connection to the number and choices of learning

strategies that are applied to how the learners utilize these strategies in the process of language

learning. Moreover, there are a good number of studies that suggest that learning strategies are

aimed at assisting learnersto increase their accomplishment in language skills (Bremner, 1998;

O’Malley, et al., 1985; Politzer, 1983).

Speaking Skill

Speaking is a very important language ability that EFL/ESL students especially target when

they enroll for a foreign language course. The importance of speaking ability depends on two

parts: 1) character (knowledge, self-perception), and capability (receiving-treating,

communicating ideas) of the language learner; 2) speaker’s participation that is “the

association of student-speaker in limited situation”. Speaking is typically documented as a

capability to share opinions, thoughts, and intentions with other speakers. Hence, speaking

denotes an interactive process between speaker and hearer which includes receiving and

processing the material and producing a definite suitable response to the facts, whether

interactional or transactional. Therefore, speaking plays a vital role in communication. Earlier

ESL/ EFL pedagogies emphasized skills other than speaking as it was seen as one of the more

challenging skills to teach. The less students practice their oral skills, the less students

comprehend an oral skill (Leong & Ahmadi, 2017). Also, it has been widely noticed that EFL

students come to face many difficulties while speaking English in addition to a lack of

confidence in their ability.

Moreover, according to Zhang (2009) such problems that cause speaking troubles to EFL

students are self-consciousness, anxiety, low inspiration, lack of motivation, poor participation,

lack of engagement, poor speaking exposure, and meddling from the first language as the

learner will get an unhealthy transfer from their first language owing to the employment of

direct translation or overgeneralization. Moreover, this condition will improve students’

grammatical errors since students will translate the sentence just about (Flora, et al, 2020).

Online Learning

Online learning environments have recently gained importance for many reasons: an ever-

increasing number of students desirous of attaining higher education given geopolitical changes

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in the world, greater availability of technology to almost everyone who owns a tech-driven

device, the massive expansion of the internet, and the transformation of the world into a

knowledge-based global village. Further, online learning needs minimal investment on the part

of the learners as well as institutions and is accessible to learners anytime, anywhere. For the

same reasons, it is also favored by the teaching community. However, more than any other

factor, the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 gave the biggest impetus to this shift from physical

learning spaces to the virtual world. Hence, the attention of many researchers to work towards

optimizing and enhancing this kind of learning as it is gradually substituting the face-to-face

kind of teaching(Chen,2017; Zhang, 2019; Jamiai, 2021; Al-Ahdal, et al., 2021; Al-Ahdal, &

Alharbi, 2021). Amer (2018) mentioned that online learning is one of the most prominent

modern trends in education, which has gained increasing importance as it relies on the help of

the teacher represented in overcoming the obstacles in front of the learner. Also, it is not seen

as merely supplemental or compensatory for many aspects of formal education. It is also

considered one of the most prominent manifestations of educational development and renewal.

The optimum use of means of communication is implemented to convey information that has

developed similarly as a result of technological development and social media platforms, all of

which have ensured diversity in learner base as well as the methods of teaching. In other words,

we live in the 21st century, which is known for the technological wave that directly impacts

human life. Humanity today is totally driven by technology and its manifestations to perform

almost all activities related to lifestyle, social interaction, knowledge, etc. through electronic

gadgets like laptops, mobiles, tablets, etc. Therefore, such frequent interaction of humans with

technology can best benefit the community if used in educational settings.

Significance of the Study

Although there exists a large corpus of research on speaking skills for foreign language

learners, and many of these studies have been conducted in KSA, the uniqueness of the current

study lies in its setting at the University of Bisha’s online learning programs in EFL. The

University of Bisha was established recently in the year 2014 as a co-educational, non-profit

higher education institution and online education was a new entrant to education at Bisha. This

prompted the current research with the UOB learners, especially in focus with the hope that an

inquiry into the strategies used by learners to enhance their English speaking skills in online

education can provide a road map to not only the University of Bisha but also other Saudi

universities.

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Objectives of the Study

This study intends to examine the following objectives:

1. To examine the strategies used in enhancing speaking skills in online learning by the

EFL learners at the University of Bisha.

2. To examine the EFL learners' attitudes towards strategies used in enhancing speaking

skills during online learning at the University of Bisha.

3. To find the difference between the male and female learners in using strategies that

enhance speaking skills in online learning at the University of Bisha.

Methodology

Participants of this study are 120 undergraduate EFL students with an equal number of males

and females, all native speakers of Arabic, at the Department of English at the University of

Bisha. This was a convenience sample chosen for two reasons: Enrolment at UOB is moderate,

and given the pandemic imposed closures, the researcher could only contact two classes of EFL

whose contacts were relatively easier to obtain. A questionnaire was prepared following

informal interviews with learners at UOB in the early part of 2019 when physical teaching-

learning was in vogue. The questionnaire was reviewed by two experts in questionnaire

designing and statistical analysis. Their feedback led to some changes in the questionnaire,

both in terms of dropping certain items and rewording some others. This was followed by pilot

administration of the questionnaire via google forms application to twelve learners at par with

the convenience sample. This step ensured the reliability of the questionnaire items. The final

version of the distributed questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section intended to

elicit demographic information (profile) of the respondents. The second section was further

divided into two subsections: 1) 5-point Likert Scale items (statements), scaled from 'strongly

agree' to 'strongly disagree', that were intended to elicit information from the respondents about

their attitudes towards strategies used to enhance speaking skills during online learning; and 2)

5-point scale items, scaled from 'always' to 'never' that were intended to elicit information about

the respondents' use of strategies that enhanced speaking skills during online learning.

The questionnaire was distributed among the undergraduate learners of the Department of

English at the University of Bisha as a Google form in October 2020. As reported earlier, the

sample size was one hundred twenty respondents from the fourth year course of English with

the median age of the group being 22.7 years. The respondents were requested to revert with

the filled-in forms in a week and they were free to seek the researcher’s help if they needed an

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explanation on any of the items. However, only three respondents came back with minor

inquiries pertaining to the meanings of a few items in the questionnaire. The data were

subjected to SPSS (Version 22.0) for analysis. The tools that were used in the analysis were

descriptive statistics, One-Way ANOVA and the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results and Discussion

For achieving the research questions of this study, the researcher dealt with the statistical

analysis of One-Way ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U test.

It was found, as shown in Table (1), that the learners tended to have a positive attitude towards

the strategies used in learning speaking skills during online learning (mean = 3.25). This means

that they were positively disposed to use strategies to enhance their speaking skills. As shown

in Table (2), there is no significant difference between the male and female learners in their

attitudes towards using strategies to enhance their speaking skills (P. = .057). This is a

significant finding in the socio-economic context of Saudi Arabia, where women are late

entrants to many fields, including education and economic participation.

Table 1: The learners' attitudes towards strategies used in learning speaking skills during online

learning

Gender Attitudes

Female Mean 3.3019

N 60

Std. Deviation .26837

Male Mean 3.2056

N 60


Total Mean 3.2537

N 120


Table 2: Difference between male and female learners' attitudes towards using strategies to

enhance speaking skills during online learning

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

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Attitudes Between Groups .278 1 .278 3.694 .057

Within Groups 8.887 118 .075

Total 9.165 119

In general, strategies used to enhance speaking skills during online learning were investigated,

and it was found, as shown in Table 3, that the learners used varied strategies to enhance

speaking skills during the online learning experience. It is apparent from the data that there is

an agreement on using strategies to enhance speaking skills during online learning (M = 2.96).

Table (4) shows there is a significant difference between the male and female learners in using

strategies with respect to peers to enhance speaking skills during online learning (P = .003).

Table (3): Descriptive statistics of the learners' strategies used to enhance speaking skills during

online learning.

Gender Strategies

Female Mean 2.9108

N 60


Male Mean 3.0088

N 60


Total Mean 2.9598

N 120


Table (4): Difference between male and female learners in using strategies to enhance speaking

skills during online learning

Sum of

Squares

df Mean Square F Sig.

Strategies Between Groups .288 1 .288 9.000 .003

Within Groups 3.781 118 .032

Total 4.069 119

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Using Mann-Whitney U test, it was found, as shown in Table (5), that the male learners used

learning strategies directed at enhancement of speaking skills more frequently than female

learners.

Table (5): Ranks of strategies used by learners to enhance speaking skills during online learning

Gender N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

Strategies Female 60 51.01 3060.50

Male 60 69.99 4199.50

Total 120

To go deeper, each type of strategies was examined separately. It was found that the learners,

both males and females, used the following types of strategies: in-class strategies, study-based

strategies and listening-based strategies, internet-based strategies, and memory strategies, but

it was found that memory strategies were used more frequently than other strategies. As shown

in Table (5), the learners agreed that they used the in-class strategies, such as participating in

the speaking activities and interacting with their teachers and classmates, that enhance speaking

skills (M = 2.99). The study-based strategies, such as writing notes, preparing lesson outlines,

and using extra-textual supporting materials, were also used to enhance speaking skills during

online learning (M = 2.83). As the learners believed in using listening-based strategies to

enhance their speaking skills, they used listening strategies, such as listening to movies, audios,

news, speeches, listening to their voices after recording, listening to the recordings of virtual

classes, and listening to native speakers using multimodal options (M = 2.78). The strategies

that depend on the internet, such as websites, mobile applications, social media, and sites that

teach speaking were also used by the learners (M = 2.78). The memory strategies that enhance

speaking skills during online learning were used intensively by the learners (M = 3.98).

Table (6): Statistics of strategies used to enhance speaking skills during online learning

Gender In-Class

Strategies

Study-

Based

Strategies

Listening-

Based

Strategies

Internet-

Based

Strategies

Memory

Strategies

Female Mean 2.9917 2.7250 2.7267 2.7611 3.5611

N 60 60 60 60 60

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Std.

Deviation

.54843 .48429 .40999 .47177 .38567

Male Mean 2.9833 2.9333 2.8267 2.7000 3.7389

N 60 60 60 60 60

Std.

Deviation

.62414 .36204 .31989 .52328 .39817

Total Mean 2.9875 2.8292 2.7767 2.7306 3.6500

N 120 120 120 120 120

Std.

Deviation

.58505 .43842 .36959 .49704 .40040

To find the differences between the male and female learners in the types of strategies used,

ANOVA was calculated. It was found, as shown in Table (7), that there is no significant

difference between the male and female learners in using in-class strategies, listening-based

strategies and internet-based strategies as (P = .938), (P = .139) and (P = .503) respectively. A

significant difference, however, existed between the male and female learners in using study-

based strategies and memory strategies as (P = .009) and (P = .014), respectively.

Table (7): Difference between male and female learners in types of strategies used to enhance

speaking skills during online learning

Sum of

Squares

df Mean

Square

F Sig.

In-Class Strategies Between

Groups

.002 1 .002 .006 .938

Within

Groups

40.729 118 .345

Total 40.731 119

Study-Based

Strategies

Between

Groups

1.302 1 1.302 7.123 .009

Within

Groups

21.571 118 .183

129

Total 22.873 119

Listening-Based

Strategies

Between

Groups

.300 1 .300 2.219 .139

Within

Groups

15.955 118 .135

Total 16.255 119

Internet-Based

Strategies

Between

Groups

.112 1 .112 .451 .503

Within

Groups

29.287 118 .248

Total 29.399 119

Memory Strategies Between

Groups

.948 1 .948 6.171 .014

Within

Groups

18.130 118 .154

Total 19.078 119

As a significant difference was found, Mann-Whitney U test was used. As shown in Table (8),

it was found that the male learners used study-based strategies and memory strategies more

frequently than their female counterparts.

Table (8): Ranks of study-based strategies and memory strategies used by learners to enhance

speaking skills during online learning

Gender N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

Study-Based Strategies Female 60 51.69 3101.50

Male 60 69.31 4158.50

Total 120

Memory Strategies Female 60 52.63 3158.00

Male 60 68.37 4102.00

Total 120

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Conclusions

The tradition of learning a foreign language through communication alone has a long history.

Howatt (1984) points out that even earlier than the Roman times, foreign languages were

learned through communication alone. In recent times, Krashen and Terrell (1983) provided a

varied theoretical basis for foreign language learning outside the classroom by arguing in favor

of the ‘natural approach’ which is based on the techniques that stimulate communication. The

other end of the spectrum was offered by Prabhu’s ‘procedural approach’ (1987) whose focus

is on engaging learners with problem-solving by actual language use. In both the approaches,

controlled practice or correction are kept at bay and learners are left to ‘acquire’ as it were, the

foreign language much. Like they acquired the mother tongue. The online classroom is a

special kind of place that cannot make natural learning conditions available to the learners, less

so in the case of learning a foreign language such as English. Since we understand that natural

language learning is a time taking phenomenon, it is important to provide such learning

conditions to the learners as are most suitable for the online classroom. Specific skill sets can

also be developed even in online education programs that can fulfil learners’ needs.

Observations beyond the classroom indicate that language learning is fundamentally different

from other classroom learning experiences and if teachers can enable learning strategy use

amongst the learners, suitable learning opportunities can be created for the learners. Although

both the approaches were proven to be successful in language learning environments, yet they

failed to prove their universality. Therefore the need was felt for harnessing people’s skill-

learning capacities or providing such essential tools to the learners as to make them acquire

language on their own. LLS or Language Learning Strategies approach has played a

considerable role in second and foreign language learning as it assists learners by making the

process of learning faster, easier, more amusing, more transferable to new conditions, more

effective and more self-directed. Hence, one way to be effective in the learning of the target

language is that learners have to be conscious of using positive strategies of language learning.

As the statistical analysis reveals that the learners showed a positive attitude towards the

strategies used in learning speaking skills during online learning (mean = 3.25). Moreover,

there is no significant difference between the male and female learners in their attitudes towards

using strategies to enhance their speaking skills (P. = .057). On the other side, there is an

agreement on using strategies to enhance speaking skills during online learning (M = 2.96).

There is a significant difference between the male and female learners in using strategies to

enhance speaking skills during online learning (P = .003). Finally, the learners, both the males

131

and females, use the types of strategies, in-class strategies, study-based strategies, listening-

based strategies, internet-based strategies and memory strategies, but it was found that memory

strategies are used more than other strategies.

132

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The Effect of Utilizing CAT Technology on English Majors' Translation and Motivation

Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kassem1, 2

1 Department of English, College of Science & Humanities in Al-Kharj,

Prince Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia.

2 Department of Curriculum & Teaching Methodology,

Faculty of Education, New Valley University, Egypt

Bio-profile:

Dr. Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kassem is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics &

TEFL, College of Education, New Valley University, Egypt. He earned his PhD in TEFL in

2011. He is highly interested in several areas of research: improving EFL learners' language

skills, using technology to create a supporting learning environment, and using alternative

assessment techniques.

Abstract

The present study seeks to improve the quality of students' translation by means of

satisfying the demands of modern translation industry in the 21st century. Arguably, this is

feasible on the premise that the utilization of CAT technology in translation classes may lead

to a significant improvement in the students' translation and motivation. With this aim, the

study attempts to design a course, based on CAT technology, to introduce English majors to

the concepts, foundations, processes, and effective application of such recent technology. The

study adopts a quasi-experimental design with a sample of 60 students from the Department of

English at Prince Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz University. Participants are chosen randomly and

assigned to two equivalent groups before being subjected to a translation test evaluated via a

validated rubric and motivation scale. The duration of the experiment is 15 weeks. Results

indicate significant positive effects of using CAT on students' translation and motivation.

Based on the results, a number of recommendations and suggestions for further studies have

been formulated.

136

Keywords: CAT technology, translation, motivation, English majors

Introduction

The recent advances in the field of Information Technology (IT) and its greater

integration into the education process in addition to a growing demand for competent

translators with the ability to translate quickly and accurately a huge amount of data in varied

disciplines have fostered the tendency to integrate technology in translation instruction.

Arguably, using technology in the field of translation started with the assumption that the

machine can replace man. However, translation automation has received much criticism, and,

consequently, there has been a growing agreement to utilize technology to aid translators

(Taravella & Villeneuve, 2013). This led to the emergence of Computer-Aided Translation

(CAT) as a sub-field of computational linguistics. In this regard, CAT denotes the use of

computer software/tools such as Translation Memory (TM), online dictionaries, terminology

management, and corpora to facilitate the translation process (Bowker, 2002). Recent research

has supported the use of CAT referring to the positive effects of such tools on productivity and

punctuality (Pym, 2013 & Chunzhi, 2014). Similarly, the value of using CAT in translation

classes was highlighted by Zhang (2010) who indicated that the students' successful

implementation of such technology enabled them to overcome the obstacles faced in translation

and to produce quality translated materials. Nowadays, CAT has increasingly become an

integral component of translation courses and translator training programs, at both

undergraduate and postgraduate levels, across universities and private language institutes

(Olohan, 2011).

Unfortunately, the current translation instruction practices disregard the significance of

integrating CAT technology into translation curricula in a large number of universities in the

Arab world. In rare cases, some courses on using technology in translation are offered as

electives. Moreover, the content of such courses mainly focuses on theoretical issues in

machine translation with no real chance for using online translation programs and software,

making them inadequate and ineffective in developing competent translators (Al-Jarf, 2017;

Al-Ahdal, 2020). Generally speaking, there is a real lack of a comprehensive pre-service

training course based on CAT technology to equip English majors with the necessary skills

required in such a field. This may be due to the unsatisfactory results of using machine

translation systems which failed to present fully automated high-quality translation and, hence,

the commonly-held belief that there is no place for machines in translation. Moreover, there is

no consensus on the software that should be included in such courses. Further, the inability to

137

purchase translation software because of the limited financial resources available represents

another challenge for English language departments. In the light of the preceding

circumstances, there is an urgent need to update the current translation curriculum, via

integrating CAT technology, to prepare competent translators who can then optimize the use

of recent trends in the field of translation technology.

CAT applications can aid students in the production of a draft which then requires

human effort to fix grammar, to choose the right lexis, and to ascertain the success of translating

the intended meaning. This process reflects the translator's intervention and is referred to as

post-editing. The draft has a dual function: to help students in translating the texts into a foreign

language and to comprehend the source text if they are translating a text into their own native

language. Students' contribution to the draft depends on their knowledge and proficiency level

of the language pair (that is the source language and the target language). According to Kliffer

(2005), most of the students prefer to use post-editing rather than translating from scratch. In

addition, it was found that post-editing significantly improved the CAT output. Similarly, post-

editing helped the students in reducing the errors compared to the traditional way of translation

(Nino, 2008). Such findings have prompted instructors to integrate CAT programs in

translation classes to boost the quality of translation.

Another significant aspect of the current study is perhaps also the most neglected aspect

of CAT studies: students’ motivation. Unfortunately, most CAT studies have ignored the fact

that translators are human beings who are highly affected by psychological factors. Hence,

motivation is a crucial aspect that should be taken into consideration to guarantee successful

cooperation and interaction between translators and software (Naderi et al. 2021). In a nutshell,

the present study claims that there is a positive correlation between motivation and students'

performance in translation. In other words, demotivated students are more likely to avoid the

use of CAT programs and to achieve less in translation.

The relationship between using CAT programs and students' motivation seems to need

more empirical studies. According to Merkel (1996), some students were demotivated and

reluctant to use CAT programs claiming that such technology will harm the creative aspects of

translation and the translation process will be boring. Similarly, Bédard (2000) expressed a

deep concern regarding students' possible loss of motivation as they focus more on translating

sentences using CAT programs rather than translating a text.

The significance of the present study stems from the fact that it seeks to improve

English majors' translation skills via the integration of up-to-date computer-assisted translation

technology which is expected to help them to meet the demands of a labor market that

138

emphasizes speed and accuracy in limited time. Moreover, it attempts to find out practical

solutions to some real translation problems that students who are majoring in translation

encounter. Eventually, improving students' motivation and preparing a promising young

generation of translators who are technologically well-oriented to interact successfully with

other cultures and ideologies goes to the credit of the current study.

Problem of the Study

The third millennium has witnessed a great explosion of information and radical

developments in all aspects of economy, culture and science with the world fast taking on the

shape of a global village. Consequently, the need for translation has been emphasized and the

preparation of qualified translators has become a main concern of universities and language

education institutes. However, the current status quo of translation classes, where the main

focus is on teaching students varied translation theories and techniques, does not meet the

demands of the translation market. It is rather unfortunate that the traditional translation classes

neglect the current commercial mode of translation industry that emphasizes the need to

translate a large quantity in a limited time. Gaspari et al. (2015) argue that CAT technology has

not yet got activated in translation classes as students do not possess the requisite technological

competence to use such technology professionally in their translation endeavor. Previous

studies highlight the demand to update the current translation curricula to match the

professional market demands (Kaminskienė, & Kavaliauskienė, 2012; Frérot, 2013). In this

regard, CAT technology seems to be a promising alternative to the current prevailing

translation teaching practices. In addition, the traditional translation classes have also

consistently failed to motivate students (Al-Jarf, 2008) with most students not willing to attend

translation classes. A large number of the students, as shown in informal interviews, consider

translation a tough task that goes beyond their capabilities. Thus, there is a real need to change

the current practices in translation classes via the application of CAT technology accompanied

with adequate training on using such software.

Objectives of the Study

The present study aims at:

1. Investigating the effect of integrating computer-assisted translation technology on

improving the English majors' translation.

2. Investigating the effect of integrating computer-assisted translation technology on

developing English majors' motivation.

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Hypotheses of the Study

The study was based on the following hypotheses:

1. There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the

experimental group and the control group in the post-test of translation in favor of the

experimental group.

2.There would be statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the

experimental group and the control group in the post-application of students' motivation

questionnaire in favor of the experimental group.

1. Review of Literature

1.1. The Radical Shift from Machine Translation to CAT

In the last two decades, a reasonable number of researchers have studied the

development of CAT technology in response to Machine Translation (MT). The advocates of

MT, also known as Automated Translation, claimed that computer programs could provide a

reliable translation from one language to another without any human intervention. They

believed that machine translation could meet the challenging demands of translation industry

in the age of globalization and, eventually, replace humans. Such a claim has been proved to

be invalid and several studies have criticized the quality, readability and adequacy of machine

translation (Zhang & Zhang, 2013). This paved the way for CAT which emphasized the

significant role of the translator as well as the advantages of utilizing computer

programs/software to ensure productivity.

Using CAT technology converts computer into a workstation where the translator is

provided with varied adaptable tools and programs such as a huge termbase, online

monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, parallel texts, terminology databases, and translated

texts in the source and target language. Utilizing the aforementioned tools and software

changes the translation process to be an interactive one between translator and computer. This

results in an enormous saving of the translator's time and an incredible increase in his/her

productivity. In addition, CAT programs enable translators to personalize their work

environment in a way that corresponds to the needs of specific tasks. Eventually, the translator's

role is not limited to the manual editing stage as s/he is involved in all aspects of such complex

processes (Kazemzadeh, 2014).

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2060438723_Zhang_Erwen?_sg%5B0%5D=XPM2gSWYjaBVTvpdIZ1DriH6Pda1VoxAU9A4nUnf-Texzz47dy0yruDhSZclV1hiJMS_SFc.LWCa7uiDmxcf3InDDuTrP_8VrrM5lh1nSvizp5KrpFnsbTXN0PwNr0Ku3skk5_9nfQ_tT8lX7ml9jHMBk3xg5A&_sg%5B1%5D=vZ4FkTuS7GQ15NkQ_frbGVD0etQY4sqWexKE2d5pZQEszJIWccCkY_BN2E_LDR4Mat9-dbLoaXo0D1wY.O8NLLpZySEu9lY-dm3wjXxp9pr6ahUpk-WtOlH-mr3ZoqMny1EwOiy6KLoUylhjjpd5AglhMEq5o8XkBTa5fQg

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2060414094_Zhang_Wenming?_sg%5B0%5D=XPM2gSWYjaBVTvpdIZ1DriH6Pda1VoxAU9A4nUnf-Texzz47dy0yruDhSZclV1hiJMS_SFc.LWCa7uiDmxcf3InDDuTrP_8VrrM5lh1nSvizp5KrpFnsbTXN0PwNr0Ku3skk5_9nfQ_tT8lX7ml9jHMBk3xg5A&_sg%5B1%5D=vZ4FkTuS7GQ15NkQ_frbGVD0etQY4sqWexKE2d5pZQEszJIWccCkY_BN2E_LDR4Mat9-dbLoaXo0D1wY.O8NLLpZySEu9lY-dm3wjXxp9pr6ahUpk-WtOlH-mr3ZoqMny1EwOiy6KLoUylhjjpd5AglhMEq5o8XkBTa5fQg

140

1.2. The emergence of TM and the popularity of CAT technology

TM, as Palacz (2003) argues, is a salient feature of CAT technology as it provides

translators with a linguistic database that includes previously translated texts ready for reuse.

TM saves translated texts in a huge central memory in a form of short segments that could be

easily retrieved when new similar texts are processed. In other words, TM will automatically

search the stored translated texts to find out the same or similar translation. This saves the

translator's time as s/he would pay attention to the new content instead of wasting time

translating the same content twice. Translators are given the chance to accept or reject the

suggested dynamically equivalent translation. Hence, TM is different from machine

translation, which offers no options for translators. TM has been found to be effective in

improving the translator’s efficiency and maintaining consistency, especially in rendering

terminology.

Translation of specific terms has received much attention in CAT programs, especially

if the target texts are technically oriented. This has created the urgent need to develop a

terminology database. The difference between terminology database and TM amounts to the

level of storing and retrieving segments. The former deals with segments at term, phrase, or

separate words level, whereas the latter deals with the sentence level (Cem Odacıoglu &

Kokturk, 2015). Recently, more sophisticated improvements were added to enable terminology

databases to display more information about the translated terms such as, definition,

etymology, part of speech, usage, and subject field. Moreover, recent versions of CAT

programs are equipped with the potentialities to store and retrieve terms using various types of

files such as, multimedia, graphics, and sound files (Fernández-Parra, 2016).

Translation Consultation, known as automated dictionary, is another popular CAT

mechanism that could provide translators with instant access to the equivalent meaning of

words during the translation process. There are two types of automated dictionaries: The first

is built-in-dictionaries that are expanded and general; the second type, known as user-created

glossaries, is used for storing the specific terms.

1.3.The rationale behind adopting CAT in translation classes

It is worthy to mention that there are some reasons that have urged researchers to adopt

the application of CAT technology in translation classes. First, training students majoring in

translation, in how to use CAT software will enable them to produce quality and accurate

translation in limited time. Arguably, using CAT technology will foster students’ ability to

satisfy the future demands of the translation market. According to Jiménez-Crespo (2014),

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"professional translation cannot be independent of the technological tools that support it.”

Second, mastering the skills of translation with the assistance of CAT software has become a

prerequisite for being hired as a translator. Going by the recent trends, translators need to

display mastery in using translation programs. Consequently, equipping students with adequate

information and practice in the field of CAT has become a demanding outcome that universities

should seriously consider (Kaminskienė & Kavaliauskienė, 2012). In addition, the growing

willingness to change the current teaching practices from teacher-centered translation classes

to student-centered ones, wherein students make use of recent technology to support their

autonomy and to explore the unlimited online resources. Eventually, CAT technology seems

to possess the potential to motivate students and activate the interactions in translation classes.

1.4. Integrating CAT technology in EFL programs

The last two decades have witnessed a significant increase in the number of institutions

that offer computer-aided translation training to EFL students. In 2002, the Translation

Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong launched the first worldwide Master of

Arts Program in Computer-aided Translation (Chung, 2009; Mannahali, & Rijal, 2020; Abdi,

(2021). The program aims at introducing the students to the recent CAT programs, providing

training opportunities to enhance the students' use of translation technology, and developing

the students' ability to design specialized translation software that will enable them to meet the

future demands of translation industry (Quynh Na., 2017). The program offers three tracks:

Translation Practice, Computer-aided Translation and Computer Science. In addition, the

program presents several courses such as Introduction to CAT, Translation Theory and

Methodology, Editing Skills for Computer Translation and Computer-aided Translation

Project. Along with the previous courses, the Chinese University successfully provides the

students with translation programs and software such as the CAT Search System, the Digital

Library of CAT, the Manual Archive of CAT Systems, the Remote-access System, the Video

Archive for the Operation of CAT Systems, the Translation Software Library,, and the

Translation Project Archive.

According to Xiaoheng (2009), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University took the

initiative and added a new course called “Computer Assisted Translation” to the study plan of

the MA program in translation. This course sought to equip the students with all basic

knowledge related to the field of CAT. The course was not limited to the English language as

students were given sufficient opportunities to develop their skills in using CAT technology in

other languages too. The course included several activities such as attending laboratory training

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sessions that encouraged the students to utilize the digital translation programs effectively and

to improve the outcome by thoughtful editing of source and target texts. Students' performance

was assessed via three translation assignments. Specifically, students were divided into

homogeneous groups and were requested to find a real problem that encounters them in

translation and to use CAT tools and software to overcome such a problem. In addition,

students were requested to prepare a comprehensive project report.

Jaatinen and Jääskeläinen (2006) reported that the Savonlinna School of Translation

Studies in Finland conducted a project that lasted for four years, from 2000 to 2004, to create

a specialized three-year CAT based program that aims at updating and creating new content

and practices for translation program. The suggested program included fifteen new courses

related to the field of CAT technology. The results indicated the students' and teachers' full

awareness of the significance and effectiveness of using CAT technology. However, several

factors negatively affected the students' achievement and the progress of the project such as

students' negative attitude, organization and scheduling, unavailability of experts and the

transfer mode of knowledge.

With the aim to boost the use of CAT applications, the School of Translation and

Interpretation at the University of Ottawa carried out a project that sought to create a Collection

of Electronic Resources in Translation Technologies (CERTT) to urge instructors and students

to use more than twenty-five translation applications and software (Bowker, 2009). The

collection included tutorials, exercises, corpora, sample files and other online resources.

Similarly, The Beihang University in China offered a course on CAT that was a mix between

theory and practice which covered different aspects such as, the history of machine translation,

foundations and development of CAT, corpus, term bases and terminology. In this regard,

Duoxiu (2009) investigated the effectiveness of this course over a period of five years.

In 2009, Mei indicated the significance of the Yaxin CAT Teaching System. He referred

to five features that made this multifunctional system unique and promising. First, the system

enables the students to check the study material, complete assignments and answer tests. It has

an assignment marking tool, a resource searching tool, and a tool for statistical analysis of

resources. Second, it helps teachers to develop translation teaching materials, prepare lectures,

monitor students' progress, and develop translation resources. Third, it offers the chance to

create specialized corpora and concordances. Fourth, it provides translation training

opportunities supported by a database of terms, sentences and other translation units. Finally,

it creates an interactive online environment that guarantees the smooth interaction between

teachers and students.

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1.5. Previous Studies

The emergence of CAT technology, in the last two decades, has directed the attention

of many researchers to the value of integrating such a promising technology in traditional

translation classes. According to Shih (2005), using CAT technology properly is an inevitable

ability that students majoring in translation should possess to meet the requirements of the

modern market of translation. Doherty (2016) conducted a study to investigate the impact of

translation technologies on the process and product of translation. This study investigated the

effects of using both CAT applications and MT. Doherty maintains that the aforementioned

innovative technologies have positive effects on increasing translators' productivity, improving

the quality of translated texts, facilitating communication among translators, and overcoming

the everlasting problem of language barriers. However, such technologies also represent

serious challenges and doubts for the translation industry. He proposed two conditions to

overcome these expected challenges: raising the awareness of such technological competencies

and, utilizing CAT technologies properly.

Zhou & Gao (2016) conducted a study to explore the potentialities and challenges of

using CAT in teaching translation in China. They called for the integration of CAT technology

in translation classes to meet the social demands and to improve the personal competitive

power. They referred to the high prices of CAT tools as a major challenge to use of such

technology. Similarly, Karpińska (2017) conducted a study to explore the usefulness and

applicability of CAT applications. She suggested three criteria to assess the quality of translated

texts: standardization, predictability and terminology. In addition, she listed some useful

features that make CAT programs more attractive and competitive on the market: sending a

warning message to the translator once the translation program finds a discrepancy between

the saved translated texts in TM and the current text; identifying the difficult parts of a text that

may represent a potential challenge in translation; adhering to the correct punctuation that

results in improving the readability of translated texts; controlling the compatibility of numbers

between the two texts; enabling translators to access varied file formats; improving the quality

of translated texts via the use of inbuilt grammar and spell-checkers, and supporting audio-

visual translation or interpretation.

On the contrary, Pym (2011) referred to some of the limitations associated with CAT

programs. Firstly, these programs are successful in translating only the texts that are highly

standardized, such as user's manuals and patents, because of their terminological and

predictable nature. Accordingly, using CAT programs in translating other types of texts is

invalid and might even impede the overall translation process. Secondly, CAT programs may

144

have negative effects on the translator's productivity, naturalness and fluency as s/he may be

overwhelmed by reading long lists of synonyms, exploring various suggested translations and

relying on the machine options. Furthermore, the automatic division of texts into sentences,

without considering the optimal unit of translation, is another problematic feature. In this

regard, it is claimed that a text may be cognitively divided by a translator into units that could

be either smaller or larger than a sentence level. Eventually, translating separate segments and

ignoring the social and cultural context could result in the decontextualization of the translated

text.

Çetiner (2018) carried out a descriptive study to explore translation students’ attitudes

towards translation technologies. The study conducted a questionnaire before and after the

experiment. The results indicated that the participants displayed a positive attitude towards

the use of CAT technologies after spending several weeks learning about the significance of

CAT tools. He recommended devoting more classes for introducing students to the recent

translation technologies. Similarly, Mohammed et al. (2020) investigated the attitudes of

Yemeni translation students and professional translators towards the use of CAT applications.

A questionnaire consisting of 27 items was designed and sent to 250 participants via

WhatsApp. In addition, the researchers conducted online interviews. The results indicated the

samples' positive attitude towards the use of CAT in translation.

Omar et al. (2020) conducted a study to explore the possibility and the challenges of

integrating CAT technology in translation instruction in the Saudi context. Consequently,

thirty-seven translation instructors from a number of Saudi Universities were interviewed.

Results indicated the need to integrate such recent technology to meet the demands of the labor

market. In addition, the study claimed that the failure to integrate CAT technology is due to the

mismatch between the labor market needs and the current learning outcomes of translation

programs.

Abdi (2020) carried out a study to explore the use of CAT applications by Iranian

freelance translators. The study was based on the model of Fulford and Granell-Zafra (2005)

which utilizes both information and communications technology (ICT) and CAT tools to

enable translators to carry out various tasks relevant to their work. To achieve the purpose of

the study, a questionnaire was administered to cover three areas: document production,

business management, and translation creative activities. According to the obtained results,

most participants reported the effectiveness of CAT applications in improving the quality of

translated texts. In addition, participants showed more interest in using general-purpose

software such as, word processing programs than special-purpose software such as database

145

software. Similarly, investigating the usability of CAT tools among Arab translators was the

main objective of Alotaibi's study in 2020. In her study, the translation system was evaluated

according to a number of extinct features such as efficiency, affect, usefulness, control, and

learnability attributes. She urged CAT application developers to improve the aforementioned

features in the light of the needs of Arabic language users.

In sum, previous research has indicated that the studies dealing with CAT technology

covered several aspects such as acceptance, usability, and attitudes. However, few studies

aimed at designing a course based on CAT technologies to be presented to Arab translation

students. Moreover, the studies addressing the relationship between CAT technology and

motivation are limited. Thus, the current study sought to bridge the gap by designing a practical

course based on CAT applications and investigating its effect on students' translation and

motivation.

2. Research methodology

2.1. Design and sample

A quasi-experimental design was adopted in the current study. Sixty English majors

from level five, Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University, were randomly chosen and divided

into two equivalent groups. The first one, the control group, studied a translation course,

Advanced Translation, according to the traditional method whereas the second one, the

experimental group, studied the suggested course with the help of CAT software.

2.2. Instruments of the study

2.2.1. Translation test

To assess the effect of using CAT technology on students' translation, a translation test

was designed. In this regard, there is no consensus over the definition of translation competence

and its components. Consequently, designing a rubric that captures all the elements included

in the translation construct is a complicated task (Angelelli & Jacobson, 2009). Thus, the

present study sought to devise a practical and comprehensive rubric that is based on recent

functional and communicative translational approaches and valid enough to measure the

translation performance of prospective translators in EFL context. The rubric covered

linguistic, textual, and pragmatic competencies.

The test was authenticated by asking students to translate passages similar to the ones

they are requested to translate in real-life situations. The rubric was designed in a five-point

Likert scale, starting with "1" which indicated a lack of ability whereas "5" indicated an

146

outstanding level of performance. "2" meant that the students' performance suffered from major

defects. "3" indicated students show evidence of skills but below the required level. Finally,

"4" is seen as an acceptable level of performance that needs little improvement to achieve

perfection.

The test consisted of two questions. The first question asked the students to translate a

passage from English into Arabic whereas the second question asked them to translate a

passage from Arabic into English. Each question received an equal relative weight (50%).

Students' answers were measured through a rubric that included ten criteria/aspects: accuracy,

using proper equivalent vocabulary, cultural aspect of the source text, genre, cohesion,

terminology, mechanics, audience, and purpose, fluency, and style. Each aspect/criterion had

a maximum score of five points; therefore, the maximum aggregate score for the test was (100)

points.

To decide the face validity of the test, it was submitted along with the 5-point scoring

rubric to a jury of translation experts who reported the validity and appropriateness of the test

to measure the students’ translation. To estimate the reliability of the test, test- retest method

was carried out on a sample of thirty students who represented the target population. They were

excluded from the sample of the study. After that, Pearson product moment correlation formula

was used to estimate the coefficient of stability (r=.79) of the test. This indicates that the test is

reliable. In the piloting stage, the optimal test time was calculated. Accordingly, ninety minutes

was recommended to be the test duration. Two well-qualified instructors scored each student’s

answer sheet. The instructors worked independently using the scoring rubric designed

previously by the researcher.

2.2.2. Students' motivation questionnaire (SMQ)

To achieve the second objective of the study, the researcher prepared, validated, and

conducted a questionnaire to assess the students' motivation. The questionnaire consisted of

twenty-five statements in its initial version. Based on the recommendations and feedback of

the jury members, the number of statements was decreased to twenty. Students were requested

to respond to each statement on a five-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to

5 (strongly agree). To establish the reliability of the questionnaire the test-retest method was

employed. It is worthy to mention that the students who participated in the piloting stage were

excluded from the main sample of the study. There was a four-week interval between the

administration of each of the questionnaires. An Alpha Cronbach’s correlation coefficient of

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0.88 was calculated. Moreover, an internal consistency reliability check was computed and it

was found that the alpha coefficient for the SMQ was 0.90.

2.2.3. Description of the suggested training course

The fifteen-week training course is divided into two main parts. The first part aims at

providing the students with all necessary information about the significance and use of CAT

programs which covers several topics such as, the need for incorporating CAT technology into

translation, differences between Machine Translation and Translation-Memory Systems,

Terminology Management Systems and the changing duties of the translator in the light of the

new approach. The second part provides the students with practical opportunities to use the

online translation programs under the supervision of the instructor. Unfortunately, there was

not enough funding to purchase licensed software. Consequently, students had to use the

available free programs such as Google Translate, Bing Translator and Yahoo! Babel Fish.

However, students were urged to examine other commercial software such as SDL Trados and

Déjà vu through online free tutorial videos.

In translation classes, students were encouraged to raise questions and to express their

opinions freely. By the end of the first part, students were tested to guarantee the

comprehension of all theoretical background before proceeding to the application stage. In the

second stage, the instructor was keen to show students real examples of how to integrate

translation memory and termbase in translation. Varied technical, semi-technical and literary

texts were included in the suggested program. Different group activities were conducted in the

second stage in which the students were divided into groups and every student assumed a role

in the translation process. A student could assume the role of a terminologist who is in charge

of finding the right terms to be used in translation. Another student may act as an editor who

compiled the work and converted the text into a different file format. Regarding the logistic

issues, having a mobile device was a prerequisite for attending the training program. A reliable

internet service was available for free on the university campus.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Results of the Translation Test

The first hypothesis of the study predicted statistically significant differences between

the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post-application of

translation test in favor of the experimental group. An independent-samples t-test was

conducted to compare the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the

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post-application of the test. The results, displayed in Table 1, showed statistically significant

differences in the scores for the experimental group (M =11.9, SD =1.64) and the control group

(M =7.43, SD = 2.06); t (58) = 9.27, p = 0.01 in favor of the experimental group. These findings

affirmed the first hypothesis and indicated that the superiority of the experimental group over

the control group is attributable to the positive impact of using CAT programs.

Table 1. Independent-samples t-test results for the differences in the mean scores between the

control group and the experimental group on the post-application of the translation test.

Group N Mean

Std.

Deviation

T df Sig.(2-

tailed)

Control

Experimental 30

30

7.43

11.90

2.063

1.647

9.268 58 0.01

3.2. Results of Students' Motivation Questionnaire

The results of post application of SMQ showed that students of the experimental group

were highly motivated compared to their counterparts in the control group. This confirmed the

second hypothesis of the study that predicted statistically significant differences between the

mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post-application of SMQ

in favor of the experimental group. An independent-samples t-test was used to compare the

mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post application of SMQ.

The results, displayed in Table 2, showed a statistically significant difference in the mean

scores of the experimental group (M =86.70, SD =4.77) and the control group (M =33.30, SD

= 4.77); t (58) = 43.34, p = 0.01 in favor of the experimental group. The results indicated a

positive effect of the CAT technology on improving students' motivation.

Table 2. Independent-samples t-test results of the differences in the mean scores between the

control group and the experimental group in post-application of SMQ

Group N Mean

Std.

Deviation

t df Sig.(2-

tailed)

Control

Experimental

30

30

33.30

86.70

4.77

4.77

43.34

58

0.01

Moreover, a positive correlation between the level of students' motivation and their

improvement in translation was found. Thus, it could be concluded that motivation is a

prerequisite for a significant improvement in students' translation output.

149

Students' significant improvement in both translation and motivation could be attributed

to some factors. First, raising the students' awareness of the significance of CAT programs to

job opportunities is believed to motivate the students to efficiently utilize such technology in

translation tasks. Second, students' possessing adequate computer skills made the utilization

of CAT programs easier. It is observed that the majority of the students have a good command

of some essential computer programs such as word processing and internet browsing.

Moreover, involving the students in a number of varied activities that urged cooperation and

teamwork skills could be another underlying factor for success. Students tend to learn from

each other and, together, they succeeded to make greater progress at a faster pace. It is worth

mentioning that the students utilized communication tools such as Messenger and WhatsApp

effectively to achieve good communication and to boost the use of CAT applications. This was

significant as the online teaching mode was adopted because of the prevailing pandemic.

Furthermore, participant students were found motivated and enthusiastic to use CAT

technology to carry out the translation tasks as they found it more useful compared to the

traditional method. CAT programs enabled the students to work independently and to have

quick access to the online materials. The students' motivation to utilize the CAT programs

reflects the students' willingness and readiness to integrate the innovative technological

applications in learning and teaching practices. That is to say, the students- in the 21st-century

translation classes- are well-equipped and ready to make use of recent technology that is

compatible with their needs and aspirations.

Two unique features of CAT programs may justify the students' significant

improvement in translation. The first is related to the human role in checking the quality of

translation. CAT provides an efficient and user-friendly checking system. It enables the

translator to easily identify the basic errors or the wrong use of terminology in the translated

texts. Therefore, it saves the translators' time and helps ensure the production of quality

translation. In other words, there are two levels of checking; the first one is artificial and is

conducted by the program based on the use of a translation memory bank and the second relies

on the translator. The second feature is related to the opened sharing system that CAT provides

to its users. CAT programs allow the exchange of material between machine, software and

translators. This results in the enhancement of translation memory bank, corpus banks and

terminology. Similarly, this improves the local database and makes them available to users if

they are so much as connected to the internet. Consequently, the availability of an efficient

open sharing system is believed to reduce the workload of translators and to help avoid the

inconsistent errors in translation style and terminology.

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3.3.Challenges and Recommendations

A serious difficulty that may hamper the utilization of CAT technology in the current

translation classes is teachers’ lack of adequate knowledge and experience of such a technical

domain. In other words, the field of CAT technology is still relatively new for a majority of

translation instructors (Yao, 2017). This is an expected result as most English education

programs do not offer adequate courses that could enable pre-service teachers to interact

successfully with such technology and to transfer it easily to their students. Similarly, training

in-service instructors is rare. Therefore, experts in the use of CAT technology could be invited

to attend real translation classes to observe the instructors' use of such technology and provide

them with adequate feedback.

Poor technical skills and the negative attitude of some students towards the use of

computer software, in general, and CAT programs, in particular, could represent another

challenge. This challenge highlights the importance of considering the concept of

personalization and differentiation in this regard as students possess varied technical skills,

perceptions and backgrounds to interact successfully with recent programs. Therefore, teachers

should investigate and assess students' awareness and use of computers before deciding the

adoption of CAT technology. Eventually, cultivating positive attitudes and motivating students

to use CAT technology are advisable.

4. Conclusion

The study indicated the positive effect of using CAT technology on improving the

quality of students' translation, motivation and their productivity. Such positive results may be

due to several factors such as equipping the students with enough theoretical background,

presenting CAT technology as a promising alternative to the current translation practices,

fostering the mastery of such technology as an indispensable skill needed by all translators to

cope with the demands of translation industry, providing more opportunities for hands-on

activities, focusing on real, meaningful, translation tasks and, eventually, motivating students

to seriously consider the pre and post editing process as an essential prerequisite for successful

translation.

Suggestions for Further Research

Conducting comparative studies that seek to identify the extent of CAT utilization in

English Language Programs and compare the effectiveness of such courses in developing

students' skills in using translation software is a relevant suggestion. Another interesting area

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of research is investigating the effect of using CAT technology in teaching other language skills

such as reading and vocabulary. Eventually, designing a training program that aims at raising

translation instructors' awareness of utilizing CAT applications seems inevitable.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a project grant 2020/02/14258 under Specialized Research

Grant Program, Deanship of Scientific Research, Prince Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz University,

Saudi Arabia.

152

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English as Medium of Instruction (MOI): Voices Addressing Proficiency Issues in

Pakistani Tertiary Education

Aishah Siddiquah

Department of STEM Education

Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

Kamal ud Din

Department of Educational Development,

Karakoram International University, Gilgit Balitstan, Pakistan

Shagufta Moghal

(Corresponding Author)

Department of Elementary and Teacher Education

Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan

Muhammad Amir Saeed

Department of English Language and Literature

Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman

Fasiha Altaf

Ph.D. Scholar, Institute of Education and Research

University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Bio-profiles:

1. Dr. Aishah Siddiquah an Assistant Professor at STEM Education Department, Lahore

College for Women University, Lahore. She received her PhD in Education from University

of the Punjab, Lahore in 2010. She has supervised a number of PhD and MS students and

has published many articles in national and international journals of repute.

2. Kamal ud Din is the faculty member of Department of Educational Development at

Karakoram International University, Gilgit Balitstan, Pakistan. He has published his work

157

in different renowned journals and has also presented his research both in national and

international conferences.

3. Shagufta Moghal is a Professional Trainer and Ph.D. Scholar (Education) at Lahore

College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan. She has been conducting trainings in

different government and private institutions for the past 11 years. As a researcher she is

interested in studying Professional Development, Teacher Identity Construction and

Teacher Resilience.

4. Mr. Muhammad Amir Saeed is a Lecturer of English in Dhofar University, Salalah,

Oman. He has been working as an EFL/EAP expert in the Gulf region since 2009. He has

presented his research in different national and international conferences. His research

interests are Learner autonomy, teaching-learning pedagogies, educational technology,

learner psychology and well-being.

5. Fasiha Altaf recently earned her PhD from Institute of Education and Research at

University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Her research interests are educational

technology, advanced teaching techniques and teaching pedagogies. Fasiha has presented

her research in different national conferences.

Abstract

Within the higher education system in the Pakistani context, there are many factors responsible

for the lack of quality in teaching when using English as a medium of instruction. The current

study aimed to explore both teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the use of English language

as a medium of instruction by using a qualitative methodology. Twenty-four teachers from

different disciplines of social sciences and humanities were interviewed. A focus group of

thirty Masters’ level students also participated in the study. Data were qualitatively analyzed

to identify significant themes. The key finding was that almost all the teachers recognize the

value of English as MOI and believe that it should be continued as MOI at a higher education

level. The study also revealed the reasons for the low proficiency of students in written and

spoken English language skills. The study, further, recommends applying for some remedial

procedures that may assist in developing learners written and spoken language abilities in an

ESL context.

Keywords: Medium of Instruction, Language proficiency as a Component of assessment,

Students’ Problems regarding English as an MOI, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Focus

Groups

158

Introduction

English as a medium of instruction (MOI) is a rapidly growing global phenomenon at the

school level as well as at the higher education level outside the Anglophone world (Dearden,

2015). Using English as MOI is especially relevant in countries with a colonial past where

educational systems were established by the British (Mahboob, 2020; Rahman et al, 2018, Al-

Ahdal, 2020a, Al-Ahdal & Alqasham, 2020). In Pakistan, English has been and probably will

remain the primary MOI in higher education institutions for the foreseeable future (Jabeen,

2020; Mahboob, 2017). English language as a medium of instruction (MOI) has great

implications for quality teaching and learning in higher education (Shamim, 2008); research

highlights many issues, complications and obstacles in its implementation (Azam et al., 2020;

Rahman, 2010). It is considered a threat to the cultural values, the identity for local languages,

which are often neglected and overlooked (Hajiyeva, 2016; Islam et al., 2013; Mumtaz, 2016;

Rahman, 2010; Al-Ahdal, 2020b; Alfallaj, 2020). Owing to the fear of its impact on the local

languages, cultural and social values (Khan et al., 2020), the status and implementation of

English as MOI has always been a matter of conflict and debate among the teachers, politicians,

academicians and the policymakers in Pakistan (Mahboob, 2020; Din, 2015).

The level of English language proficiency in university students varies in Pakistan, and often

it is not up to the mark. It is expected that, after having studied English as a subject throughout

their previous education, students should be capable of, at least, communicating their ideas in

simple words with a certain degree of fluency and confidence (Choompunuch et al., 2021; Din,

2015). Their low proficiency in the English language exerts an undeniable pressure, as they

have to make up their language according to the level they are at and, at the same time, they

have to focus on conceptual learning, which includes mostly cognitive processes in order to

develop an understanding about a fact, concept or processes (Omidvar & Sukumar, 2013).

The present study aims at identifying how do teachers and students perceive and experience

the use of English as a medium of instruction at university level in Pakistan.

Review of Literature

The status of the English language as MOI, though accepted with reluctance, has been affecting

the education system in general, and higher education, in particular (Din, 2015; Rahman, 2010,

Hung, 2021). In the context of English language learning classes, students are usually reluctant

to speak English language with the fear of mispronunciation, lack of self-confidence due to

low proficiency of English, lack of appropriate vocabulary and speaking practice

(Choompunuch et al., 2021) or saying something else instead of what they want to say

159

(Mumtaz, 2016). Though the factors which affect students’ proficiency in learning a language

are unknown (Koad & Waluyo, 2021). However, the anxiety of learning a foreign language

has a psychological impact on students’ self-confidence and motivation towards learning a new

language. Besides, the way English language is used as a medium of instruction at early grades

has its issues which are also under-reported or understudied (Mahboob, 2020; Alsaraireh, &

Dubey, 2020; Alhourani, 2021). Some private schools have more preference for English as

MOI as compared to public sectors schools (Azam et al., 2021; Mahboob, 2020; Rahman,

2010). Most of the private schools have a better environment and policy for the English

language in their school than government school (Haider & Fang, 2019). Therefore, parents

who aspire for a better future and sophisticated lifestyle of their children prefer to get their

children educated in the private schools (ITA, 2014; Mumtaz, 2016; Nuncio et al., 2020).

At the university level, the medium of instruction shifts solely to English at least in reading

text and content matter (Din, 2015). The severity of the problems gets worse, especially in a

context where there are multilingual speakers who speak and use various languages as first

languages (Rasool & Wink, 2019; Omidvar & Sukumar, 2013). The university is an institution

that has to educate a vast and diverse population of students; particularly in terms of language

as there are several local languages in Pakistan, including the provincial languages (Rahman,

2010). Pakistan is famous for its cultural diversity and multilingual and multiethnic social

structure (Hajiyeva, 2016; Rahman, 2010). According to the Government of Pakistan (2017),

the distribution of population by mother tongue is as Punjabi (38.78 %), Pashto (18.24%),

Sindhi (14.57 %), Siraiki (12. 19%), Urdu (7.08%), Baluchi (3.02%), and others (6.12%).

Having a multilingual background, university students face considerable problems especially

in the disciplines which are specialized fields of knowledge, and which do not have a primary

focus on the improvement of language skills (Rasool & Wink, 2019). This issue is reported and

widely discussed at all the levels of university education from the undergraduate level to the

PhD level in different academic disciplines. The faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

have reported frequently about such issues in their students which do not allow improving the

quality of teaching and learning (ITA, 2014). The researchers’ interaction with colleagues and

students have highlighted that two major problems hamper the quality of teaching and learning

at the higher education level. One is the learning of English language itself as a second language

and the second is the use of English language as a medium for learning of different academic

disciplines and content knowledge (Rasool & Wink, 2019; Din, 2015; Hossain, 2016; Kakaew

et al., 2021; Charernnit, 2020).

160

Since experts agree on the fact that language is a cultural phenomenon, thus language learning,

irrespective of its being a first or second language is influenced by the cultural beliefs,

traditions, practices and the way things are observed, thought and communicated (Zeb, 2015;

Valdes, 1986). The cultural thinking patterns and phonetics of the first language have their

implications and effects on the learning of a second or a foreign language. This problem reaches

its intense level when both content knowledge and language skills are to be learnt at the same

time, as it is the case in the Pakistani education system, especially at the higher education level.

Many studies have previously reported several issues associated with the English language as

a medium of instruction at higher education level (Farooq & Naveed, 2015; Khan, 2013;

Hossain, 2016; Rahman, 2010) in Pakistan; however, those studies have reported

heterogeneous findings on which specific recommendations for university teachers and

students cannot be drawn. This study is an attempt to understand and investigate the following

research questions:

a) How do teachers and students perceive and experience the use of English as a medium

of instruction at university level in Pakistan?

b) Does English language as a medium of instruction facilitate or hinder teaching and

learning at the university level in Pakistan?

c) Does students’ low proficiency in written and/or spoken English affect learning at the

university level in Pakistan?

It was therefore expected that the present study would shed more light on the issues mentioned

above and would attempt to draw some conclusion and recommendations as a way forward.

Methodology

Research Design

The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach that uses the critical qualitative analysis

of investigation aiming to explore the context of English as MOI in Pakistan and problems

related to students’ English language proficiency at the university level. Being a qualitative

study, the data provided was based on a particular context which may not be generalizable to

another context, although it may prove helpful in understanding similar phenomena in other

contexts (Yin, 1994).

Participants and Data Collection

Twenty-four university teachers from the faculty of social sciences and humanities of an urban

university were selected for semi-structured interviews. The participant teachers were

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purposively selected from various disciplines of social sciences. The departments selected were

interdisciplinary as they cover a wide range of courses being taught to the students.

Twenty-one teachers were selected from the Economics Department, 17 % from the English

Department, 17 % from the Political Science Department, 17 % from International Relations

Department, 8 % from the Education Department, 8 % from the Psychology Department, and

four percent from the Environmental Science Department.

The age of teachers was ranging from 30 years to 48 years old, with 48 % in the age range 30-

39 and 52 % in the age range 40-48. Among participant teachers, 50 % were males and 50 %

females. Forty-two percent of the participating teachers were PhD degree holders and 58 %

were MS degree holders. The experience of 46 % of teachers was up to 5 years and 54 % of

teachers was between 6-12 years. Forty-two percent of teachers were lecturers, 54 % were

assistant professors, and 4 % were associate professors.

The interview protocol consisted of 13 questions, which aimed to understand teachers’

experiences with students given the English language as a medium of instruction. Focus group

interviews were also conducted with thirty masters’ level students of the same university. A

total of six focus groups were formed, and the discussion touched upon the realities and issues

of learning and studying while using English as a medium of instruction. Specific attention was

given to whether students thought that the English language acted as a barrier for academic

learning; the causes of deficiencies in their spoken and written English language skills; and

how to improve the language proficiency of students.

Ethical Considerations

The sample was based on voluntary participation, where the participants were assured of

anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw if they wanted. Due ethical considerations

were also diligently followed during the research; the interviews and focus groups were

conducted after seeking written permissions from the administrative and departmental

authorities beforehand. All collected data was audio recorded for further processing after the

consent of the participants involved.

Analysis

The data were first open coded, followed by axial and selective coding in order to build a

conceptual understanding of the data. Different categories of the coded data were, then,

compared with other codes and categories through constant comparative analysis technique in

order to see emerging themes (Strauss & Corbin, 1996). These themes provided a descriptive

162

picture of the phenomenon of English language as MOI at higher education in Pakistan and

issues related to students’ English proficiency and the way it is having an impact on the quality

of teaching and learning at the university level. The suggestions and different strategies

provided are also described along with the problems.

Results

Findings from Teacher Interviews

In total six themes emerged from the data gathered from the participant teachers from multiple

disciplines. The themes and the main points derived from them are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Summary of main themes of teachers’ and students’ views related to English as MOI

No. Themes Main Points

1 Preference for

English the Medium

of Instruction in

Higher Education

• Urdu may be used as MOI up to elementary and

secondary level.

• English should be an MOI at the higher education

level being the language of modern knowledge and

means of communication at the international level.

2 Recognition of Low

English Proficiency

on Student Grades

• Mixed views about assessing English proficiency

along with content

• Some teachers deduct some marks for poor English

but some others do not do so as in that case many

students would fail.

• Those who do not deduct marks view that English is

taught as a separate course, language is not the

objective of their course, and concepts are more

important than the language in the subjects they

teach.

3 Importance of

Teacher Feedback

for Language

Improvement

• Some teachers highlight both conceptual and

language-related errors and mistakes. Some point

out few important mistakes, like point out mistakes

related to vocabulary and ignore grammatical

mistakes.

• Lack of time as a constraint to detailed feedback

• Some told that students do not see their papers or

assignments again and hence may not see comments

or may not understand the comment, hence, they

give verbal feedback.

4 Dealing with

Adverse Student

Reaction to

Language Feedback

• Many teachers do not deduct students’ marks for

poor language ability. Some convey language-

related expectations beforehand and hence students

do not show a reaction.

• Students show resentment if their marks are

deducted because of the low language proficiency

but they are least bothered about it.

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5 Addressing Causes

of Low English

Proficiency through

Instruction

• Poor schooling particularly in public schools, lack of

hard work, and teachers’ lack of knowledge and low

proficiency in English.

• Less practice in reading and listening in English and

only practice in writing and no or seldom practice of

speaking.

6 Impact of Adding

Language

Proficiency as a

Component of

Assessment

• Most of the teachers liked the idea to share language-

related expectations in advance. However, some

teachers reported that they share their expectations

beforehand

• High proficiency in the English Language at Higher

education is a part of the assessment in the national

and professional standards of education.

• Students lack the motivation of learning the English

language and low self-efficacy lead them to failure

although they study English in four semesters as a

university requirement.

Preference for English the Medium of Instruction in Higher Education

Almost all teachers recognized the value of English as MOI. Only one female lecturer from the

Economics Department seemed to not give much importance to English, “I don’t know why

English is being given too much importance. It is the idea and content that is important”. All

other teachers agreed that English should be continued as MOI at higher education level and

provided reasons for that. A teacher pointed, “No one will deny the importance of English

especially at the higher education level”. One participant teacher expressed that English

language as a medium of instruction should be maintained in our education system especially

in professional degrees whereby graduates have use English not only for academic purposes

but also lifelong learning and professional purposes (Yuan et al., 2020). A teacher reasoned,

“It is the means of communication with the international community and the source of modern

knowledge”. Another teacher mentioned, “Our students when they go into different

professions, they are expected to be expert in both spoken and written in English”. One teacher

mentioned that in most of the entry tests and interviews both nationally and internationally,

preference is given to those candidates who are well versed in the English language. Our

success as an academic institution depends upon how we respond to meeting such demands.

Another teacher recognized stating, “English language in an academic setting should receive

due attention by teachers as well as by the students as it is an unavoidable necessity to face and

the need of the time”. Participant teachers recognized that the world is becoming a global

village and English is the internationally recognized language. Moreover, it has become a basic

need for getting knowledge in today’s world.

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Another teacher from the Political Science Department added that students should learn to use

English, especially for communicative purposes if they want to survive in this completive

modern world. A teacher with a background in Economics pointed, “The worlds’ best research

in business is in the English language thus students have to learn English for good careers”.

Another teacher identified that they have to get used to it, “All written communication is in

English” she explained. Another participant teacher from Mass Communication Department

articulated, “I am a media specialist. I know how English is important, if our students want to

get international exposure, they must know English at all cost”. A participant teacher from

Economics Department told that he appreciates those students who use English. “However,

teaching concepts in English become hard”. Hence, the teachers have to explain the concepts

in the classroom in Urdu.

Participant teachers were asked about the possible consequence they see in case the education

system that is in L1, the Urdu Language rather than L2, English Language and if they agree

with such a policy. According to participant 15, “It is good if it is uniform across the country”.

Participant 18 articulated, “The medium, whether it is Urdu or English, should be uniform

throughout the institutions. i.e., it should be kept the same from school to university level”.

One participant teacher was happy with this idea, “Yes, it would be nice. We would be able to

teach more comfortably”. According to another participant teacher, it is possible but it will take

time. However, another participant teacher shared that their ruling elite will not let it happen.

Some participant teachers believed that it will negatively affect the quality of education in the

country as the students will not be able to compete in the global market”. While other

participant teachers shared that Urdu is more difficult in terms of academics and students will

then suffer because of L1, the Urdu Language.

The majority of the teachers believed that Urdu as an MOI is good at primary and secondary

level but not at the higher education level. “Yes, it is good at primary or secondary level but

not at university level”. They mentioned that they do not support such an initiative at the higher

education level, “Higher education should be in English”.

Recognition of Low English Proficiency on Student Grades

Participant teachers were asked about their expectation from students in terms of their language

while attempting papers (e.g., no grammatical mistakes, proper use of words, the write-up in

professional style, any others) and how much importance they give to the language of the

students while assessing their performance in their subject. Many participant teachers did not

give much importance to Language while assessing the students’ performance in the subjects

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they teach and believed that students should not be suffered because of their poor English. One

participant teacher told, “I don’t give importance to English if students have given me a clue

that they have understood the concepts in the subject area I teach”. However, many teachers

believed that their students’ grades suffer due to low proficiency in the English language. As

one teacher mentioned, “assessment becomes tough and hard as many students cannot write

properly due to their poor English. It causes a great loss in their grades”. One of the teachers

explained, “English does affect even if we do not know how it does. A badly written answer or

assignment gives a bad impression. Certainly, grades go down”. Many teachers said that they

cut some marks for poor English though not much if the idea is clear.

Some of the teachers said that they do not deduct marks when they notice grammatical

mistakes in spoken or written English. Some teachers reasoned that many students will not be

able to pass if they do so. Many also recognized the importance of language abilities for

expression. However, they give very little considerations for students’ English language ability

during checking paper and do not deduct their marks for language errors and mistakes. “It is

the students’ responsibility to improve their English. I just suggest them but do not consider it

important while checking the paper for assessing students…. I cut marks but not much because

I know I cannot teach English in class”, a teacher expressed. Another teacher shared, “There is

no reason to include English because English is already considered in a separate subject which

is offered at the initial semester”. Some teachers expressed that concepts are more important

than language (Ali & Hamid, 2018). “Checking language ability is not our objective in any of

our courses. I teach such subjects which are concept-based, not language-based”, replied a

teacher. Another teacher-supported this view in this way, “we cannot make such criteria in our

department. We teach a separate subject for improving their English”.

Some teachers, however, deduct marks for English language errors so that they could focus on

improving their language skills. English should be given due importance, otherwise, students

would fail to understand difficult concepts. “Students have a poor background in English. If

we do not consider English in assessment, they will remain poor forever. That is why I include

in my assessment criteria the level of English proficiency of my students…... Even the students’

Urdu is poor. I advise them to improve their language skills whether they are presenting orally

or in writing”, replied a teacher. However, the weightage of language errors and mistakes is

less as compared to conceptual mistakes as mentioned by the participant teachers.

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Importance of Teacher Feedback for Language Improvement

Participant teachers were asked if they give feedback if students have a poor sentence structure

or poor vocabulary in their assignments or papers. Some of the participants mentioned that they

highlight all types of mistakes and errors. A participant teacher said, “Teachers should highlight

students’ mistakes whether they are conceptual or language-related”. Another participant

teacher explained, “I highlight errors because some students complain that they were good

performers so I show them”.

A participant teacher replied, “English is important but I usually ignore grammatical errors.

Yes, vocabulary is important which no teacher can ignore”. Another participant teacher said,

“I don’t think it necessary to point out Language errors as long as students successfully

communicate through writing”. A participant teacher reported that here are so many mistakes

in students’ work and only a few can be highlighted. Another teacher mentioned that he cannot

find time enough so he can highlight major errors, may or may not be related to the English

language. Another participant teacher reported told that she highlights conceptual errors but

not grammatical errors because of her lack of knowledge of grammatical structures. Another

teacher explained, “I am not an expert in the English Language. I give feedback on ideas, not

on language. Students should realize that they need to improve their English themselves”. Some

of the participant teachers reported that usually, students submit assignment and never return

to take them back, so it is useless to waste their time to write feedback on them.

Many participant teachers mentioned that the students make so many mistakes; it is not possible

to ignore them. In that case, they ask their students to correct these. “I return such assignments

and ask my students to do them again”, a participant teacher elaborated. Another teacher told,

“I underline their errors. I let them correct themselves”.

Another teacher reasoned, “I cannot give feedback on the English language as I have no time

to cover. I just tell them how they should improve”. Some of the teachers give oral feedback.

A teacher writes code words related to both language and concepts on the front page of the

assignment. Student can understand what he means by them. Another teacher reported that he

gives oral feedback as the students do not understand the written feedback and ask again about

what the feedback is.

Dealing with Adverse Student Reaction to Language Feedback

Participant teachers were asked what reaction their students show if their grades suffered due

to poor language skills. Some teachers do not consider language a very important component

of assessment while checking the performance of the students in their subjects. However, the

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other participant teachers considered language as a component of the assessment for their

subjects and they may have to face reaction from the students as well. A teacher expressed,

“Without vocabulary how can they write a clear answer? I cut their marks no matter what”.

Another teacher told, “They show resentment but I convince them that the concept is not

clear…...usually I have to suggest different terms”. Another teacher told, “Students only

demand more marks. They know that they cannot read or write properly but they only demand

marks. I cannot tell how many errors they make in English”. A teacher told that, “Majority of

the students have a deficiency in English. I consider language as a part of the assessment to

improve their language”.

Many teachers convey their expectation regarding language to the students beforehand as a

teacher reported, “I convey my expectation from the very beginning that I am going to cut their

marks for poor English. That’s why they do not mind if I deduct their marks for writing poorly”.

However, one of the teachers didnt not give feedback and reported that, “Students cannot argue.

I do not tell why I deduct their grades. Let them complain”.

Addressing Causes of Low English Proficiency through Instruction

Poor schooling is the reason for poor English according to some participant teachers. “Their

week writing has a history. Usually, it runs from their primary schooling. Private schoolers do

better than public schoolers”, a participant teacher pointed out. According to some teachers,

lack of hard work is the reason for students’ poor English”. Some of the participant teachers

commented that students did not realize the importance of English and hence suffered because

of their lack of understanding of English Language. A participant teacher shared “My own

English was so week. I improved during my studies at master level. I motivate my students and

ask them to work hard but they do not do so”. A teacher reported that some of the teachers have

poor English and hence do not consider the English language skills of students important.

Most of the teachers suggested that intensive reading can learners to improve their language

skills, “Good writing depends on good reading”, pointed out by a participant teacher.

Participant teachers seemed to believe that lack of reading habits was the cause. Some teachers

expressed that reading habits are diminishing in our culture due to mobiles, TV shows, movies

and other media that distract students. Otherwise, they would spend more time reading and

writing and become experts. The teacher advised the students not to waste their time in useless

activities, work hard to overcome their deficiencies in English, and reading books, magazines,

and especially English literature. Some teachers suggested their students to attend seminars and

talk shows, listening to English lecture, and watching BBC and English videos as they can

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greatly help students to improve their English language skills. A teacher pointed out the need

for a good communicative environment and mentioned that students have a lot of vocabulary

but cannot use it for a communicative purpose, “Students should be exposed to a friendlier

environment where they could practice their knowledge of language”. “They should use their

language for communicative purposes, only then they can learn”, a teacher mentioned.

Students’ wring English is better than speaking according to a participant teacher. However,

according to another teacher, they are week both in speaking and writing and should take help

from dictionaries to improve their vocabulary. According to a teacher, watching movies can

greatly help to improve speaking but to improve writing skills; students should write something

on daily basis. Some teachers emphasized practice to become good writers. According to a

participant teacher, the students do not understand the idea and would not be able to write in

Urdu even. “Their poor English discourages them from writing…. perhaps they fail to work

hard or they may need our support”. A participant teacher identified the role of the teacher for

improving the students’ English and suggested that students can improve if they are supported

and helped by teachers.

Impact of Adding Language Proficiency as a Component of Assessment

Participant teachers were asked for the possible impact if the language is set as a component

of assessment. Most of the teachers acknowledged that it is a good idea to share expectation in

advance as it will remind students of teachers’ expectations and they will be alert and be

prepared. Once students know a teacher’s criteria for checking their work, they then work

accordingly.

The implementation of such criteria would not be easy according to some teachers. A

participant teacher raised the question, “Who will do this here? No one speaks English”. Some

teachers said that students will not be able to pass the course in this case. “Do you want

everyone to fail? There is no such possibility”, expressed a participant teacher. Some teachers

were not sure about the possible outcome of this policy. Many participant teachers liked this

idea and expressed that it will help us to make up our minds to learn English. “It would be good

as all will follow willingly or unwillingly”, expressed a teacher. “If all are bound to speak

English then it would be difficult but over time, we all will learn from each other” expressed a

teacher. Another teacher was hopeful, “Everyone will become proficient in the English

language through this approach”.

Some teacher mentioned that proficiency in the English Language at higher education is

already a part of our national curriculum and professional standards at the institution. “So, the

169

criteria are already shared if a student can understand”, expressed a participant teacher.

According to some teachers, students do not have the desired proficiency level in English at

the entry-level of higher education. “Even if we share criteria about the English language, they

cannot improve in four semesters. The deficiency in English comes from their previous

schooling”, a teacher pointed out. Some teachers reported that they share their expectations in

advance with the students, “yet students fail to improve their English”, as mentioned by a

teacher.

Teachers generally recognize the importance of English for competing in the global market and

advise their students to improve their English language. However, many teachers do not

consider it important to include language in assessment criteria, “It will negatively affect the

quality of education because all students and teacher will concentrate on the English language

rather than concepts”.

Findings from Focus Group Discussions

The findings from the focus group interviews with the students highlighted many different

aspects relating to the research question. In addition to reiterating the points highlighted by the

teachers, two more themes were derived which are presented in Table 2.

Table 2

Summary of main themes of students’ views related to English as MOI

No. Themes Main Points

1 Challenges in Acquiring

Content Knowledge due

to Low English

Proficiency

Students face difficulty in understanding and expressing the

content due to various language learning issues. Lack of

support from teachers regarding language improvement

might be teachers’ shortage of time or lack of language

proficiency. Teachers themselves frequent dependency on

local languages spoken by the students.

2 Expectations regarding

Pedagogy and Medium

of Instruction

Teachers should use basic English language in their

lectures, provide enough time to explain the sentences and

paragraphs which are difficult to read and provide them

with easy-to-understand reading materials. Moreover, they

should not consider students' language ability in their

assessment until they provide the necessary support to

improve their language proficiency.

Challenges in Acquiring Content Knowledge due to Low English Proficiency

Students faced the problem of understanding in overall learning due to their lack of knowledge

in a foreign language. This low proficiency in language affects their learning in the classroom

because they do not understand the teachers’ point of view clearly. Teachers normally clarify

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and discuss those ideas and vocabulary words that they find difficult to define and understand

by the students. When the students faced problems in reading the reference material suggested

by teachers. It caused them embarrassment because their teachers assume that the learners are

not interested in doing their home assignments. They could not communicate their concepts to

their teachers effectively. They felt difficulty in expressing their ideas effectively to the

teachers and other classmates.

One very important point mentioned by four groups out of six was that if the teachers used

English throughout, they would also learn the English language but teachers were also relying

on local (Urdu) language in their lectures and discussion. Few students mentioned that

teachers’ own English was not good while the articles assigned to them for reading are in the

English language. Consequently, whenever they had sought help from their teachers, the

teachers either couldn’t spare enough time for them or could not explain the difficult terms and

concepts in their reading material.

The students seemed to be aware of the role of their language knowledge in their learning of

academic courses. The points they mentioned were: a) grammatical concepts of language were

the major hurdle in understanding the concepts, and b) they had to read a lot of stuff that needed

fluency in reading. The lack of understanding of the text hampered their reading ability. If they

focused on understanding sentence by sentence, they could not finish the content in time. Lack

of vocabulary was also associated with the same problem. One common point students shared

was that though they can understand concepts, they could not perform well in the exam due to

a lack of their writing skill. Students mostly have to translate for which they have to put effort

both in the content and English as a second language.

Expectations regarding Pedagogy and Medium of Instruction

Students’ expectations from their teachers regarding their language proficiency level included:

(a) the teachers should use simple English language in their lecture; (b) they should provide

enough time to explain the sentences and paragraphs which are difficult to read; (c) teachers

should also provide them with the reading material that is not hard to understand; (d) teachers

were also expected not to consider their students' language ability in their assessment until they

provide the necessary support to improve their language proficiency.

Discussion and Conclusion

There are 74 established languages in Pakistan. However, Urdu and English are the principal

languages (Eberhard et al., 2020). Urdu is the statutory National language according to the

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Constitution 1973, Article 251(1) (Government of Pakistan, 1973). It has widespread use in the

country with 109,100,000 users in Pakistan (Eberhard et al., 2020). English was declared as

provisional official language according to Constitution 1973, Article 251(2). It has 25,014,500

users in Pakistan (Eberhard et al., 2020). The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 states that

arrangements will be made for Urdu for being its use as official and other purposes within the

time 15 years so that English can be replaced by Urdu and English may be used as the official

language during this period. However, English still serves as the official language. Further, it

is the language of military, bureaucracy, and other privileged elite institutions (Rahman, 2004).

The study aimed to investigate the perspectives and voices of students and teachers about the

use of English as an MOI at the higher education level in Public sector universities of Pakistan.

Previous studies have well investigated the general role of English as MOI but there are very

few studies that specifically addressed the teaching and learning experiences of teachers and

students at the classroom level intending to deepen the understanding of how teachers and

students experience English as MOI in different disciplines (Mahboob, 2017). Therefore, the

present study has specifically addressed teachers’ experiences with students given English as

their medium of instruction in different disciplines in the university.

The study has identified the view of teachers and students at the university level regarding

English as MOI. The majority of the teachers recognized the value of English as MOI and

agreed that it should be continued as MOI at the higher education level (Yuan et al, 2020; Dang

& VU, 2020). The rationale behind this concept is because English is a Lingua Franca and it is

a means of communication with the international community and the source of acquiring

modern knowledge. Students must learn English, especially for communicative purposes to

survive in the competitive modern world (Yuan et al. 2020). Participant teachers were asked

what would be the result if Urdu which is L1, is declared as MOI. The majority of the teachers

expressed that Urdu as an MOI is good at primary and secondary level but not at the higher

education level. However, L1 interference is evident as a mode of instruction to explain

complex concepts in classrooms (Karim et al., 2021).

The study findings revealed that teachers perceive the English language as an important factor

in understanding content knowledge in various disciplines. They were expecting a uniformed

policy at least at the national level so that they could convince themselves as well as their

students to learn English for improving the learning in their academic courses. The assessment

was the area teachers were facing more problems and challenges as they faced many students

complaining about their poor grades owing to their being unable to use English properly in

their assignments and exam papers. Both teachers and students were of the view that students

172

had deficiencies in the basic language skills, which, they associated with the poor academic

background, such as poor schooling (Karim et al., 2021; Rahman, 2020; Shamim, 2011).

The present study may help educational planners to find a solution to the problems of teachers

by determining a uniform policy on the medium of instruction along with providing the

teachers with the necessary training on how to handle students’ language deficiencies. It can

be done by developing a culture of learning and developing clear policies regarding the use of

language. The policymakers also need to involve teachers as well as students for discussions

to address the issues which are a great hurdle in the way of ensuring quality education in higher

education in Pakistan. The finding of the study, being qualitative, cannot be generalized,

however, future researchers can further investigate the matter by investigating the problem at

the national level, involving more participants. Future researchers may also be interested in a

comparative study of the teaching experiences of teachers in various types of institutions.

English is a compulsory subject in entry tests for higher education institutions as well as for

entrance exams of civil services of Pakistan. Hence, it plays a gate-keeping role for entry into

prestigious higher education institutions, high salaried jobs, and echelons of power (Shamim

& Rashid, 2019). English is normally used as the medium of instruction in private HEIs, and

teaching of science subjects and subjects of social sciences and humanities with high prestige

such as international relations in public sector universities. On the other hand, Urdu is the

medium of instruction for a few low- prestige subjects within arts and humanities (Shamim &

Rashid, 2019).

Poor proficiency level in the English language is an important problem faced by the students

at the higher education level. Many teachers do not include language proficiency as a

component of assessment and do not deduct grades for mistakes and errors in written

assessments. Some teachers, however, consider the importance of Language and deduct marks

for poor English language. However, more weightage is allocated for concepts rather than

language errors and mistakes in the courses other than the English language. Some participant

teachers mentioned that content English course is separately taught and if they would include

language as a part of the assessment, the content of the subject will be compromised.

Students’ deficiency in English hinders their understanding and expression of the content as

reported by the students. Participant teachers identified that poor schooling is the reason of

poor English (Rahman, 2020). Students view that they should get support from their teachers

for improving their language. Teachers suggested that the students should develop the habit of

intensive and frequent reading for improving the English Language. They advised them to

attend seminars, conferences, discussion forums and talk shows, listen to lectures delivered by

173

native speakers, and to watch BBC and English videos for improving listening and speaking

skills. For improving their writing skills, they should write something on daily basis.

Students also faced problems with reading the material provided by teachers. Many ESL

learners expect that their teachers should teach various language skills like reading, grammar

and other communicative approaches to them though at the same time they do not want the

strict control of their class teacher (Saha, 2021). This problem was more overriding with new

faculty who were either newly inducted or taught on a contract basis. Pakistani curriculum is

also criticized whether it is of English teaching or any other subject. It is criticized for

promoting rote learning not the creative abilities of the learners (Khan, 2011; Zaki & Rashidi,

2013). The assessment in class is limited to merely grading the students and with this grading,

the semester studies end. There is not an effective mechanism of how to make the feedback

providing process more effective and efficient.

As indicated by other researchers and experts that the long-lasting controversy of a medium of

instruction was still a debatable issue among the university teachers (Rahman, 2020; Din, 2015;

Shamim, 2008), the participants in this study showed their concerns that even yet they are not

sure what language should be followed with full determination. It was so because the students

resisted whenever English was used in class when studying courses which are usually written

in the English language.

Views on the ineffectiveness of the language policies were discussed by many teachers. A

few teachers seemed to believe that any policy change might not work because our society is

in the habit of living on contradictory political and value system. They also seemed to believe

that we cannot learn any foreign language without learning their culture and our people show

their disliking to the culture of English (Rahman, 2020) and take the English language as an

invader on our cultural values. The role of cultural values and belief system is in English

language learning was an important point, which should be explored further in future

researches. The students’ focus group also seemed divided on the issue. They also felt that

there should be survey research before implementing any policy regarding language. The

students shared that they had to learn the language first otherwise they would not be able to

understand the concepts of their field.

One common phrase the teachers said in their discussions was like if the quality of education

had been better in our education system there would have been no problems of English

deficiency in our students. Poor quality of education was mentioned most frequently as the

main reason for the problems of students’ deficiency in language ability. A few even believed

that in our public sector, English is taught as a subject to the students throughout their academic

174

career until they reach at university education level, yet their basic language skills like reading,

speaking and writing is not at par with the expected standards of higher educational institutions.

One of the reasons to do so seemed to be that the teachers find themselves under pressure in

pursuit to have their syllabi covered within the stipulated time in their learning management

systems. They seemed to feel the challenge of both teaching their students both the concepts

as well as the language. Nine were there who reported that it increased students’ work also

causing them frustration which makes it for teachers hard to motivate them towards learning.

The focus group of students revealed that the English language is not emphasized as such by

teachers especially those teachers whose own English proficiency is not well. Such teachers

avoid providing feedback on the language deficiencies of their students (Khatri, 2019).

The teacher had not only problems while teaching different subjects to the students; they were

also facing even more problems while assessing students’ concepts. Those teachers who

deducted marks for language mistakes faced complaints from students. They demand to ignore

language mistakes. Students also believed that they had understood the concept but due to

language problem, they could not express in speaking and writing. Some teachers seemed to

advocate students’ views stating that to some extent, students were right as they see their

papers, they were poorly written, had a lot of grammatical mistakes along with poor vocabulary

but such students, as reported by a few teachers that were well versed in conceptual

understanding.

Teachers’ hesitation of adopting EMI as evident where the majority of the teachers teaching

courses from multiple disciplines assume that they require a high level of language proficiency

to teach those courses (Al-Ahdal, 2020c; Tang, 2020; Kitishat, Alomar & Al Momani et al.,

2020; Luanganggoon, 2020). The problem of providing feedback on both English proficiency

and conceptual learning was frequently noticed in teachers’ discussions. From the students’

side, it was argued that their teacher did not write anything on their assignments; they were not

giving any useful feedback. They only assigned marks and told them how much marks they

got in the assignment component of the assessment. The students’ believed that the teachers

did not read their work critically. It was also considered as one of the causes of plagiarism in

students’ work. The students also complained that they were not being provided with enough

time and opportunities to discuss their work in sufficient detail.

Even some teachers stated that the written assignments were also used just for grading

purposes. However, the quantity and quality of feedback both were not sufficient even in the

eyes of the teacher who were involved in teaching and assessing students’ knowledge. The

teachers seemed to feel that they could not manage to give feedback on content related

175

knowledge let alone giving feedback on students’ English proficiency, which will be an

additional burden for teachers.

English- Urdu-medium in Pakistan is not a simple division to denote medium of instruction,

but it is an institutional divide imposed on the individuals who attend different types of

educational institutions. The labels Urdu and English medium is a complex construct created

by and reproduced through two parallel systems of education characterized by different social

classes receiving educational experiences of different quality (Khattak, 2014; Mustafa, 2015;

Rehman, 2004). Wealthy students get to benefit from Urdu English medium divide in Pakistan

as this education system recognizes, legalizes and rewards the dominant class based on their

linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic capital (Shamim & Rashid, 2019). According to

Mahboob (2020), English has been and probably will remain the primary MOI in higher

education institutions in Pakistan.

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Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Strategy to Improve English Reading and Writing

Skills at University Level

Aqsa Atta (Main and Corresponding Author)

Department of English, Foundation University Islamabad, Pakistan

Department of English, University of Wah, Wah Cantt Pakistan

Swaleha Bano Naqvi (Co-Author)

Department of English, Foundation University Islamabad, Pakistan

Bio-profiles:

Ms Aqsa Atta joined the Department of English, University of Wah, Wah Cantt, Pakistan as

lecturer in March 2012. She completed her MS degree in English Linguistics and Literature

from Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Her research work during MS degree was Scripts on

Linguistic Landscapes: A Marker of Hybrid Identity in Urban Areas of Pakistan. Her master’s

degrees are in English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Literature. She is currently

pursuing her PhD degree from Foundation University, Islamabad, Rawalpindi Campus. Her

research interests include Applied Linguistics and ELT.

Dr Swaleha Naqvi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English, Foundation

University, Rawalpindi where she teaches PhD and MPhil courses in Language Policy, World

English, Second Language Teaching and Research Methodology in Applied Linguistics. She

is currently supervising doctoral and MPhil research on translanguaging in multilingual

classrooms, ESL supervisory feedback, and applying critical pedagogy to English teaching.

Her primary research interest are ESL teacher retention, induction and mentoring. She has

produced research on topics such as ESOL teacher induction and mentoring as well as needs

assessment, course evaluation and faculty mentoring vis-à-vis language program development.

She has also co-authored papers on manifestations of culture value systems within diaspora

English literary texts, artificial intelligence, context and meaning making in language and genre

analysis of ESL academic writing.

182

Abstract

Adopting the framework of translanguaging (García, 2009) and theory of language mode

(Grosjean, 1999), this research identifies the challenges pertaining to reading comprehension

and production in writing faced by the students in ESL classrooms when they are taught solely

through English as a medium of instruction. It also establishes the positive impact of

translanguaging as a bilingual pedagogy on the reading comprehension and writing proficiency

of the students at a private sector university in Pakistan. Adopting an embedded mixed method

approach, data for this study was gathered through pre-and post-test scores and interviews from

control and experimental groups. The findings show that learners experience several challenges

related to L2 text comprehension due to wrong teaching practices. Further, these problems are

related to the exclusive use of English as a medium of instruction. The use of translanguaging

leads to improved reading comprehension and writing proficiency and post-test results show

statistically significant differences in the improvement of the experimental group’s

metacognitive, cognitive, synthesis, and evaluation skills in reading. Besides, findings also

show an improvement in students' writing skills including form and content at the macro level

and grammar, syntax, tenses, subject-verb agreement, conjunctions, linking words, sentence

construction from simple to compound-complex and rhetorical strategies at the micro-level.

Based on the findings, researchers, policymakers, teachers, and teacher trainers may consider

translanguaging as a viable pedagogy to advance learners’ L2 competence. The study

concludes that translanguaging as a pedagogy has the potential to help multilingual learners

improve L2 reading and writing skills, serving as an example for teachers to show how they

can employ this strategy and train future teachers for incorporating the possibilities of

translanguaging in ESL classrooms.

Background

In the wake of globalization, English has become the de facto lingua franca for international

communication (Ali, Ali, Ghani & Afzal, 2021). Moreover, it has come to be recognized as the

dominant language of diplomacy, business, science, technology, research and academia, and

as the language of communication for non-native speakers, in particular, to communicate with

one another for a range of purposes (Seidlhofer, 2005). With English language proficiency

gaining prestige, its official recognition as a comparatively neutral code to offset the volatile

potential of local linguistic politics and its value as the local language of the globalization-led

knowledge economy, ESL learners at Pakistani universities are expected to be proficient in the

use of English for academic as well as professional purposes (Sikandar, 2017).

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Pakistan is a multilingual country with high linguistic diversity, where five major languages

including Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, and Urdu are commonly used. Out of these five,

Urdu is the national language of the country, whereas the others are considered provisional

languages. In such a situation, a person’s linguistic repertoire is composed of at least three

languages including the regional, the national, and the official (Ashraf, 2017). Though English

is an official language in Pakistan, yet acquiring intelligible proficiency in it is a challenge.

This challenge is attributed to the Medium of Instruction (MOI) and the policy of Learning

English as a Second Language (ESL), (Gopang, Panhwar, Chachar, & Nizamani, 2016;

Hussain, 2015; Memon, 2007). English is a language of education and research and its

significance can be seen in the Pakistani context. In Pakistan, English is taught as a compulsory

subject (6-9 credits) to university students regardless of the disciplines they are majoring in. It

is taught as a basic English course, for enhancing communication skills and technical writing

skills. However, despite learning basic English in school, students still find English proficiency

an unachievable target leading to declining standards in higher education (Rind & Kadiwal,

2016).

Despite the importance of English for academic purposes and workplace success, studies have

documented the challenges in language learning faced by ESL learners at higher education

level (Mansoor, 2003) as well as the challenges arising out of the language policy (Shamim,

2008). For instance, problems faced by students in learning English include the lack of basic

facilities like language laboratory, audio-video resources (Sahito et al., 2017), negative attitude,

lack of motivation, and anxiety leading to liking or disliking of L2 (Noreen, Ahmed, & Esmail,

2015; Hashwani, 2008; Rehman, Bilal, Sheikh, Bibi, & Nawaz, 2014). Other challenges

include demotivation for writing (Nik, Sani, Kamaruzaman & Hasbollah, 2010), insufficient

linguistic command, writing anxiety, lack of ideas, reliance on L1, weak structural abilities,

and deviation in spellings (Fareed, Ashraf, & Bilal, 2016; Haider, 2012), lack of proper

teaching of reading in classrooms (Fareed, Jawed & Awan, 2018), lack of writing abilities

through the teaching of literature (Din, Khan, & Ghani, 2018) and need of teaching writing

strategies explicitly (Mu & Carrington, 2007; Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan & Rashid, 2014). Other

studies have highlighted problems in ESL instruction that arise out of factors related to

teachers, for instance, inconsistency in linguistic policy, inadequate training of teachers,

demotivation, the pressure to perform extra activities apart from teaching (Khan, Zahid &

Akhtar, 2017), or factors related to the lack of opportunities to develop collaborative learning

(Panhwar, Gopang, Chachar, & Baloch, 2017), issues on the enforcement of English as a

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medium of instruction (Shamim, 2008), and less skilled teachers for teaching writing (Siddiqui,

2020).

The reading skills of ESL learners are not well developed as they are incapable to engage

directly in reading strategies because of their poor reading training. They apply simple reading

strategies like summarizing, reading for locating answers, and reading aloud and they do not

achieve the benefit by reading exercises carried out in the classroom, and thus, remain

incompetent to use those skills practically (Teevno & Raisani, 2017; Gulzar & Qadir, 2010).

English reading and writing skills are required regardless of the majoring subjects of students

at the university level (Sikandar, 2017). Reading is described as the process of acquiring

knowledge and information regarding the intent of writers (Grabe & Stoller, 2019), and it

requires knowledge of vocabulary, structure, formal discourse structure, background

knowledge, metacognitive knowledge, and synthesis and evaluation skills (Grabe, 1991).

However, as aforementioned not only is English reading a challenge for learners (Teevno &

Raisani, 2017; Gulzar & Qadir, 2010), rather English writing is a challenge, too (Din, Khan, &

Ghani, 2018; Fareed, Ashraf, & Bilal, 2016; Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan & Rashid, 2014; Haider,

2012; Mu & Carrington, 2007). In this regard, there is a need to explicitly teach writing

strategies mentioned by Rao (2017) to improve the writing skills of students. These issues stem

from EMI and wrong teaching practices in the classrooms, resultantly, learners never acquire

proficiency on L2 skills. Therefore, it implicates a strong need for alternative MOI and teaching

practices.

Much literature exists on the existence of translanguaging in classrooms (Rios & Seltzer, 2017;

Ashraf, 2017; Lin & Lo, 2017; Ganuz & Herman; 2017; Cresse & Blackedge, 2010), for

developing learning and understanding in different subjects (Lau, Juby-Smith & Desbianc,

2017; Jones, 2017; Al-Ahdal, 2020), identity (Garcia-Mateus & Palmer, 2017; Palmer,

Martinez, Mateus & Henderson, 2014; Sayer, 2013), students’ attitudes (Palfreyman & Al-

Bataineh, 2018; Moriarty, 2017; Rivera & Mazak, 2017) to negotiate meaning and develop

effective communication skills (Alam et al., 2016) and teachers’ attitudes (Rosen, 2017).

Though literature exists on translanguaging as a supportive strategy for L2 learning (Makalela,

2015; Champlin, 2016), this literature is not enough to claim that translanguaging as a

pedagogy can be beneficial for enhancing English reading and writing skills of learners at the

university level.

In the light of the above-mentioned studies associated with problems in English language

learning and use of translanguaging as an alternative to EMI, there is less research available

that identifies the challenges that students encounter in reading and writing due to EMI. In

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addition, no such study has been conducted in Pakistan to use translanguaging as a pedagogy

in ESL classrooms to enhance L2 competency. Therefore, though there is some literature

available across the globe to enhance the reading and writing competency of L2 learners, this

field needs attention in the context of Pakistan. This highlights the significance of

translanguaging needs to be extended to the teaching of reading and writing in English for

struggling ESL learners in the Pakistani context.

Literature Review

Languages are not fixed entities; rather, they are shaped through social practices. There is no

fixed criterion for the use of the linguistic expression to communicate as during the

communication process distinctive features are taken from other languages. It is not only about

using features of other languages; rather, it manifests the use of different expressions,

vocabulary choice, and syntactic variation within the same language. This implies that

languages do not exist, they are discourses that exist as a social practice. However, Garcia

(2009) asserted that a language is not only discourse, it is a set of social practices too through

which actions are performed and this process is known as languaging. Additionally, she also

assumed that dialects, pidgins, creoles, and academic writing are all instances of languaging.

The concept of translanguaging can be traced back to the work of the Welsh scholars in 1994

wherein it was posited as a pedagogic theory that seeks to deliberately change the language of

input and output for deeper understanding (García & Wei, 2014). Translanguaging involves

the use of two languages in a fluid way to organize mental processes in learning.

Translanguaging concerns itself with effective communication rather than form. This was

understood against the historic separation of two monolingualism in which, in most bilingual

educational setups, two languages are kept separate. However, now this notion of separating

languages is fading away. This implies that translanguaging asserts children to use two

languages pragmatically in schools, streets, and homes effectively (Lewis, Jones & Baker,

2012).

Teachers use translanguaging for effective teaching and developing an understanding of

content in classrooms. This is indeed similar to bilingual’s language mode. Bilinguals’

language mode can be applied in classrooms where teachers can provide stimuli in two

languages and participants can also process in two languages. In this way, bilingual language

mode is activated. Through the stronger language, the weaker language can be helped and

improved (Grosjean, 1999). The linguistic performance of an individual is influenced by

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language mode. This implies that if a person is in bilinguals’ dual-language mode, it can have

positive effects on performance.

Language mode is defined as, “the state of activation of the bilingual’s languages and language

processing mechanisms at a given point in time” (Grosjean, 1999, p. 2). Language activation

is a variable; it may be at a position with no activation or at one with total activation. There

are three hypothetical positions where three language modes are activated at separate times

and to different extents. Suppose if "A" is the matrix language and there is little activation of

"B", it is called monolingual language mode. If "B" is a little more active, then it is called

intermediate activation and, at position three, if language "B" is highly activated, it is called

bilingual language mode. In all the three situations, matrix language is fully activated which

governs the language processing.

Translanguaging and language mode are similar to the extent that in both the theories,

bilinguals use their complete linguistic repertoire. However, there is a point of dissimilarity

regarding the state of activation of one language. According to García, there are no two

languages that are cognitively activated or deactivated. Rather, there is a single array of

disaggregated features that is always activated (García & Wei, 2014). This study intends to opt

both theories, as these are similar on the point of using complete linguistic repertoire. The

theory of language mode can also be used to enhance L2 learning through the conscious use of

L1. Despite the difference of notion related to activation of one language, both theories will be

used. One states that activation of L1 can help to learn L2 (theory of language mode) and the

other holds that through stronger language, the weaker language can be improved and the

stronger language in such a case will be the first language. This manifests that both theories

help to improve L2.

Translanguaging as a pedagogy has proved helpful to enhance students’ reading skills in

different languages. It is used at the primary school levels, intermediate and university level in

different contexts. It has been used in the African context to improve students’ reading skills

particularly. In this regard, two studies each were conducted at the university level and the

school level. Both studies (Makalela, 2015; Mbirimi-Hungwe, 2016) conducted at the

university level used the experimental design to find out the effectiveness of strategy for

developing reading comprehension and vocabulary enhancement. Makalela’s (2015) findings

showed that there was, resultantly, an improvement in the vocabulary, however, it had less

efficacy to improve reading comprehension. Moreover, the experimental group performed

better as compared to the control group. Thus, the results strengthened superior cognitive,

social and affective gains. On the other hand, Mbirimi-Hungwe’s (2016) findings revealed that

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the translanguaging strategy helped students in the negotiation of meaning, as compared to the

use of only dictionaries for understanding meaning. This implies that it is useful for the

interpretation of meaning and it is due to the freedom of using their complete linguistic

repertoire. Another research (Hungwe, 2018) conducted in the context of South Africa showed

that translanguaging as a pedagogical approach, along with the paraphrasing technique, can be

used to enhance the reading skills of the university students at the first year level. The results

showed that though students used translanguaging for comprehension, however, during

paraphrasing they used English only. This suggests that as students are trained and restricted

to use only one language for writing, they opt for the monolingual medium for writing. The

research concluded with a suggestion that translanguaging could create 'heaven' in the

classroom for multilingual students and it should be used. Bin-Tahir, Saidah, Mufidah and

Bugis’s (2018) research showed improvement in the experimental groups' reading

comprehension at literal, inferential and comprehension level. The findings indicated that

translanguaging is a useful strategy in bi/multilingual contexts to hone reading skills.

The other studies conducted at the school level include Mgijima (2019), and Maseko & Mkhize

(2019). The findings of Mgijima's study indicated that through translanguaging the reading

skills, including content familiarity, understanding of context, and comprehension of

vocabulary improved with a significant difference in IsiXhosa as compared to English. Similar

findings are reported by Maseko & Mkhize’s (2019) research in the African context. They

recommended using translanguaging in classrooms officially. In the context of Singapore,

Vaish’s (2019) findings showed metalinguistic awareness on the part of the students as they

noticed nuances of spellings, orthography, and meaning. The findings also showed the presence

of teacher's strategic use of translanguaging pedagogy. Vaish’s (2019) findings are similar to

Lin and Luo’s (2017) who also found an improvement in reading and comprehension by using

their complete semiotic repertoire to understand the text. In addition to it, findings also showed

as the figurative language was confusing for them, yet they discussed it in their first language.

Similar to Makalela (2015) and Mbirimi-Hungwe (2016), Namrullah, Syawal, and Nasrullah

(2020) conducted a quasi-experimental research in the context of Indonesia. The findings

revealed that though reading comprehension of both groups improved, the experimental group

mean score was higher than that of the control group and variance of learning styles reduced

after the intervention. It was obvious through decreased values of the standard deviation of

both groups. However, none of these works conducted at University level actually used official

translanguaging as a tool to improve English reading skills through specially designed lesson

plans where students are provided with translations to activate their bilingual mode and use

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their complete semiotic repertoire. Hence, it can be argued that through using the official

translanguaging students’ English reading skills can be enhanced.

Translanguaging as a pedagogy has also improved the writing skills of students in multilingual

contexts. Velasco and García (2014) provided a framework for utilizing translanguaging in the

academic writing of bilinguals; moreover, they addressed understanding of biliteracy

development. Their findings served as a framework for analyzing multilingual students’

writings. The analysis revealed the use of multilingual repertoire and multimodalities, the

intentional effort on learners’ part to learn vocabulary, the self-regulatory actions to

translanguage, the traditional conception of using one language with one person and the other

language for inner or outer speech, the use of translanguaging for transformation, and the use

of translanguaging for rhetorical engagement of the reader. Adamson & Coulson’s (2015)

findings revealed that translanguaging was mostly used by low proficiency learners. The

overall results showed that cognizance of translanguaging among students improved written

work. Ke and Lin (2017) also concluded that translanguaging could be used to enhance

students' English in the context of Taiwan. Similarly, Chen, Tsai and Tsou’s (2019) research

conducted at a college in Taiwan showed that translanguaging helped students during the

writing stages by conveying more information, expressing ideas, and using more academic

vocabulary. The research concluded that multiple benefits can be gained by using

translanguaging environment in the classroom. Kiramba (2016) analyzed the written texts of

multilingual 4th-grade students in Kenya. The findings revealed that the written work of the

students during the practice of translanguaging achieved the desired communicative goals. The

findings showed that one of the focal students' work was well developed, coherent, and

organized and her voice as an author was clear in Kiswahili texts, however, the student faced

a lot of difficulties in English texts and it also exhibited not only mixing of languages, rather it

also showed the use of whole semiotic repertoire. This suggests that the use of translanguaging

pedagogy offers voice to the silenced voices, therefore, students’ whole repertoire can be used

as a cognitive tool. Bartlett (2018) recommended the use of translanguaging in foreign

classrooms to increase retention level and motivation. Also, he suggested that it can be used

during long presentations. Turnbull (2019) conducted a study in the Japanese context where

English is taught as a compulsory subject at the university level. The findings showed a

significant difference in the writing scores of monolinguals and translanguaging groups.

However, no difference was observed between academic and creative groups. Thus, it has

become clear that translanguaging is broader in scope and can be applied in multiple writing

styles. The findings from the group discussion also confirmed the significance of

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translanguaging strategies in EFL classrooms. Though these studies recommended using

translanguaging to improve students’ writing skills, these manifested that translanguaging is

helpful to bring out students’ silenced voices, develop creativity, foster comprehension, and

improve communication. None of these however, actually used translanguaging and the theory

of language mode to improve students’ English writing skills that includes not only bringing

out their voices but also ameliorating syntax, vocabulary, and punctuation.

Translanguaging research in Pakistan is scarce (Ashraf, 2017; Ashraf, Hakim, & Zulfiqar, 2014;

Alam, Amin, Ahmed, Shah & Raffay, 2016; Zahra, Khan & Abbas, 2020). It only shows the

existence of translanguaging practices in classrooms, thus support spontaneous translanguaging

that helps to develop communication skills (Alam et al, 2016). On one hand, these research

works indicated irregular language practices inside classrooms, whereas on the other hand,

Shamim (2008) identified the problems that students encounter due to EMI. This indecision on

part of practitioners is an open challenge for ESL learners in Pakistani context.

The current study is different from Zahra, Khan and Abbas (2020), Ashraf, Hakim and Zulfiqar

(2014), Ashraf (2017), Alam et al. (2016) in multiple ways. Firstly, the existence of

translanguaging, as reported by Zahra, Khan and Abbas (ibid.) is a part of natural

translanguaging (García & Wei, 2014) and spontaneous translanguaging (Cenoz, 2017)

whereas the current study has implemented the official and pedagogical translanguaging

proposed by García and Wei (2014) and Cenoz (2017). Secondly, they aimed to find out the

language choices of participants whereas the current study aimed at finding out the problems

due to EMI in reading and writing and afterward implemented the pedagogical translanguaging

as an experimental intervention to improve English reading and writing skills. Thirdly, the

methodology used by Zahra, Khan and Abbas (ibid.) is different from this research; they have

used mixed method approach whereas the current research used an embedded mixed-method

design to incorporate intervention.

Methodology

This study is part of a larger mixed-method study. The embedded mixed method design was

used and through translanguaging pedagogical intervention was conducted. For the

intervention purpose, lesson plans were developed according to the curriculum of the

University. For conducting this research, control and experimental groups were used. In one of

the classrooms, normal teaching practice through EMI was carried out whereas in other groups,

translanguaging pedagogy was used. Similar lesson plans were developed for both groups,

however, for the experimental group translanguaging strategy was used as per guidelines given

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by García and Wei (2014). Furthermore, teachers were trained for using translanguaging. The

research was conducted at a private university in Punjab, Pakistan. The participants of the

research included 200 beginner-level multilingual university students and two multilingual

teachers.

Data for this study were collected in two distinct phases, i.e., pre- and post-intervention. During

the pre-intervention phase, data were collected form interviews with the teachers and the focal

students and from the pre-intervention assessments from both groups qualitatively and

quantitatively. The pre-intervention interviews were conducted to bring out students’ problems

associated with English reading and writing that they encountered during their prior schooling

due to EMI. In the context of Pakistan, before university education, the education system is

divided into 10 years of school education and 2 years of a college education. Though students

have referred to school and college separately for their previous educational experience, in this

research, the word "schooling" is used to include 12 years of education experience. The pre-

intervention assessments were conducted and evaluated by the subject teachers to check their

current stage of English reading and writing skills. Afterward, students were taught using

translanguaging and conventional teaching practice, i.e., EMI at the university level in Pakistan

in experimental and control groups respectively over a period of one semester. At the end of

the semester and intervention, data were again collected in form of post-intervention interviews

and assessments. In the interviews, students and teachers were asked about the improvement

and changes they witnessed in reading and writing. Teachers also took post intervention

assessments and shared the scores with the researcher.

Interviews with students were conducted in Urdu language so they could share their

perspectives. Transcription was done using transliteration in Roman script, however, the

excerpts used in the work were translated into English. Interviews with teachers were

conducted in English and thus there was no restriction of language. Considering the ethical

considerations, pseudonyms of the participants were used. The qualitative data were analyzed

by using constant comparative techniques (Straus & Corbin, 1994) and quantitatively, the data

were analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Comprehensive details of data collection are

presented in Table 1 given below.

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Table 1

Total Data Collected

Data Collection Sources Ms Hadia (Experimental

Group)

Ms Nayab (Control group)

Teachers’ Interviews 2 Interviews (at the beginning

and at the end)

totaling 1 hour 30 minutes (45

minutes each interview)

2 Interviews (at the beginning and at

the end) totaling 1 hour 30 minutes

(45 minutes each interview)

Students’ Interviews

From twenty focal

students (five from each

class)

2 Interviews (at the beginning

and at the end)

totaling 3 hours 20 minutes (20


2 Interviews (at the beginning and at

the end) 3 hours 20 minutes (20


Pre-and Post

translanguaging

assessment

Students’ score from their

assessments

Students’ score from their

assessments

This research broadly aimed to explore how and to what extent translanguaging helped to

improve English reading and writing skills of ESL learners. For this purpose, an experimental

intervention was done. However, before the intervention, students were asked about their major

problems they encountered during their schooling due to EMI. More specifically, the research

answers the following questions:

1. What are the challenges pertaining to reading and writing in English as L2 faced by

ESL learners when they are taught solely through English as a medium of instruction?

2. To what extent and how does translanguaging as a bilingual pedagogy influence the

reading comprehension and writing proficiency of the participants over a period of

time?

Analysis

Prior to conducting the intervention, students were asked about the difficulties they

encountered during their schooling due to EMI. Their responses strengthened Shamim's (2008)

findings, one of which is that EMI is a great challenge. Asma explained that her second year at

college was quite difficult because the teacher was strictly following EMI.

At college it gets really difficult because lectures are delivered in English,

presentations are delivered in English and it really turns very difficult. [Page 62,

line 28]

Similar to Asma, Mihran also told that EMI was not satisfactory; rather, he could understand

the lecture in Urdu effectively. He had experienced two teachers: one who was using EMI and

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the other one was applying Urdu Medium Instruction (UMI). Mihran reported that he was

comfortable with the teacher who was using UMI. His response is stated below:

Afterward my teacher changed and Sir X who was a local teacher started teaching and

explaining to us through Urdu. [Page 44, line 15]

Much like the students, teachers also mentioned that in a multilingual environment where

students used native and national language in their surroundings and home, it is really difficult

and awkward for them to experience only English medium classrooms. They cannot survive in

such classrooms, Ms. Hadia told:

“There appears a lot of problems when a teacher is consistently using English in the

classroom you know this sort of classroom when where a teacher is consistently

throughout speaking in English that classroom setup becomes awkward for them…So

they become very uncomfortable when a teacher is consistently communicating with

them in English…” [Page 14, line 5]

Ms. Hadia affirmed that due to EMI, students get distracted, lose interest, and also develop an

inferiority complex. She also mentioned that students do not follow simple instructions in

English. For instance, they get baffled and want repetition or rephrasing when they are asked

to underline something. This may be due to less exposure to listening that they cannot perceive

properly. Similar to Ms. Hadia, Ms. Nayab also confirmed that students find it difficult to

follow simple instructions and it is because they are not in habit of listening to English around

them. She mentioned an example from her class:

"For example the other day in my class I asked my students to take out their notebooks

I asked them that ok fine we will do our activity and for that, you have to take out your

notebooks some of the students at once turned back and they took out their notebooks

from their bags but some they just kept on sitting …so they did find it difficult whenever

we are giving instructions in English language because the reason is their ears are not

accustomed to such instructions they are not probably not much responsive towards

English as a language". [Page 3, line 5]

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ESL learners find English reading quite a challenging task and, frequently, when that text is

explained in English, they cannot understand at all. They find English text confounding. Ms.

Nayab explained the causes of their difficulty:

“Because of difficult vocabulary because of lack of their own word bank” [Page 8, line

25]

On the other hand, Ms. Hadia discussed that their difficulty level depends on the type of reading

material, if the reading material comprises short sentences, then they can read it, otherwise it

is difficult. She reported:

“Like the reading material if it is having a complex sentence structure …student will

not be able to comprehend that complex sentence structure, so they usually complain

that the sentences this much long that they are getting distracted they are getting lost

while reading so this is the first problem” [Page 18, line 9]

Vocabulary is a major part of any language, if words and their usage is unknown in a second

language, communication is impossible to take place. Students were well aware of this part of

language, therefore, they stressed their weakness. Nabeela said that during her schooling

experience, she could not explain her ideas due to the lack of vocabulary. She affirmed:

We were unable to explain anything at that time [Page 18, line 24]

She gave the reason of her inability to explain:

I had ideas in my mind but due to a lack of words, I was unable to explain. [Page 19,

line 2]

Mihran expressed that his reading skills were so poor that when his teachers used to write

summaries on board for copying, he never knew what he was writing. He stated:

I was unable to understand the theory and associated questions with it, I was even

unaware of the theory. [Page 45, line 25]

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The student, in the aforementioned statement, is referring to theory as English A subject which

comprises short stories, essays, and poems.

English grammar is also a challenge for learners. They are never satisfied with their grammar.

Most of the students complained that their initial schooling was not strong, they were not

familiar with the grammatical rules, therefore, they encountered difficulties. Sofia said that she

felt "the tenses lessons" quite difficult for her, moreover, her thought processes were

miscommunicated due to the selection of tenses. She mentioned:

When I am thinking about a certain idea and when I write my thoughts on a page my

tense gets changed. I will do a mistake in tenses. I will not be able to correct it, when I

have written a whole piece of the page then it becomes really difficult to change. [Page

53, line 14]

Students also mentioned that the speech rate of the teacher was also a problem for them in SLL.

Teacher's speaking rate was greater than their processing speed in English. Rida told:

One of her main problems was she used to speak speedily maybe her level was high. If

she could speak slowly according to students' level then they could understand. I faced

this problem. [Page 162, line 4]

English writing is a challenge for ESL learners. This challenge is compounded by the fact that

the students are not taught to write on their own during their schooling period. Teaching

methods suggest lack of interest of teachers to conduct practice activities in the classroom,

instead, the easy approach of cramming is suggested to students to effectively rewrite the

learned material in exams. This is owing to the fact that, otherwise, it becomes hectic for the

teacher to guide an average of 35 students in the class. Secondly, another reason is that teachers

are not experienced and well trained to plan lessons effectively for implementation in

classrooms. Thirdly, teachers are afraid that their students will write incorrect forms during

exams, and this way students will lose marks, and ultimately the low-grade result of the class

becomes another issue for the concerned teacher. There were only two students who responded

that their English writing skills are better, and they added it is just because of the additional

efforts of their parents. A majority of students said that they found English vocabulary and

structure lacking in their repertoire. Secondly, few students also added that lack of general

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knowledge on any general topic is also a challenge. Various responses of students are given

below that highlight the above-mentioned areas:

Secondly, I lacked the knowledge to write something because it is the first requirement

to write about something. [Shayan, Page 8, line 7]

I cannot write anything about any topic when any task is assigned, I have ideas in my

mind but I cannot write. I have no knowledge of how to begin writing by constructing

sentences. Moreover, I also do not know how to arrange the information. [Nabeela,

page 16, line 5]

If I had little practice in class and learned something, I could present it well. [Arham,

page 96, line 11]

Similarly, teachers also highlighted students’ inability to write in English. Students find

English writing a major challenge during their academics. English writing is a 'monster’ for

them, Ms. Hadia (experimental group teacher) used this metaphor to share students' feelings

towards writing:

“It's like a monster for them, it appears like a very laborious task for them a very effort

for adults whenever we ask them to write something, they become hell reluctant that

this is something you know always unwanted because it seems that this is the task that

can make them bend over backward.” [Page 7, line 19]

Due to their previous schooling experience where no attention was given to foster their writing

skills, they found English writing a difficult task. They found it hard to generate ideas to write

in English. This is also mentioned by Ms. Nayab (control group teacher). It manifested that

their brains are not trained in a way that they can think about any topic to give voice to their

thoughts. She mentioned:

.

"They sometimes are unable to generate some different ideas other than they have

learned there is difficulty in the expansion of the idea the other day we were discussing

how we can expand a particular sentence so I wrote on the board the blue dress and

students they were you know some of them that yes they come up with good ideas

…when it comes to writing it is difficult for them to write in English it is so." [Ms.

Nayab, Page 10, line 32]

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Ms. Hadia shared that L2 serves as a barrier and students are unable to generate ideas in the

target language:

"We have observed that when a topic is given to them to write about it, they are unable

to generate the ideas they are unable to you know to gather the ideas from their you

know mind maybe the language becomes a barrier to them that they are unable to think

ideas or unable to generate ideas in target language…" [Page 19, line 28]

Ms. Hadia opined that narrowing down of ideas is also a major problem for students:

"It is also observed that they cannot narrow down the topic if a topic is given to them

or if a topic is selected by themselves topic is might be education so it would be difficult

for them to narrow down the topic or to you know like make it specific" [page 20, line

31]

In addition to the mentioned reasons, grammar is the biggest challenge that students encounter

while writing. As they are theoretically taught the grammatical rules and they never practice,

therefore, they encounter difficulties to construct a sentence syntactically correct. Ms. Nayab

said:

"Many of the students that cannot even understand the use of proper helping verb.

Suppose, for example, one of the students he wrote…my teacher *are instead of writing

my teacher is" [Page 9, line 19]

As mentioned in the methodology section, after the intervention, data for quantitative part was

collected through pre-and post-intervention scores of tests on reading and writing skills of the

students from the control and experimental groups. Data were analyzed using Independent

Sample T-test with the statistical software SPSS version 23. The results of pre and post-tests

of both groups were compared with a 95% level of significance. The differences that were

equal or below 0.05 were rejected because those were not statistically significant. This is the

generally recognized norm to denote an estimated probability of a 5% difference due to chance.

The null and alternative hypotheses are stated as below:

H0=There is no difference in the effect of EMI and translanguaging on students’ language

learning (reading and writing) mean score.

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H1= There is a difference in the effect of EMI and translanguaging on students' language

learning (reading and writing) mean score.

Figure 1: Image of Clustered Bar Mean of Pre and Post Reading and Writing Tests (Control and Experimental

Group)

Figure 1 shows the clustered bar means of pre-and post-reading and writing tests taken before

and after intervention so that the difference in improvement within groups and across both

groups can be compared. Considering the mean score of pre-reading assessment and post-

reading assessment it is obvious that learners have improved, in the same vein, writing score

has also improved. Besides, the experimental group's post-reading and writing scores are higher

than those of the control group. The same is true for the post writing scores.

The key findings of the above results can be summarized in the following four points:

1. Firstly, comparison of pre-test and post-test scores of both groups indicates that all

participants have improved their reading and writing skills.

2. Secondly, group means of both control and experimental groups have improved

marginally.

3. Thirdly, the group mean of writing skills is greater in both groups.

4. Fourthly, the mean score of post-tests of both skills of the experimental group has

improved more in comparison to the control group.

The results presented above in the bar mean graph provide enough evidence that the null

hypothesis can be rejected, and the alternative hypothesis can be accepted as the mean scores

of both groups have improved.

Table 2 shows the descriptive results of the mean and standard deviation of the reading test

taken before and after the intervention of control and experimental groups.

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Table 2

Descriptive Results of the Mean and Standard Deviation of Pre and Post Reading Test

Control and Experimental Group N Mean Std.

Deviation Std. Mean

Reading test taken before

intervention

Control 94 4.33 1.213 0.125

Experimental 99 3.68 1.316 0.132

Reading test taken after the

intervention

Control 94 5.4 1.298 0.134

Experimental 99 6.37 1.157 0.116

The results presented in Table 2 show that mean totals of the experimental group are higher

than mean totals for the control group with respect to the pre-test. The mean score of the

experimental group was a little lower to 0.65 on average than the control group in the reading

pre-test conducted before the intervention. However, it can be seen that the mean score of the

experimental group has increased to a greater extent with a difference of 2.04, whereas in the

control group this difference is on the average of 1.07. The average score of the experimental

group is approximately double of the control classroom, thus shows greater learning.

Considering the face value of mean scores of both tests of control and experimental group

results show that students of the experimental group performed better than the control group.

To verify this assumption the results were analyzed using SPSS 23 through an independent

sample t-test. Results of the t-test are presented in Table 3 given below.

Table 3

T-test Results on Reading

T-test for Equality of Means

t Df Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Reading test taken

before intervention 3.58 191 0.000 0.653 0.182 0.293 1.013

Reading test taken

after intervention -5.484 191 0.000 -0.969 0.177 -1.318 -0.621

Results of the t-test reflect a statistically significant difference at an alpha value of 0.05

(t=3.580; df=191; p<0.05). If the p-value is compared to 0.05, it is clear that there is evidence

to reject the null hypothesis, therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. There are differences in

the variances of two groups that are different from each other.

Following Table 4 illustrates the descriptive results of the writing assessment taken before and

after the intervention.

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Table 4

Descriptive Results of Mean and Standard Deviation of Pre and Post Writing Test

Control and Experimental Group N Mean Std.

Deviation

Std. Error

Mean

Writing test

before the

intervention

Control 94 5.43 1.208 0.125

Experimental 99 3.64 1.035 0.104

Writing test after

intervention

Control 94 6.23 1.265 0.130

Experimental 99 6.78 1.137 0.114

The results depicted in Table 4 show that mean score of the control group in the pre-test was

5.43 and it raised to 6.23 in the post-test. This shows improvement in control group students.

However, the mean score of the experimental group in the pre-test was 3.64 and it rose to 6.78.

Comparing the mean score of both groups, the control group mean score improved to only

0.803 whereas, the mean score of the experimental group rose to 3.146. This shows an

enormous difference in both groups' mean.

To verify this assumption, the results of the t-test are presented in Table 5 given below.

Table-5

T-test Results on Writing

T-test for Equality of Means

T Df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Writing test taken before

intervention 11.1 191 0.000 1.794 0.162 1.476 2.113

Writing test taken after

the intervention -3.173 191 0.002 -0.549 0.173 -0.89 -0.208

Considering the previously mentioned p-value that was assumed to be less than 0.05 to reject

the null hypothesis, the p-value in the case of pre-and post-test is less than 0.05, therefore, the

null hypothesis is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. The results of the writing

assessments test are described as following:

TS= t191=11.1; p-value=0.000<0.05 so reject H0. This shows evidence in the improvement of

writing skills of the control and experimental groups.

TS= t191= -3.173; p-value=0.002<0.05 so reject H0. This shows evidence of improvement of

writing skills of the control and experimental groups.

To evaluate which skill has improved to a greater extent, the comparative analysis of

descriptive results is made to identify differences in the mean and standard deviation of reading

and writing skills of control and experimental groups. Following Table 6 shows this difference:

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Table 6

Descriptive Results of Comparative Analysis of Reading and Writing (Control and

Experimental Group)

Control and

Experimental

Group N Mean Std. Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean

Reading test taken

before intervention

Control 94 4.33 1.213 0.125

Experimental 99 3.68 1.316 0.132

Reading test taken

after the

intervention

Control 94 5.40 1.298 0.134

Experimental 99 6.37 1.157 0.116

Writing test taken

before intervention

Control 94 5.43 1.208 0.125

Experimental 99 3.64 1.035 0.104

Writing test taken

after the

intervention

Control 94 6.23 1.265 0.130

Experimental 99 6.78 1.137 0.114

The results presented in Table 6 show that the mean score of reading skills of the control group

has improved to 1.07, and the experimental group's mean score of reading skills has improved

to 2.69. On the other hand, the mean score of writing skills of the control group has improved

to 0.8 and experimental group students' mean score of writing skills has improved to 3.14.

Considering the difference in the mean score of reading and writing skills of both groups, this

is visible that the control group has improved in reading skills as compared to writing skills,

whereas the experimental group has improved writing skills with a significant difference. The

overall difference in the means of both skills and both groups show that students of

experimental have improved their both skills significantly.

After the intervention, students and teachers were asked about their perceptions of the

improvement in reading and writing skills. Though statistically there is significant difference

in the performance of control and experimental groups however, students of both groups shared

opinions of similar improvement. The importance of vocabulary cannot be neglected during

the reading and writing process (Susanto, 2017). It is really significant to understand the text.

Sofia (a control group student) explained that she could understand the overall meaning

communicated in a text, however, she faced difficulty in understanding the meaning of difficult

words. She stated:

When I read the paragraph, I could understand the overall meaning of the text but I

found difficulty in understanding the meaning of complex vocabulary and for this, I

took help from the teacher, she used to do the translation for me [Page 4, line 27]

201

Salima (a control group student) shared that earlier she was not good at reading, for instance,

if she encountered a difficult word, she was unable to understand the text but now by applying

the reading strategies she could understand the meaning. This also shows that despite

improving reading skills vocabulary is still a challenge for her. However, by applying the

process of self-regulation, using cognitive processes she was able to understand the general

and main ideas given in the text. She stated:

I was unable to understand earlier however there is a lot of difference now in my

reading skills. I still remember that I was unable to understand the meaning of a word

in class then my teacher told me a trick that instead of focusing on the individual

meaning of a word, try to understand the meaning of a whole sentence and this helped

me a lot and I could understand the text wherever I find trouble. [page 49, line 12]

One of the major characteristics of fluent readers is to develop synthesis and evaluation skills.

Fluent readers can understand and make judgments about the text or purpose of the writer.

Sameera (an experimental group student) said that she developed a detailed reading habit by

posing questions to the text and that she could interpret the text. This shows that she had

developed evaluation skills. She could identify the author's purpose and implied meaning and

ultimately she could synthesize her interpretation based on the author's perspectives. She

mentioned that earlier Urdu translation helped her to evaluate text, however, later on, she was

able to evaluate text only in English.

… we can understand the content and message communicated in a given English

reading text even if Urdu translation is not provided now because we have started

understanding English language now [Page 146, line 9]

Rao (2017) has mentioned nine characteristics of effective writing skills and these include the

selection of interesting topics, rich and appropriate vocabulary, grammatical structure, right

use of punctuation, continuous flow of thought, coherence, simple and easy language, writing

style, and engaging readers in their work. Based on the characteristics provided by Rao, writing

skills can be safely divided into two main categories; first is form, it includes the use of proper

vocabulary, application of grammatical rules; and second is the organization of content that

implies making content coherent and in proper sequence (Ur, 1996). Students' responses from

both groups show that they have improved their writing skills and their progress is satisfactory.

202

As mentioned earlier, vocabulary is a vital component while learning L2 (Susanto, 2017)

students of the experimental group improved as compared to the control group students. Mikail

(an experimental group student) shared his improvement in vocabulary through the usage of

synonyms in his writing:

Firstly, our teacher told us about different parts of writing, she told us the functions of

vocabulary and this helped us to learn new vocabulary items. We also learned about

transitional words {he has used it mistakenly, actually referring towards synonyms}

and we can effectively use alternative words. This means we have improved vocabulary,

and this has resulted in improvement in marks of end semester exams [Page 90, line 4]

Shayan (a control group student) said that initially his grammar was not good; he was not aware

of subject-verb agreement and his sentence structure was also not good. However, he has

improved his grammar through this course, he mentioned:

If we observe, earlier when we were writing there was no sentence structure, we could

not understand where to use was and but now we can see improvement in writing skills

[Page 39, line 10]

Faiza has (an experimental group student) also mentioned that she saw improvement in

sentence structure and now she could construct complex sentences through proper use of

prepositions, conjunctions, and transition words:

At the start of the semester when our teacher started paragraph writing, we used to do

a lot of mistakes related to sentence structure. When we used to write either sentence

structure was wrong, or it was too simple. Afterward, we learned about the use of

prepositions, transition words, and conjunctions, therefore by applying these things we

could construct a mature sentence. [ Page 80, line 23]

Nabeela (a control group student) mentioned that earlier she had no knowledge of self-writing

because she was never taught, however, the current style of teaching where a lot of practice

activities were conducted helped to foster her writing skills. She not only learned to use

grammatical concepts in their writing rather she also learned text organization strategies to give

it structure. She stated:

203

There is a lot of improvement in writing skills. Before the course of Foundation of

English, we had only crammed, however, our teacher covered everything by starting

from the basic concept like parts of words and moved towards parts of speech, kinds of

sentences, and elements of writing. Our teacher has taught us how to write starting,

middle, and ending of a paragraph. She has helped us a lot in writing so now we can

handle everything smoothly. [Page 43, line 6]

Uzair (an experimental group student) mentioned that he had improved how to sequence

information in paragraphs or essays. He explained his awareness of distinct parts of a paragraph

and the strategies to create cohesion:

At the start of the semester, my writing skills were like I used to make hotchpotch of

everything. I had no realization of the organization of work, like which part needs to be

written at the start, which needs to be written in the middle, and which should be the

last part. Moreover, I was also not familiar with what words should be used in the

introduction, for example, the use of firstly. Ma'am used to tell us the use of transitive

words, linking words, conjunctions, and interjections. Ma'am explained to us how to

link one sentence with the other. In addition to it, earlier we used to do a lot of

grammatical mistakes and those are also improved due to teacher. Earlier our writing

was a mixture of information, we had no idea how to organize the information. [Page

100, line 8]

Ms. Nayab shared that though her students found difficulties in reading due to difficult

vocabulary, however, they could anticipate the meaning of those words from contextual clues.

Also, they learned to skim and scan the text. She said:

"… It was actually the difficult vocabulary that was a basic impediment in the

understanding of the text. But when I asked them to read and read again, so I found out

that they developed a habit of reading the text carefully…and they did that because in

the final term paper when they were given certain questions that were the answers were

not relevant and obvious in the text. But even then they were able to found out the

answer..." [Page 11, line 16]

204

Ms. Hadia shared that her students had improved reading skills and she associated reading with

thinking. This shows that reading is not the only surface reading of texts rather negotiation with

the text to come at interpretation and detailed understanding of the text. These manifest students

have developed synthesis and evaluation skills. Ms. Hadia also associated reading

comprehension questions with problems. She stressed that students were able to find answers

to those problems. She stated:

"when it comes to reading …my students were really you know better at solving the

problems I mean if we make those questions as a problem that are given at the end of

the text may be considered as problems and students were able to answer those

questions. this also shows that this has not only helped my students in improving their

writing and oral skills rather they have also learnt if some sort of problem…to solve

certain problems.” [Page 21, Line 8]

Ms. Nayab gave a detailed explanation of her students' improvement in English language

writing. She said that her students had improved their grammar, generation of ideas, expansion

of thought, and vocabulary. She also explained that the reason for this improvement was

practice conducted in the classroom. Engaging students in writing exercises in the classroom

helped them to foster their writing skills. She informed:

“…their writing was improved in terms of structure and grammar, and I found their

Spelling's improved as well…But over and above, they learnt, they themselves even they

admit that these the course and activities we did throughout it really helped us out in

improving our English language, both in terms of reading and in writing also.” [Page

11, Line 32]

Ms. Hadia also said that her students improved grammar due to translanguaging strategies used

in the class. Comparative analysis of the two languages helped them to understand and retain

information. She shared examples from one lesson that how students comprehended the

concept:

“It helped them a lot… there are many examples of it, once I was teaching them

prefixes and suffixes so there was a word submarine, I asked students what it means.

They told me it is aabdoz, afterwards I divided the word into its parts, I asked students

205

that aab is used for sub or marine. Then one student mentioned that aab is for marine

and doz is for sub. After this I asked students further question that what doz means in

Urdu, they answered down something that is hidden… and in the same vein once we

were doing kinds of sentences so there I told them that declarative sentence is called

bayania, interrogative is called sawaliya so it was kind of help for them they were able

to memorize they were able to retain the information.” [Page 23, Line 5]

Ms. Hadia also shared that her students improved in the stage of generation of ideas this implies

students' content also improved. They came up with more details and strong explanations due

to freedom to use two languages and semiotic resources. She explained:

“When we used to give students the first stage that this is the topic and you are to write.

We used to divide the activity into two parts as rough work and final draft. Earlier I

observed when I used to give them activity students had less ideas and mostly students

did not participate in class however this time when I have allowed them to use any

language of their choice may it be Punjabi, Saraiki or Urdu they can use it for

generation of ideas then students came up with different ideas.” [Page 24, Line 6]

Discussion and Findings

Considering the challenges faced by ESL students with writing skills, their problems can be

classified into two major parts: form and content. The form includes four parts: syntax,

deficiency of lexical items, spellings, and pronunciation. Corresponding to the findings of

Fareed, Ashraf and Bilal (2016), Megaiab (2014) and Haider (2012), the findings of the current

study are similar to the errors existent in students' writing. Syntactic errors identified by the

participants include sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, use of tenses, wrong use of

articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Vocabulary is also a challenge for ESL learners. The

participants showed lack of ability to choose the proper lexical in the target language. This

resulted in difficulty to communicate their thoughts effectively.

Spellings and pronunciation are also a challenge for learners, they mentioned that they write

spellings of words as those are perceived phonetically, thus it results in deviations. The second

major category noticed challenging for students is the content. Students possessed less

knowledge related to the topic given for writing. They lacked the ability to generate ideas and

this is also associated with the lack of reading habits.

206

Findings also revealed that due to limited vocabulary they could not understand English text

that was taught through EMI. Moreover, reading was taken as mere reading aloud and doing

translation in certain cases, that supports the findings of Fareed, Jawed and Awan (2018), and

Gulzar and Qadir (2010). Due to these reading practices in the classroom, as mentioned by both

participant teachers, reading was not sufficient to be able to build their vocabulary, help them

paraphrase, summarize or skim the text. Findings also revealed and supported Teevno and

Raisani (2017) in that students rely on teachers for answering questions and translating. Apart

from answering simple questions based on comprehension, other activities like summarizing

text, learning and identifying certain grammatical patterns, paying attention to the spellings

and intending to learn vocabulary do not exist among students. This not only identifies that

students' comprehension is not improved rather critical reading skills are also not developed

due to the absence of teaching of these strategies in the classroom.

The findings correspond to Teevno and Raisani (2017) who stated that the absence of these

skills in students' reading sessions is due to their poor awareness. Similarly, findings also

manifested that the students were not trained to synthesize, analyze, evaluate, and apply

different reading strategies, resultantly; they did not learn to read. This is also associated with

the wrong teaching system based on cramming.

The research indicated numerous explanations for lack of reading and writing skills including

EMI, lack of trained teachers, wrong teaching practices, lack of reading habits, speedy speech

rate while using EMI, reliance on L-1 and teachers' biasness. The students' difficulties in

writing are also compounded by the fact that as they are not allowed to use Urdu or any other

native language in the classroom during writing, so they rely on L1 syntax and ultimately, they

do not produce the proper structure of English. As students are discouraged to use L1, but still,

they use L1 as a backup in their linguistic repertoire and they remain unable to adjust those

parameters according to L2. This remains a debatable issue. It is not possible in a multilingual

society like Pakistan where the linguistic repertoire of individuals is composed of three

languages at least to restrict them from using their linguistic repertoire. It is mandatory to

consider other factors that influence students' language learning including parents' language,

the location where the child lives. In such a scenario, restriction in the classroom only for EMI,

UMI, or non-strategic use of two languages do not help them to develop and improve language

skills. In this regard, fluid language practices mentioned by Garcia (2009) named as

translanguaging strategy proved an effective tool to foster their skills that allows every

individual to be an equal participant in the classroom. Thus, this allowed students to use L1 or

other semiotic resources in class to foster their English reading and writing skills strategically.

207

However, this freedom was used strategically by designing lesson plans and identifying the

input means that require L1 use.

Concerning the level of improvement in reading comprehension and writing skills, the findings

reflected that there is a positive correlation between translanguaging techniques and learners'

performance in reading and writing. This manifests that students’ English reading and writing

skills can be improved due to translanguaging. This is in contradiction to Mgijima (2019)

findings that show the improvement in students’ home language reading skills but suggested a

need to be careful while using this strategy for English language improvement.

The findings on the improvement of reading skills are similar to Namrullah, Syawal, and

Nasrullah (2020) in which both control and experimental groups improved. However, there is

a statistically significant difference in the performance of the control group and experimental

group of this research. The mean score of the experimental group was higher than the control

group. The difference in comparison of both tests score clearly shows greater improvement in

experimental classroom research. The difference in the mean score of pre-and post-reading test

scores of the control and experimental groups was 1.03 and 2.69, respectively. The comparison

of both groups’ pre- and post-mean score shows that score in the pretest of the control group is

higher than the experimental group with a difference of 0.65. The students of the control group

could not perform well due to the restricted use of their linguistic repertoire (Garcia, 2009).

The results showed that the experimental group has improved significantly greater than the

control group. The pre-and post-intervention writing score showed the difference in mean of

the control and experimental groups 0.8 and 3.14, respectively. Thus, there is a significant

improvement in the experimental group. Considering the mean difference of reading and

writing of the control group, results showed greater improvement in the control group reading

skills, while the experimental group improved writing skills.

The results of the post-test showed that the reading comprehension of both groups has

improved. The findings of the study suggest that experimental group students' reading skills

have improved immensely. The improvement in the control group students is also obvious,

however, it is less than the experimental group. In the same vein, students' interview findings

suggest improvement in their reading comprehension. After analysis of data students'

improvement in reading can be classified into three main parts including vocabulary,

metacognitive skills, and synthesis and evaluation. These findings are in line with Grabe

(1991). Findings illustrate that students’ general comprehension and critical reading skills have

improved; these findings affirm Bin-Tahir et al. (2018) who found the improvement of Arabic

reading skills through translanguaging strategy and opposite to Makalela (2015) who reported

208

no improvement in comprehension of students while dealing with African language at

university as an additional language.

As reading involves cognitive skills, the students' use of top-down and bottom-up approaches

helps them to reach automaticity. Findings revealed the improvement in students' vocabulary,

and this ultimately has improved their comprehension of the text. In particular, the findings of

the experimental group revealed that though initially, students used Urdu as an additional

resource for understanding the meaning, thus showing the activation of bilingual language

mode. As Grosjean (1999) mentioned that during the bilingual mode the activation of matrix

language stays constant and other language is also activated to a great extent. In such scenario,

matrix language that was Urdu for students as they used Urdu for discussion in the class helped

to process L2.

In addition to the improvement in vocabulary similar to (Makalela, 2015), findings of this study

revealed that students used various strategies to sort out their problems regarding reading

comprehension. They applied different techniques to negotiate meaning, for example, use of

contextual clues for understanding and use of their complete linguistic repertoire with help of

texts in two languages. Findings also showed that students' synthesis and evaluation skills have

also improved. This stage comes a little later after the basic comprehension. Findings showed

that students' developed text interpretation and they were also able to identify the type and

purpose of text. In addition, they were able to bring their questions to text for the interpretation.

Findings are noticed in line with Maseko and Mkhize (2019) and illustrate that during

classroom teaching teachers used various semiotic resources that helped students to better

negotiate the meaning.

The overall findings from teachers' interviews establish that there is improvement in the

students' reading skills as a result of the intervention. Ms. Nayab, the teacher of the control

group, mentioned the difficulty of vocabulary that her students encountered while reading. On

the other hand, Ms. Hadia associated reading with cognitive activity and shared that students

were able to negotiate the meaning of the text and they could interpret the text. They could

bring their voice to the text. In addition to it, she emphasized that her students were able to

solve the problems associated with the comprehension questions. Moreover, due to

translanguaging space provided to students, they were able to communicate the answers to

those questions, even if they lacked vocabulary or sentence structure.

The findings of this study are in accordance with Mbirimi-Hungwe (2016) and show that

students used various techniques to develop a deeper understanding of the text. For this, control

group teacher used simple English to make ideas clear for students and to develop

209

comprehension. This manifest restricting the use of complete semiotic repertoire. On the other

hand, Ms. Hadia ensured and encouraged students to use the complete semiotic repertoire for

the understanding of the text. This encouraged students to use the languages with their bilingual

pairs for meaning making (Garcia & Wei, 2014). This resulted in correlating the meaning of

the difficult words with their L1. This helped students to grasp the difficult concepts. Within

control and experimental groups, two different approaches for the only use of English and

freedom in use of languages resulted in asphyxiating of their learning and deeper understanding

respectively (Garcia, 2009). The difference in students' improvement of reading is also obvious

through their post-test scores.

Findings displayed that there is improvement in writing skills of both groups, yet the students

of the experimental group reported better improvement and to a greater extent than the students

of the control group. However, the findings from interviews of teachers and students of both

groups revealed similar kind of improvement which is a result of similar lesson plans that were

implemented in both classrooms. The findings on the improvement of writing are categorized

into improvement in vocabulary, grammar, syntax, rhetorical strategies, and spellings.

Considering Rao (2017), the characteristics of effective writing skills are categorized into form

and organization. Findings showed that the students' vocabulary in the experimental group

improved. Ultimately, they could express their ideas effectively while writing. Additionally,

they mentioned that they learned transitional words that helped them to make their writing

coherent. Their learning of new vocabulary is not only limited to the addition of mere word

stock in the linguistic repertoire, rather they were able to use the newly learned vocabulary in

their interaction, which manifested the in-depth understanding of the words.

One of the major challenges of Pakistani English language learners is grammar and syntax

(Fareed, Ashraf & Bilal, 2016; Haider, 2012). Findings showed that students improved their

understanding of the use of tenses, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, conjunctions, linking

words, sentence construction from simple sentences to complex and compound-complex

sentences. In English classrooms, following the university policy, students drafted their final

work in English only (Garcia & Wei, 2014). However, in the experimental classroom, the

teacher leveraged students to use their complete semiotic repertoire for drafting their outlines

or taking notes during their discussion with their bilingual peers. This proved as an immense

help for students as they were able to produce ideas associated with the particular topic. So, in

the experimental group, during the final writing stage, the teacher helped students to convert

or construct sentences in English. This allowed students to freely use the linguistic resources

(Garcia & Wei, 2014) and helped them to write effectively. Also, this is the activation of the

210

bilingual mode (Grosjean, 1999) that helped students to effectively build sentences in English.

Though students of the control group shared that they improved their writing skills, the

quantitative findings showed that there is less improvement. The obvious reason for the

difference of improvement in both groups lies in restriction and freedom to use their linguistic

repertoire.

Another important finding is the use of rhetorical strategies at a macro level and at the micro

level it includes organizing strategies, cohesive strategies, and genre awareness. The findings

are like those of Mu and Carrington (2007), Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan and Rashid (2014), who

considered rhetorical strategies as one of the other features of writing strategies employed by

university students. However, one of the findings is different from that of Mu and Carrington.

They shared that Chinese learners were more in practice to communicate their thoughts in

sentences and less concerned towards the use of conjunctions and they took help of lexical

items to develop coherence. The difference is due to explicit teaching of conjunctions in

classroom. The second important rhetorical strategy applied by the students is the

organizational strategy. Students mentioned that they are now aware of the organization of text

considering the clarity of ideas in the text by professionally writing introduction, the body of

work, and the conclusion while drafting essays. In addition, findings showed the students'

awareness towards the proper paragraph writing principles using a topic sentence and

supporting details.

Findings also illustrated the students' awareness of metacognitive strategies at the macro level

and planning strategies at the micro level. Findings of Vaish (2019), Mu and Carrington (2007)

and Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan and Rashid (2014) showed that students emphasized the global

planning of paragraphs that includes organizing of several paragraphs. However, dissimilar to

Mu and Carrington, students also focused on the local level organization that includes the

planning of sentence or a paragraph.

The findings from teachers’ interviews on students’ writing improvement also affirmed those

findings of Mu and Carrington (2007) and Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan and Rashid (2014). Apart

from rhetorical and metacognitive strategies as mentioned by students, findings from teachers'

interviews revealed the students' use of the cognitive strategies at a broader level and whilw

generating ideas in particular. Moreover, the findings from the teacher of the experimental

group showed that her students learned grammar and the skill of generating ideas. This is due

to translanguaging strategy that was used in the classroom. A teacher reported that while

teaching English grammar, quoting examples from students' native languages helped them

retain the required information and they were motivated and interested in the learning process.

211

Freedom in the choice of language and use of whole semiotic repertoire helped students

generate more ideas for writing on a particular topic (Blackledge & Creese, 2014; Garcia,

2009). Strict separation of languages not only restricts users to communicate in any of the

known languages effectively (Blackledge & Creese, 2014), but also restricts their interaction

with teachers in classroom as accepted by the control group teacher. The freedom in the flexible

use of whole linguistic and semiotic repertoire is suggested by various researchers (Du, 1994;

Garcia, 2009; Blackledge & Creese, 2014; Souza, 2015; Makalela, 2015). Our study, like those

studies also suggests the free use of one’s complete semiotic repertoire and use of bilingual

mode (Grosjean, 1999) during classroom English teaching in general, and reading and writing

in particular.

Conclusion

Translanguaging as a pedagogical strategy proved as an effective tool for beginning level

university ESL students in Pakistan. The research concluded that translanguaging helped

students to foster their English reading and writing skills statistically far better than EMI.

Students' improvement in reading including metacognitive, cognitive, synthesis and evaluation

skills is noticed. Similarly, students improved their writing skills at micro and macro level.

Thus, the current study provides a pathway for future teachers to use translanguaging pedagogy

strategically to improve English reading and writing skills.

It is recommended to conduct similar studies in other private/public sector universities by

considering the socio-economic conditions of the institutes and the merit criteria of admissions.

This can help to better understand the level of influence of translanguaging pedagogy on

diverse students in diverse settings. It is noteworthy to further investigate the evidence-based

language praxes in specific situations where students and teachers use their complete linguistic

repertoire. This can further help teachers and teacher trainers utilize specific situations to give

students translanguaging space in the classroom.

212

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Intercultural Communicative Competence in COVID 19 Pandemic Era: An

Investigation of Pre-service English Teachers in Kuwait

Abbas Habor Al-Shammari

Associate Professor of English Language,

Faculty of Graduate Studies, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait

Bio-profile:

Dr. Abbas Habor Al-Shammari is an Associate Professor of English Language, Faculty of

Graduate Studies, Kuwait University, State of Kuwait. His PhD dissertation is centered on

EFL/ESL. He has worked in Kuwait University for about 35 years. He headed the English

Language Unit in the Faculty of Social Sciences for two decades. He is also the supervisor of

the English Language Programme in the Deanship of Community Service and Continuing

Education, Kuwait University. He has published many research papers in EFL/ESL,

sociolinguistics, and education.

Abstract

Owing to its highly internationalized economy, Kuwait has a large multicultural, multilingual

immigrant population. Therefore, one of the main aims of teaching English language as a

foreign language in Kuwait and the training of pre-service English language teachers in ICC

skills is to enhance the mutual cultural communication at a high efficacy level. This research

aims at investigating the intercultural communication competence level of English teachers and

the correlation between the level of intercultural communication competence and two other

variables, viz. gender and place of origin in a public university in Kuwait. The study used

survey data generated from 164 pre-service English (F=100, M= 64) teachers by employing

the intercultural communication competence rating scale. When the overall ranking of the ICC

skills of the respondents is computed, it is found that these are just modest. Out of the eight

parameters used to measure teachers’ ICC, language skills are found to be the lowest. The

analysis further shows that the ICC of women pre-service teachers was higher than that of their

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male counterparts, but there is no gap between the English teachers at the pre-service

preparation program coming either from the urban areas or the rural. The study proposes that

the University should focus more on enhancing the ICC skills of the pre-service teachers to

ensure that they are able to do justice to their multicultural learner base.

Keywords: Intercultural Communicative Competence, COVID 19, Teachers, Kuwait, EFL,

ESL

Introduction

Given the widespread recognition of the strong association between language and culture,

intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has become a primary educational objective in

several countries (Hatshorb & McMurry, 2020, Heggerness, 2021). There is a high premium

on the promotion of ICC in addition to the four English language skills. Teaching of English

language as an EFL or ESL is translated to be developing students' English language skills and

ICC (Tolosa Biebricher, East, & Howard, 2018, COccetta, 2018, Romjin, Slot & Leseman,

2021, Corbett, 2019). English education is highly valued in Middle Eastern countries (Tryzna

& Al Sharoufi, 2017; Süleyman, 2018; Al-Mutairi, 2020; Kirkpatrick & Barnawi, 2017; Al-

Ahdal & Alqasham, 2020; Al-Ahdal, 2020a; Al-Ahdal, 2020b; Al-Ahdal, 2020c; Alfallaj,

2020; Kitsihat, Al Omar, & Al Momani, 2020; Luanganggoon, 2020).

The standards of the English curriculum in Kuwait stipulate that the primary schools have to

include an English course at the very first year of schooling. On the other hand, necessary

resources for English should be supplied from the first year. Moreover, at least three English

teaching lessons can be provided per week. The Ministry of Education developed novel

priorities for teaching English in the light of the new scenario. Worthy to mention, one of the

teaching objectives for English teaching in both education systems (the higher and primary) in

Kuwait is introducing ICC. The English Instruction Syllabus for English Major Programs in

Higher Education in Kuwait noted the importance of cultivating intercultural communicative

ability in the teaching specifications. It states that when teaching technical classes, special

emphasis should be placed on developing students' empathy, endurance, and adaptability when

confronted with cultural differences. In terms of fundamental education, the standards of

English curriculum in Kuwait state that the overall aim of English instruction is to improve

students' holistic capabilities of language usage. This way of improvement covers five axes:

learning technique, emotion and mood, language knowledge, and cultural understanding.

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As a result of this increased knowledge of the ICC as a vital component of language instruction,

comprehensive research on this topic has been undertaken in Kuwait. Numerous experiments

have been conducted to explore the close link between intercultural communication capacity

and ELT behaviors (Al Darwish, 2017; Al Shammari & Olaimat, 2019; Al-Fadley, Al-Holy &

Al-Adwani, 2018; Alrabah, Wu, & Alotaibi, 2018; Al-Yaseen, 2018; Jalalian, 2018; Meerza &

Beauchamp, 2017; Thomure, 2019).

Teachers' ICC levels are important for assisting students in developing their ICC since they

allow teachers to comprehend and learn how language, from one side, and culture, from the

other side, determine people's world views, affecting their teaching. Consequently, multiple

researchers (Byram & Wagner, 2018; Deardorff & Steve, 2017; Devi, 2021; Hsu & Beasley,

2019; Munezane, 2019; Peng, Zhu, & Wu, 2020) examined EFL students' ICC rate. However,

few instances of research, especially in the Kuwaiti context, have examined the ICC of pre-

service English teachers. Pre-service teachers' ICC levels may directly affect their teaching

trainings. The levels of teachers' ICC influence teachers' attitudes toward the mutual cultural

content or the different tasks in the classroom. An analysis of pre-service teachers' ICC

instruction would aid in evaluating the importance of ICC in English education, finding

problems with ICC training, and providing guidelines for pre-service English teachers' ICC

instruction.

Intercultural communicative competence in a cross-cultural setting

Numerous scholars have identified the concept "intercultural communicative competence

(ICC)" in the last few decades (de Waal, Born, Brinkmann, & Frasch, 2020; Dimitrijević,

Starčević, & Marjanović, 2019; Klimanova & Vinokurova, 2020; Nadeem, Mohammed, &

Dalib, 2020; Svarstad, 2019) in the context of their own study. Klimanova and Vinokurova

(2020) described ICC as the capacity to interact efficiently and adequately in intercultural

contexts, centered on one's intercultural experience, abilities, and attitudes. In parallel, Tsaur

and Tu (2019) described ICC as "the capacity to carry out communication behaviors efficiently

and appropriately in order to evoke a desired answer in a particular environment" (p. 352).

As claimed by Presbitero (2020), ICC entails three abilities: the capacity for developing and

maintaining partnerships, the capacity for effective communication, and the capacity for

reaching a shared agreement with others. The construction of ICC encompasses five

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dimensions: comprehension, emotions, abilities, intelligence, and proficiency in the target

language. Chen and Kent (2020) described ICC in Saudi Arabia as the capacity to interact

successfully and respectfully with individuals from different linguistic and cultural

backgrounds. While many researchers describe ICC differently, this can be inferred as it

primarily entails an understanding of others' beliefs, perceptions, and actions, as well as the

ability to deal with them.

ICC's Simulations

To aid students' ICC growth when learning English, a growing array of investigations is going

on in order to create a framework for incorporating ICC into the educational programs of

English language. Gritsenko et al., (2020) suggested the Developmental Model of Intercultural

Sensitivity (DMIS) for enhancing cross-cultural communication adequacy, which is needed for

cultural sensitivity growth. The DMIS paradigm entails moving through many stages in order

to experiment with and improve this sensitivity, along a series of five stages: rejection, defense,

minimization, recognition, adaptation, and incorporation. In practice, the DMIS framework

was too complex and unrealistic. Boldyrev and Dubrovskaya (2019) suggested a model of

intercultural communication based on the notion that the mechanism of intercultural

communication requires the acquisition of understanding skills, the establishment of cultural

connections, that is, exploration and interaction.

Five components comprise Pikhart’s (2019) model. The first is the person’s attitudes (savoir-

être), which encompasses inquisitiveness and tolerance, as well as a willingness to abandon

one’s preconceived notions regarding other societies and one’s own. Awareness (savoir) is the

second aspect of ICC. It encompasses both basic and general knowledge. The third dimension

is interpretive and relational skills (savoir-comprendre), which refer to the capacity to interpret

and contribute to the communication and practices of another community. The fourth

dimension is exploration and social skills (savoir apprendre/faire), which contribute to the

capacity to leverage real-time communication by inquiring about the ideals, attitudes, and

actions of people from other cultures. Ultimately, the fifth dimension, which is considered an

essential aspect of ICC, is the analytical understanding of culture (savoir’s engager), which

refers to the capacity to analyze, objectively and on the basis of explicit standards, one’s own

and other cultures’ viewpoints, traditions, methods, and products. Byram’s model has the most

impact on the creation of ICC modules.

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Liaw’s (2019) model of ICC significantly widens the idea of ICC and emphasizes the

collaborative relationship between different talents, which aids in comprehending the ICC

comprehensively. This model, though, does not clarify why the two definitions of cross-cultural

adequacy and the competence of the cross-cultural communication are distinct, nor does it

explain their interior relations. Additionally, it is necessary to investigate the main and

secondary relationships between the five skills.

R’boul (2020) has established two frameworks of ICC in an effort to offer guidelines for

assessing ICC by administrators in order to determine the basic components of ICC that must

be defined for concerned organizations to evaluate learners' ICC. The pyramid framework of

ICC has three levels. Level 1 consists of required behaviors. Level 2 consists of an interpersonal

interaction between experience and comprehension. Level 3 consists of skills that work

conversely as the more in-depth one's awareness of cultural knowledge or content, the faster

one's intercultural skills develop. Moreover, this level represents the desired internal outcome:

adjustability, resilience, cultural relativity across national borders, and empathy. The perfect

external outcome, that is, efficient and adequate intercultural contact, is at the top of the

pyramid.

Intercultural competence and intercultural communicative competence are synonymous in

Deardorff and Steve's (2017) pyramidal paradigm of ICC. It focuses on the critical relationship

between expertise and abilities in cross-cultural communication. It has significant analytical

consequences for the development of an ICC evaluation framework. Nadeem et al. (2020)

claimed that ICC encompasses both communicative and intercultural competence in Saudi

Arabia. Intercultural maturity encompasses openness to cultural nuances, respect for cultural

diversities, and adaptability in coping with cultural diversities. These models were designed

for a variety of research purposes and used a variety of structural elements, yet they aided

researchers in developing a concrete understanding of ICC. Both models were similar in that

they required language consumers to get acceptable intercultural behaviors, experience,

expertise, and techniques, and suggested that successful contact happens only when

communicators consider and respect the distinctions between other cultures.

ICC Assessment

It is important to determine students' ICC levels in order to assist them in developing their skills

in this direction. Since the 1970s, a small group of intercultural experts has been involved in

the creation of ICC evaluation instruments. Ruben (1976) described seven components of

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intercultural communication competence and developed a general model. His Intercultural

Behavioral Assessment Indices (IBAI) served as a proxy for ICC. Ruben's instrument was

mostly reliable; nevertheless, he noted that it had certain drawbacks, including its duration and

imprecision (Köksal & Yürük, 2020; Peng, et al., 2020). Gao and Kennedy (2019) detailed the

ICC's training, learning, and evaluation goals in terms of the four savoir aspects.

It took a long time of observation and a great deal of work. Kelley and Meyers (1995)

constructed a 50-item Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI), which included

emotional adaptability, versatility, transparency, empathy, and human autonomy in the

assessment process. Delante (2020) developed a fifty-question Intercultural Development

Inventory (IDI) to assess individuals' ICC. These initiatives were designed mostly for ESL

students and workers in the United States and Europe.

Several academics have attempted to modify or create ICC evaluation instruments for students

(Ward & Given, 2019; Munezane, 2019; Kabir & Sponseller, 2020). R'boul (2020) created the

ICCICCS (Intercultural Communication Competence Inventory for the students at Rab

College). This inventory composed of two reciprocally interactive aspects, viz. knowing and

doing. Furthermore, the term knowing was subdivided into three different modules:

intelligence, understanding, and reasoning, while doing was subdivided into behaviors,

abilities, and policy.

Rings and Alleyyani (2020) created an ICC model for undergraduates of Rab English major.

The model contained two types of competences, the communicative, and the intercultural.

Communicative competence encompasses linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic

competence. In contrast, the intercultural competence is comprised of four modules: abilities,

consciousness, awareness, and mentality. They created the Intercultural Communication Self-

Rating Scale (ICCSRS) based on this model to measure learners' ICC.

Research Objectives

The current study aims at discussing the pre-service English teachers' current ICC at a Kuwaiti

public ordinary university. It makes a concerted effort to find out clear replies to the following

study inquiries:

(1) What is the current level of ICC in Kuwait's pre-service English teachers?

(2) How close are the ICCs of pre-service English teachers to their sex and family origins?

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Research Method and Instrumentation

The study employed a descriptive correlational research design by using a standardized ICC

questionnaire from 76 to 50 statements by removing redundant items, inserting more writing

and translation-related components, and updating difficult-to-answer items. It consists of eight

subdimensions and is scored on a 5-point Likert scale(1 indicating ‘strong disagreement’, 2

indicating ‘disagreement’, 3 indicating ‘uncertain’, 4 indicating ‘agreement’, and 5 indicating

‘strong agreement’. It is categorized into two dimensions: i. Communicative competence,

which encompasses linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, rhetoric competence,

and strategic competence; ii. Intercultural competence. This type of competence includes

intercultural understanding, behavior, comprehension, and abilities. Alpha for the instrument

was 0.824, indicating that the questionnaire had a high degree of internal accuracy.

Participants

A total of 164 pre-service Kuwaiti English teachers were requested to participate in the survey

at a typical Kuwaiti university that was dedicated to the cultivation of primary education

teachers. The recruitment of participants was from the junior middle schools. Moreover, the

participants signed arrangements with their home educational agencies committing them to

return to rural schools to do their job of teaching. There were 64 male participants and 100

female participants. The participants' ages were between 18 and 21, and they had spent a

minimum of 12 years studying the English language. When this study was being conducted,

the majority of participants lacked teaching experience.

Data Collection and Analysis

The instrument of the study, i.e., questionnaire, was sent electronically via a survey portal.

With the assistance of an instructor from each of the five schools where questionnaire

administered, the researcher could get access to the participants' classroom. After that he

outlined the study objectives, informed the participants of the connection to the questionnaire,

and invited them to complete the questionnaire within five days. All respondents reverted with

their feedback by the end of the five days. Following data collection, the findings were entered

into the SPSS21.0 program, which was used to filter the collected questionnaires and rescored

the reversed objects. Cronbach's Alpha was utilized to determine the scale's overall reliability;

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descriptive statistics were used to determine the averages and standard deviations for eight

subcategories of pre-service English teachers' ICC; and an experimental survey t-test was used

to determine the discrepancies in ICC between the pre-service English language teachers'

gender and family backgrounds (nature of place of residence). The average scores were used

to assess the ICC standards of pre-service English language teachers on a global basis and in

various directions using the criteria as follows: A score of less than 2.49 is considered low,

whereas a score of between 2.50 and 2.99 is considered appropriate. If the average score is

between 3.00 and 3.49, the overall ICC or the related dimension has a modest degree of

performance. If the average score exceeds 3.50, the overall ICC or the related dimension is

interpreted as high.


The scale of grading the pre-service English language teachers' ICC consisted of eight sub-

dimensions. They are skill, knowledge, attitude, discourse competence, linguistic

competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence, and awareness. The

following part provides the various recorded outputs from all the levels of ICC. Furthermore,

it states the interrelation between the pre-service English language teachers’ ICC and gender

along with the family background.

Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Scores

The scale implemented for the current study is destined extensively to evaluate the ICC of pre-

service English teachers in a typical university through eight sub-dimensions. Table 1 shows a

summary of the overall degree of the ICC and its eight sub-dimensions. As seen in Table 1, pre-

service teachers' ICC has a modest overall mean rating of 3.20. Among the eight ICC

dimensions, attitude (D6) received the highest score (3.99) and details (D5) received the lowest

score (2.66), meaning that the pre-service English teachers' ICC levels were either good or fair

across all dimensions, with no dimension receiving a weak score. The following chart

summarizes the eight sub-dimensions: Attitude (D6) has the highest average value, reaching

3.99, accompanied by strategic sophistication (D4). This exposes that the pre-service English

language teachers have a highly benevolent attitude toward other cultures and a demonstrated

capacity to participate in intercultural communication or to resolve contact difficulties through

verbal or non-verbal means. Awareness (D7) scores an average of 3.40, showing that pre-service

English teachers are fairly open to and dismissive of varied cultures. Sociolinguistic competence

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(D2) and skill (D8), respectively. This suggests that pre-service English teachers, on average,

exhibit strong sociolinguistic skills and the ability to communicate through cultures. On the

other hand, the mean scores are low for the linguistic competence (D1), the discourse

competence (D3), and comprehension (D5) as 2.95, 2.82, and 2.78 respectively.

Table 1.

Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Scores

Figure 1. Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Scores

Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Levels of Competence by Gender

The participants comprised of 100 female and 64 male pre-service English instructors. Table 2

expresses the interrelation between gender and the instructors' ICC. Female students scored

higher on the total ICC scale as compared to male students, as seen in Table 2. The test result

indicated a statistically remarkable variation in the ICC ratios of first- and fourth-level students

ICC Dimension Mean N Standard

Deviation

Linguistic competence (D1) 2.95 164 0.65

Sociolinguistic competence (D2) 3.28 164 0.61

Discourse competence (D3) 2.82 164 0.53

Strategic competence (D4) 3.81 164 0.64

Knowledge (D5) 2.78 164 0.3

Attitudes (D6) 3.87 164 0.60

Awareness (D7) 3.40 164 0.62

Skills (D8) 3.23 164 0.56

Grand Mean 3.20 164 0.69

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(p=.027). When the eight dimensions of ICC were taken into account, a statistically remarkable

variation was discovered for the pre-service English language teachers (female and male) in

terms of D1 or linguistic competence, D2 or sociolinguistic competence, D3 or conversation

competence, D6 or behaviors, D7 or understanding, and D8 or knowledge. The independent

study t-test showed no notable dissimilarity exists amidst female and male pre-service English

language teachers in D4 or strategic ability or D5 or knowledge factor. In summary, female

pre-service English language teachers reported higher ICC scores than the male counterparts

on an average did and over six sub-dimensions, showing that gender has a remarkable impact

on participants' ICC scores.

Table 2.

Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Levels of Competence by Gender

Figure 2. Pre-service English Teachers' ICC Levels of Competence by Gender

Total D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8

Male 3.03 2.89 3.16 2.77 3.76 2.65 3.81 3.29 3.18

Female 3.21 2.96 3.29 2.83 3.83 2.79 3.87 3.41 3.23

t -6.31 -4.85 -6.43 -4.76 -2.15 -2.76 -5.84 -6.32 -6.61

p 0.027 0.030 0.024 0.044 0.083 0.079 0.030 0.016 0.009

Note. D1=linguistic competence; D2=sociolinguistic competence; D3=discourse competence; D4=strategic

competence (D4); D5=knowledge; D6=attitudes; D7=awareness; D8=skills.

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ICC Scores of Pre-service English Teachers based on Family Background (nature of place

of residence)

The study determined family roots using the household categories of participants. They were

classified as rural or urban based on their household enrolment records. The research enrolled

59 students from the urban families and 107 students from rural families. The ICC rate of pre-

service English language teachers from varied family backgrounds is summarized in Table 3.

According to Table 3, there is no statistically meaningful gap in total ICC scores between pre-

service English teachers from urban and rural areas, whereas the scoring of the urban pre-

service English teachers was slightly higher on the ICC. Urban pre-service English teachers

have higher average scores on seven of the eight sub-dimensions as compared to rural pre-

service English teachers, but rural pre-service English teachers have a higher average score on

sociolinguistic competence (D2). The independent sample t-test revealed a statistically

important difference in three categories: D1, D5 and D6. This indicates that, although no

statistically substantial gap in total ICC levels exists between urban and rural families, urban

families have higher ICC levels in terms of linguistic skills and language knowledge, as well

as a more favorable attitude towards other cultures.

Figure 3. Three Pre-service English Teachers of Diverse Family Backgrounds' ICC Scores

The results of this analysis indicated that pre-service English teachers' average ICC was modest

with strong scores on two aspects of strategic skills (D4) and attitudes (D6) but low scores on

the other six dimensions were reported. This contradicts Gao's (2014) study, which discovered

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an acceptable overall ICC for undergraduates majoring in English at universities (3.73), yet

concurs with Saqer's (2019) review, which discovered an unsatisfactory overall ICC for

undergraduates majoring in English at an ethical university. The researchers' contrasting

findings are a result of their affiliations with various organizations.

A study by Alazemi, Alenezi, & Alnwaiem (2020) drew on the expertise of a large range of

academics from prestigious institutions. The participants in Collopy, Tjaden-Glass, &

McIntosh (2020) attended two public universities, yet they missed a sufficient proficiency of

English language awareness and skills, as well as opportunities to contact or converse with

international teachers or tourists, as those attending primary universities in major cities do.

Additionally, since this batch of pre-service English language teachers were recruited from

junior intermediate schools, they obtained fewer English instructions than their peers drawn

from senior middle schools in other surveys. Thus, in order to achieve the ICC teaching target

for English, the University should emphasize preparing and updating pre-service English

language teachers' ICC, as teachers' ICC are critical to their teaching careers. Pre-service

English teachers should incorporate ICC into their classroom instruction and work to develop

it in a variety of ways. It is notable that pre-service English teachers exhibited good "attitudes,"

"strategic competence," and "memory," but only sufficient "intelligence," "linguistic ability,"

and "discourse competence."

The findings corroborate the studies of Bhatt (2020) and Semchuchot, Soontornnaruerangsee,

& Bodhisuwan, (2021), in which "attitudes" and "memory" were ranked significantly higher

than "linguistic intelligence" or "information modularity." This shows that, while students

possess an open mind and a keen desire to engage in intercultural dialogue, as well as a variety

of methods for conducting intercultural conversations, the absence of sufficient vocabulary,

grammar, and language skills prevents them from communicating effectively and

appropriately. This is evident in the dearth of communicative practices for language

acquisition. As a result, it is surmised that it is important to provide pre-service English teachers

with additional opportunities for intercultural communication. Furthermore, female pre-service

English language teachers received higher ICC scores than male pre-service English teachers.

The findings corroborate Bhatt’s (2020) study and are further supported by the gender

distinction between male and female brains. Females outperform males in intuitive reasoning,

memory, and voice, and therefore have a higher ICC score than male English majors. This

could explain why male and female pre-service English teachers have significantly different

ICC ratings. Another explanation is that males enroll in a far smaller number than females,

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accounting for just 10% of all registrations. Males then often remain quiet throughout

instruction, passively participating in classroom activities due to a lack of male peer support.

Due to the gender disparity in the ICC, the university's approach to class segregation could be

more adaptable. Additionally, the study discovered that pre-service urban English language

teachers have slightly higher ICC scores than pre-service rural English teachers, especially in

the sub-dimensions of linguistic competence (D1), expertise (D5), and attitudes (D6) (D6).

This is shown by the belief that rural schools have an easier time hiring eligible teachers and

receiving financial assistance than urban schools do. Additionally, school proximity can affect

students' comprehension and awareness, which can have a long-lasting impact on students' ICC

levels long after they reach college.

Conclusion and Implications

The present study used a self-report scale to ascertain the ICC levels of pre-service English

language teachers at a Kuwaiti public ordinary university, as well as the associations between

participants’ ICC levels and their gender and family origins. The results of the current study

stated that the average ICC of pre-service English language teachers is moderate. They have a

positive outlook on intercultural affairs, but their intercultural understanding needs to be

enhanced.

In comparison to male pre-service English teachers, female pre-service English language

teachers had higher overall ICC ratings. For the overall levels of family background between

urban and rural pre-service English language teachers, no significant difference existed,

whereas urban teachers scored marginally higher on the majority of ICC dimensions.

The findings propose that the university have to place a greater prominence on developing ICC

in the classroom by enhancing appropriate tools that can be able to integrate intercultural

knowledge, and provide additional chances for pre-service English language teachers,

especially males and those from rural areas for the sake of cross-cultural communication.

Nonetheless, some limitations of this review should be acknowledged. To continue, although

the self-assessment inventory revealed a substantial degree of comprehension for pre-service

English language teachers’ ICC standards, supplementing the review with other steps such as

interviews or quantitative assessments would help in completion. Moreover, since the

participants were restricted to pre-service English language teachers at a single university, so

if the participants belong to other institutions, the study could provide further evidence

regarding the pre-service teachers' ICC levels.

232

Finally, it is worthy to mention that these limitations open certain areas for more studies in

future. For example, future research might be an investigation of the pre-service teachers'

perceptions of ICC and their classroom activities involving ICC. Additionally, in order to

increase pre-service teachers' ICC levels, it is mandatory to examine the elements that affect

their ICC performance such as structural or personal elements.

233

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Cultural and Educational Stress: A Case Study of Brahui Speaking ESL and EMI

Periphery Students

AliaAyub

Associate Professor, Education Department

SBKWU, Quetta

Rani Gul

Assistant Professor, Department of Education

University of Malakand, Chakdara KPK Pakistan

(Corresponding author)

Imran Ali

Assistant professor, Department of English

Fatima Jinnah Women University the Mall, Rawalpindi

Maroof Bin Rauf

Assistant Professor, department of Education

University of Karachi, Karachi

Bio-profiles:

1. Dr. AliaAyub is an Associate Professor at the Education Department of SBKWU, Quetta,

Pakistan. His research interests include child education and 21st century learner skills.

2. Dr. Rani Gul is an Assistant Professor, Department of Education, University of Malakand,

Chakdara KPK Pakistan. He had many papers published in international journals. His

research interests include autonomy in learning and learning strategies.

3. Dr. Imran Ali is an Assistant professor at the Department of English of Fatima Jinnah

Women University the Mall, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He has been extensively working on

learning and teaching strategies

240

4. Dr. Maroof Bin Rauf is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Education of the

University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. He has been working on the impact of technology

on education.

Abstract

Queta city is a metropolitan of province of Baluchistan. Three main campuses of autonomous

universities have been established in Quetta. A large portion of the student body comprises

students from the peripheries. Some of these students are reported to have the first life

experience to study in the capital city. Besides, these, the students have to face the cultural

shock, undergoing the uniqueness of studying in a comparatively developed capital, which

affects their academic performance. The focus of the present study was the representative

sample of Brahwi undergraduate and postgraduate students at three universities in Quetta city,

who took a survey to examine their perceptions of cultural stress and the relationships between

cultural stress and social connectedness, mental health, and lifestyle balance. The results

reveal that many Brahwi students experience a certain mark of cultural stress, particularly,

regarding items, involve family along with an acquainted life mode. Problems of discernment,

anxiety and outlooks of dearth of safety, were in a smaller amount normally stated as

traumatic. Cultural stress is allied to students’ cultural context, along with their

communicative abilities, within the different cultural environments and the assessment of

apparent academic development. Cultural stress is linked in negative to social link and

equilibrium of lifestyle, but, positively allied to despair, unease, and stress. The findings

suggest, that there are numerous arguments for programs at universities and hometown

mentoring and guiding centers, intended to assist periphery students regulate to the different

and different cultural sites.

Keywords: culture, Education, Stress, Periphery, Brahui speakers

Introduction

There are multiple complex encounters that are traced to be met by students who travel to

other countries and cities, with the aim to undertake university or other educational courses.

The issue turns conspicuous when they discover that their home country/city values and

culture are manifestly varied from the host country/city culture (Gul, et al 2021). However,

it is never unforeseen, that the corporeal and psychosomatic welfare of students, along with

their academic scores, could be affected by the alteration encounters (Ward et al., 2001). The

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relatively temporary companies of students, into a new culture, who had arrived for

obligations other than a lifelong settlement, perchance, experience a cultural blow (Gul, et al.,

2021), which is the outcome of the bewildering damage of all acquainted symbols and norms

of daily life, with subsequent resulting psychosomatic compression and the course of

surviving tactics dealing with the surprising gravities that are constantly met. Though, studies

indicate, that several students from the rural communal outclassed at large institutes (Ayub,

et al.. 2021). Precisely, unreliable evidence also suggests, that a generous measure of the

students did not have positive experiences as well (Guiffrida, 2008). He additionally reports

that several of the students are flung out of the big academies, as soon as they are in their first

semesters, ultimately after enrolling in the local college. This reveals that the students felt

misplaced and misled at large institutions.

A certain study, conducted by Maples (2000), was concerned with the latent complications

relevant to the rural students who went to large colleges and universities. Maples (2000) found

out that the college environment failed to gratify college students from the rural social order

and resolved that students from rural zones were more fulfilled with their academic

atmospheres at smaller colleges than at larger ones.

Nevertheless, recent research postulates that the students who belong to rural societies are

academically as ready as their urban companions could be (Zuckerbrod, 2007). The research

also directs that the rural scholars could confront extra socio-cultural encounters, compared to

urban and suburban pupils, while moving to large colleges and universities. Further, studies

that observed the experiences of rural students who attend large colleges and universities offer

knowledge that is beneficial to prepare rural students more efficiently for their upcoming

college experiences.

Studies display that the campus size could also be hostile towards students who are unfamiliar

with navigating huge buildings, eventful streets, and sideways (Bukhari, et al., 2021).

Besides, fears relating to undergoing urban difficulties, like crime and vagrant individuals, are

also issues that can thwart rural students from discovering or undergoing the neighboring

communal, if, by chance, they ever come to join a huge campus in an urban surrounding

(Parsons, 1992). The rural students might correspondingly face the effort in shifting from their

culturally and traditionally homogenous home-based backgrounds (Gulet al., 2021) to a more

ethnical and cultural varied atmospheres which are distinctive of bigger universities. Parsons

(1992), studied rural students who joined the University of California (UC) at Berkeley and

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discovered that the rural students who had abandoned the university pronounced themselves

as surprised by the huge racial, ethnic, and cultural assortment that they had experienced.

Instead of being exhilarated by the unusual and sundry involvements, some students

mentioned their anxiety with the students and faculty at the institution, indicating that they

were unfit to belong at a larger institution of higher education. Large colleges, though provide

rural students with a comparative broader series of social and extra-curricular events, seem to

suggest less chances for leadership parts and might need more inactive procedures of

contribution, specifically during students’ preliminary shifts to college (Downey, 1980). In

addition, Swift (1988) noted that though large colleges in urban areas are disposed to offer

extra formulae of cultural happenings as compared to smaller colleges in rural areas, which

include plays, musicals, galleries, etc. There are less occasions at large colleges in urban

settings leading to more indulgment in outdoor events, which might turn to be an imperative

constraint for rural students.

There is still an additional trial faced by the rural students attending large universities. This is

related to the essential progress in the curricular at large universities (Maltzan, 2006). The

rural’s small high schools offer students a restricted choice in the courses as compared to

larger high schools, which can again, in turn, limit the contribution of rural students’ in

scheming their programs of study (Gul, et al., 2020). Moreover, the restriction of receiving

qualified and technical careers in rural areas not only can lessen student professional

motivations but can also override students and making them feel under-prepared when

paralleled to their urban and suburban peers (Maltzan, 2006).

The varied social transformations between rural and urban life might rise an added load on

rural students, who are striving to transition into large institutions, mainly the ones positioned

in the metropolitan surroundings. Swift (1988) asserted that the burden which ascends

through conversions to college can turn, “exacerbated for person’s who must simultaneously

make the transition from rural to urban environments” (p. 1). Swift (1988) further argues that

the rural backdrops could be more calm, hospitable, and amiable in nature. But the urban

backgrounds tend to be extra rushed, less friendly, and additionally competitive. Furthermore,

the public contacts among rural populations are more peculiar and closer than urban social

affiliations (Gul, et al., 2020). The patterns of language and gestures which are personal might

also be different between rural and urban societies, adding further to the stress of rural

students, as the students are already in the trial to transit to urban universities (Swift, 1988).

Encounters associated to leading the differences between rural and urban cultures, explicitly

243

from bigger colleges, display to rural students the impression of being out of place and could

suggest frequent trips home to mingle with other, country children among whom they feel

relaxed and at home (Maltzan, 2006, p. 179).

Among multiple features which can affect periphery students adjusting to the host culture

might cover several conditional variables, like the adjustment in between multiple factors like

the original culture and the host culture, the language propensity, gender, age, level of

education, position, self-respect along with earlier cross-cultural association (Gulet al., 2020).

Additionally, many situational variables like duration or the length or duration of stay, the

provided and attained sustenance material and provisions, the social association with host

inhabitants, interaction with co-cultural, academic and professional enactment and along with

the body and mental health, are traced (Almakrob & Al-Ahda, 2020; Gul & Khilji,2021).

The length or duration or period of stay is among one of the key features in modification

courses for peripheral students. It is also described that discomposure regularly lessens, as the

new culture develops and turns additionally acquainted (Ward et al., 1998; Ward & Rana-

Dueba, 1999; Chen, et al. 2005; Torres& Santos2021).

Besides, a standing and distinct placed variable found towards the passage of modification is

the cultural detachment within the periphery student’s original culture and the host culture

(Ward et al., 2001) as, the greater the detachment, the more effort it rises in modifications,

which has to be confronted by the student solely. Multiple cultural labeling structures have

been intended, which are founded on the practical features of morals of culture, beliefs, and

behaviors. The supreme known amid these are the magnitudes that are well-defined by

Hofstede (1997). The local cultures in Pakistan might show conflicting ends of these

magnitudes, with typically strong disparity established on a personal and communist

measurement (Gul, & Rafique, 2017). These cultural angles had been used to expound the

difficulties of the peripheral students, in particular, the Brahwi students experience towards

their efforts to learn and study in the leading three universities of Quetta city. Ward (1997)

and Ward & Rana-Deuba (1999) plead that cultural disinterestedness and language aptitude,

the length or duration of sojourn in the different culture, and the sum of interaction with hosts,

usually have the intense impression on the socio-cultural incorporation.

During the transition, the trials faced by rural students towards large colleges and universities

could not only rise the deteriorational rates, but could also add further to mental health

complications. McLaughlin (1970) found that an unbalanced sum of rural origin, college

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students, unveiled gloomy responses to the involvements at college. Aylesworth and Bloom,

(1976), found that rural college students were disposed to more mental health issues than

students from urban backgrounds, which ultimately led to growing moods of loneliness and

an extreme usage of drugs (as cited in Guiffrida, 2008). Similarly, Wilbourn, 1989, used

survey data from 753 students who attend Texas A&M University. He found that students

belonging to rural communities were likely to experience more stress which was related to

feeling, unlike other students. Wilbourn also discovered that rural students were less likely in

accessing counseling services at college than urban students and those rural students who used

counseling services, went for academic counseling as contrasting to health pertaining to mind

or counseling for a career.

Guiffrida (2003) argues that the need for counselors from rural schools to prepare the students

efficiently to face the additional challenges which they might experience while choosing large

universities is of undeniable significance. Pheko et al. (2014) also depict that along with

acculturative stress, a firm link between the physical and mental health position of persons or

groups who experience culturation, is also shown. For instance, the study of Hovey and King,

1996, showed that persons with sensitive stages of cultural anxiety were at hazard to

experience serious stages of despair and suicidal inclination. Rahman & Rollock, (2004), also

revealed a relation between culturative stress and despair (as cited in Pheko et al., 2014).

The social dealings of the peripheral within the host country/city are an important variable of

adaptation. As, the stronger the social interaction, the positive practice of adaptation might be

turned (Gul, & Reba, 2017). Although, in order to attain a sustaining stage of social

communication with hosts is, indisputably, a baffling agenda to attain, but it provides the

peripheral students an occasion to comprehend and facilitate them in adapting the different

culture (Li & Gasser, 2005). A low stage of social contact amongst peripherals and hosts is

found; as the peripherals desire contact with locals only (Daroesman, et al., 2005). It is

suggested by Berry (1997) that a low level of stress is experienced by the peripherals who

agree to acculturation approach while respecting the original and the new cultures and

preserving links with all the groups (Saleem, et al 2021). Whereas the ones who connect only

with their own culture, and fail to value the new while keeping themselves distant and

detached, meet the highest levels of acculturation trauma (Rosenthal et al., 2006).

The present study conducted an investigation to learn about the perceptions of cultural stress

among Brahwi students at three major universities of Quetta city. The influence of

245

demographic and situational variables like periods of sojourn and the cultural remoteness amid

home and host city, and the factors like links between anxiety and connection to the host

culture, are also focused.

Methodology

This study is quantitative in nature. Data is collected through a structured questionnaire. The

sample consists of peripheral students who are enrolled in undergraduate or postgraduate

courses at three universities in Quetta city, i.e. The University of Balochistan, Sardar Bahadur

Khan Womens University and Balochistan University of Engineering Technology and

Management Sciences. The students from the Baloch peripheral belt explicitly from the areas

of Noshki, Mustung, Dhadar, Dalbundin, Kharan, Khuzdar, Dara Bugti, Kohlu etc. and

particularly, the Brahwi speakers, were selected for the study which resulted into a pool of

150 students.

With no discrimination of gender, the sum of years of registration in the programs of study of

the peripheral students ranged from 1 to 2 years at the time of survey. Maintenance of

percentage about the place of origin of the peripheral students was not considered.

The cultural stress and association measurement was suggested from relevant adapted

literature, which dealt with peripheral students, their cultural stress, and their social links (e.g.,

Church, 1982; McInnes, et al., , 2001; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994; Ward & Kennedy, 1999).

Endorsements from Guiffrida (2008) were used to improve the questionnaire, with certain

supplementary adjustments made to the questionnaire for peripheral students, both male and

female, with various age ranges, faculty, and program type they were taking. The

questionnaire also covered demographic information, health and well-being. The items on the

lists were rated from Not at all, Some degree, Considerable degree and Very much. Cultural

stress was evaluated through eight items which measured the students’ perceptions of

problems relevant to staying away from their home (see Table 1).

The short form of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS), developed and adapted by

Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) was incorporated in the questionnaire. The items on the lists

were rated from Not at all, Some degree, Considerable degree and Very much.

The perceptions of students about the Lifestyle balance were judged by the following

questions: ‘I believe I have maintained the right balance of time amid studying and other

246

activities (study balance); ‘I believe there is a balance between the time I spend with others

and the time I spend alone’ (social balance) (see Table 3).

Along with this, the students’ discernments about social links in Quetta city were also

evaluated. The links in Quetta city-scale included three items which were related to

participants’ belief that an exceptional sustenability was reachable to them in Quetta city: ‘if

I need people, there are some in Quetta to help me; ‘There are caring people in Quetta for me’;

‘I can talk to people about my difficulties in Quetta’ adapted from Rosenthal et al., (2006).

The items on the lists were rated from, Not at all, Some degree, Considerable degree and Very

much (see Table 2).

Demographic and situational information was obtained about the following: age, gender,

marital status, course category, faculty, year of semester, present educational advancement,

duration of registration, studies in Quetta city prior to enrolment, place of origin, and English

language use and use of a language other than English (LOTE).

Procedure

The questionnaires were given to the students on their availability, and completed

questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire responses were anonymous. The results were

compiled and presented in percentages.

Data Analysis

Data was analyzed by converting the students responses to percentages. Result is tabulated as

under:

Results

Table 1: Brahwi peripheral Students’ experience of cultural stress in Quetta city

No. Item

Not at

all

To

Some

degree

Consid

erable

degree

Very

much

1. I miss life in my own city 0% 3% 48% 49%

2. It’s difficult to stay away from the loved ones 2% 18% 31% 49%

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3. I feel lonely in Quetta city 18% 22% 26% 34%

4. I am less important here than at home 22% 16% 36% 26%

5. I am treated differently because of my

cultural background

20% 12% 31% 37%

6. I am uncomfortable in the Urban surrounding 15% 38% 27% 20%

7. I feel unsafe in Quetta 27% 29% 25% 19%

8. I do belong here at the university. 32% 34% 22% 12%

Replies to the eight items evaluating students’ approaches of displacement, weirdness, and

uneasiness living within the urban culture in Quetta city are shown in Table 1. Most Brahwi

peripheral students depicted at the minimum some degree of stress relevant to all articles. Not

surprisingly, two articles indicated the highest levels of stress which describe to be omitting

an accustomed mode of life and near ones. The cultural stress articles that create the smallest

anxiety in students are the ones that might be supposed more usual of culture tremor, i.e.

discernment, uneasiness, and approaches of the need of safety. Safety is not found to be an

issue. Nearly all students display that they have slight or no distress at all about security

measures in Quetta.

The eight items altogether make a Cultural Stress scale. The scale showed satisfactory internal

reliability. An insufficient demographic and situational variable special effects are seen. The

students were feeling that their educational development was not as solid as anticipated, are

probable to experience an advanced stage of cultural tension, as compared to the ones who

believe they are doing better. Similarly, students who could speak English to a level which

they think is sufficient for their survival, are expressively less culturally anxious than the

students who are dissatisfied with the level of English they are accustomed to. Cultural stress

is generally found to be greater among students who are unable to speak any English and

students who speak a LOTE while they are off-campus. None important alterations were

established on the basis of age, gender, position, faculty, course category, and the number of

enrollment years at the university.

248

Table 2: Brahwi peripheral Students’ perception of link in Quetta city

No. Items Not at all

Some

degree

Considerable

degree

Very much

1. If I need help, there

are people in Quetta

to help me

37% 34% 17% 12%

2. There are caring

people in Quetta

38% 29% 22% 11%

3. I can talk to people

about my

difficulties in

Quetta

68% 20% 07% 5%

Table 2 shows that there was a strong, significant relationship that proved that there was a link

between the link in Quetta city and Cultural Stress measures. The strong perceptions of the

students related to the fact that they have care and support in Quetta, is likely to lower the

level of cultural tension in which they are involved in.

Table 3: Brahwi Students’ perception of Lifestyle balance with Education

No. Item Not at all

Some

degree

Considerable

degree

Very much

1. I believe I have the

right balance

between studying

and other activities

4% 36% 40% 20%

2. Quetta resident

class fellows

supports me in

printing or typing

any teaching

Content

19% 31% 35% 15%

249

3 My Quetta residents

classfellows support

me in providing the

educational material

10% 20% 50% 20%

4 The support by my

class-fellows help

me to reduce

educational stress

15% 25% 40% 20%

Table 3 depicts that there was a strong, significant relationship that proved that there was a

link between the link in Quetta city and Educational Stress measures. The strong perceptions

of the students related to the fact that they have care and support in Quetta, is likely to lower

the level of stress about their educational achievements.

Discussion

An understandable encounter towards the welfare of Brahwi peripheral students is discovered

to be the Cultural stress, essentially when the home and host city are found to be ethnically

reserved. An indication of unease, displacement, and anguish, are displayed by the peripheral

students, but their replies are, mostly, away from the risky level. It is also noteworthy to

differentiate mid structures which seem essential while staying absent from home in a distant

city and the facets of cultural tension might sensibly be achieved by some indigenous deed.

The suffering and nostalgia are knowledgeable when one misses the family, friends, and the

acquainted belongings of home, which during a stay in another city, is highly expectable. This

was the main aspect of the cultural strain faced by the Brahwi students.

The perceptions of the Brahwi students’ are mainly positive, in parts which are largely

associated with discernment, including fears of their safety. However, just a minority of

students report anguish and overall they are found to be more anxious around their feeling

secluded and feelings of comparative insignificance. These perceptions are powerfully

associated with Brahwi students’ feelings of the absence of a link in Quetta city. Thus, a barrier

is created towards building coping strategies which could result in better collaboration,

grouping, and sustenance for Brahwi peripheral students.

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The disruptive feelings of fitting in at the university are other than nostalgia and are an

important aspect of cultural stress among students. More than half the students reported

feeling that they do not belong to any degree to the host university. This recommends, the

need for universities targeting peripheral students, to develop strategies in order to rise the

attitudes towards link and association with the students.

The limited demographic and situational variables greatly prophesied the cultural stress. The

utilization of LOTE off-campus, smaller than anticipated academic performance and

belonging to a far interior periphery, were also reported to be allied to higher levels of cultural

stress. The cultural stress, naturally, was found to be linked to the supposed academic

evolution, though, the study failed to establish a causal relationship in this cross-sectional

study.

The higher rate of academic demands, alongside family and work obligations, generates

tension and anxiety, leading to severe mental health problems. While experiencing stress, the

physical and psychological health are unswervingly affected (Rajkumar et al., 2015). The

cultural concern is a dominion of welfare, relevant to others in society and associated with

Brahwi students’ well-being in multiple ways. The associations among cultural tension and

mental wellbeing (misery, unease, and strain) along with the balance of learning and social

lifestyle, proposes, that there exist a design of adverse psychosocial outcomes for Brahwi

peripheral students, that might turn extremely hazardous and hamper the adaptation course to

the host city. It can also affect the ability to accomplish in the university situation. A strong

association appeared between cultural tension and link in Quetta city, which indicated a

constricted affiliation of contradiction between the structures of adaptation. The added

connection which was felt and specified by Brahwi peripheral students in Quetta, the lesser

the cultural stress they had reported.

As far as the rural school counselors are concerned, they need to initiate the procedure of

effective preparation of rural students to their transitions towards large universities and aid

them to determine their motives for selecting to appear in a large institution. Research shows

that for the most successful rural students, a choice to attend a local college feels like a

dissatisfaction for them while aspiring to upgrading themselves and eventually deciding to be

economically and socially advantaged (Howely et al., 1996). Numerous efficacious rural

students might be more contented joining the smaller, local college and might feel stressed to

run away to college, either from parents, friends, or significant teachers. Therefore, it is

251

substantial for the school guidance counselor to support students in sorting out the numerous

impacts on their choices in selecting large institutions and benefiting them in discovering other

ambitions, yonder reverence, and potency, while choosing to study at a large university. It is

important for the school counselors to systematically evaluate other reasons among students,

which they choose to apply, including academic and social reasons like, interesting extra-

curricular activities, imitating friends who already appeared at larger institutions, etc. and

assisting students deliberate these details as opposed to the probable judgments they will be

facing while moving to these institutions.

Besides, it is also found that successful college students who belong to rural communities,

sustained solid acquaintances with fellows of their home communities. Maltzan (2006) asserts

that the unsuccessful students visit home every weekend, participating in social events,

whereas, the successful students from rural areas, distributed their vacations amid home and

college. Guiffrida, 2006, examined the practices of successful college students (Guiffrida,

2008), and discovered an equilibrium between home and college, which permitted rural

students to be united into the social and academic dominions of academy along with keeping

associations with family as well.

The data analysis, allies to the opinion raised by Parsons, 1992, who suggests that the idea of

not seeking out help from the university while experiencing problems, creates significant

trouble for students from rural areas who are attending large universities (as cited in Guiffrida,

2008). This leads to facing additional trials by the students who shift to large colleges and

universities. Saba (1991) asserts that among several reasons why some rural students might

fail to pursue support at college, because, disbelief of outsiders, primarily urbanites, lingers in

their minds. This might also be the result of counter-cultural for rural students in sharing their

issues to persons external to their sustenance circle from home. Further, the rural students

might be unsuccessful in seeking benefit at large colleges, as they would not be acquainted

with the way to communicate the care facilities that are presented to them. In rural high

schools, the school counselor is supposed to be holding an extensive variety of academic and

private problems, for students (Pearson & Sutton, 1999, as cited in Guiffrida, 2008). However,

the decentralization of support services in large colleges and universities, position with a

challenge for students, already used to integrated sustenance and care services. It has also

been reported that when experiencing problems, just a few students pursue psychological help

(Pheko et al., 2014). This results in bearing a clinically important depression which is precisely

noted in persons who face high acculturative stress.

252

Lastly, among the vital stages toward concocting rural students in the transitions towards large

colleges and universities, is teaching them to be supple, adaptive, and welcoming to new

involvements which would authorize transformation and personal growth while at college.

Parsons, 1992, states that the important aspect among rural students was that they did not

change their behaviors at all when it necessarily required them an adapt to the large university

(Guiffrida, 2008). These unsuccessful students felt that it was the job of the university rather

than their’s to sustain them and assist them in fusion. Likewise, unsuccessful students, in a

study conducted by Maltzan’s (2006) specified a dread of, “changing” while at college (p.

180), chiefly, relevant to their ethical standards. Prosperous students nevertheless, testified to

be open to change and worked hard to adjust to their surroundings to be successful at the large

institution.

Our findings particularly revealed that required expertise in English language added to the

involvements of students about culturative tension. Similar findings are also reported by

Poyrazli et al., 2004 and Dao et al., 2007, (Pheko et al., 2014). Numerous studies based on

international students' acculturative involvements have exposed the students with lower levels

of fluency in English language, were at an advanced danger of depression than their peers.

Such parallels could be made to rural-to-urban migration experiences as well.

The findings lead to many points for programs to be designed to assist Brahwi peripheral

students in adapting to the new cultural settings. A decrease in cultural stress and increasing

links from the home place are worthy points to begin with. Vygotsky, 1978, argued learning

is a social and cultural action rather than an independent miracle. In the realm of higher

education setting, an individualistic view of learning might fail in suggesting the issues related

to tutors and students, classroom culture, and administrative culture, affecting the learner’s

skills (Lephalala & Makoe, 2012). It is vital to comprehend the effect of culture and society

on the growth of learning. The socio-cultural norms and actions, beliefs, principles, rules and

approaches, change the single student’s behavior, attitude, and achievement.

Conclusion

For the perusal of higher studies, the students from various peripheries of province of

Balochistan aspire to move to the Metropolitan city of Quetta. Here the three major

Universities cater to the students. Being the faculty members in the universities, it was noticed

that the students who belong to far-flung peripheral areas of Balochistan face adjustment

problems in the environment of the city, which could be either totally or semi-new to these

253

students. The socio-economic, cultural, moral, ethical, language, and behavioral variations are

too many and too diverse to confront. The other pressures include academic adjustment and

progress in academic, which might result in low self-esteem, low morale, and misplacement.

As a result, the student might not be able to achieve the target. The findings of the current

study also advise that cultural stress is the result of rural-to-urban migrations, which exist as

an additional highpoint to the problems that students meet while trying to adapt to the

university and city lives.

Certain trials, faced by the students instigated from their childhood and past experiences, like

associations to certain religious and ethnic backdrops, the surroundings and altering to the

university and the life in the city, and access or absence of communal care, like from parents,

household and associates.

Among other discoveries, some stressors are suggested to be more systemic. They are found

to be present in the procedures and measures, which are employed within the university

settings like registration for classes and adjustment to teaching instructions, approaches, and

formats. Similar to Desa et al.'s (2012) study, activities such as finding a suitable place for

accommodation, knowledge about using and location of public transport, decisions relevant

to where what and how to shop, were among some of the stressors which the students had

described.

While considering such culture shocks as normal experiences for humans towards their

responses to unfamiliar cultural atmospheres, these can be found to possess the power of

disabling individuals as well (Mumford, 1998). These trauma’s can lead the university

students to a high-risk of mental and health complications (Wittenberg, 2001).

The undertaken study focused on the Brahwi peripheral students and investigated the rate of

various anxiety and compression producing elements and presentation of results in

percentages. For this purpose, 150 students have distributed the questionnaires which included

the demographic information along with portions related to perceptions about the experience

of cultural stress, Connectedness, and Lifestyle balance in Quetta city.

The findings of the undertaken attempt suggest that students from peripheral areas might have

a comparatively hard time than urban and suburban students towards adjustment to the

improved magnitude of the campus and the nearby community. Thus, it is vital for the Rural

Students to deal with racial/ethnic diversity and turning habituated to the extended social,

254

academic, and professional possibilities. It is vital for them to adapt to wide cultural variances

that exist between urban and rural cultures and in accessing the student support services.

The findings of this study also revealed that aloofness and isolation from the university mates,

the discomfort, homesickness and nostalgia, the lack of support and moral sustenance, the

independence and survival, financial issues, connectedness in campus and host city, the

language and accent issues, the time distribution, are some among many factors, whose

imbalance creates cultural stress among the Brahwi students from peripheries. The remedy is

suggested in orientation programs to be offered by host universities and the mentoring by the

professionals. For sound progress in academics, psychological stress has to be treated first.

The counseling provided by centers at high schools and colleges in home town before the

student leaves for universities in the city, could be equally useful in mentally preparing the

student for the upcoming changes.

It is also found that the absence of communal sustenance structures are one of the reliable

bases of tension for most students, who find themselves in the university for the first time. It

is an issue of concern that the symptoms of nervousness and despair, which are shared amid

persons suffering stress, might surge if the person is not provided with an operative social

support system (Pheko et al., 2014). Furthermore, psychological factors are traced which are

concerned in leading dealings between cultural and mental wellbeing. The research which

focused on international students suggested that students who have the access to social

networks, can adjust in a better way to their different living setting, and have better

information of the host culture and can also alter healthier psychologically as compared to the

ones with scarcer local social networks (Kashima & Loh, 2006).

Limitations of the Current Study

While the current study could cater to the empirical investigation of rural-to-urban movement

cultural and connected trials of university Brahwi peripheral students in Quetta city, the

findings' capacity to be generalized is rather restricted, because of the design and small sample

size of the focus groups. In the future, the utilization of a larger sample size of contributors,

who were born and raised in the village and among those who are born and grew up in the

city/town, could permit a comparison between the two groups, thus, enabling improved

stressing encounters of rural-to-urban changes and alterations. Also, the study could have been

delimited in terms of gender equilibrium, limiting the researchers from pointing out gender

variances concerning rural-to-urban immigration experiences.

255

Recommendations

• To lessen the anxiety level of the students, teachers should pay extra attention to these

students.

• Teachers should assign them a leading role in the class which will result in increasing

the confidence level of those students, not only this but also they will feel secure in

this new environment.

• Peripheral areas in Balochistan have few resources including education. It is the

responsibility of the government to provide these areas with good education facilities

at their local education institution at school and college levels.

• Monitoring of the teaching process should be done at their local institutions, teaching

methods should be so innovative and interactive that students get confident at their

school. This will assist in adjustments in universities.

256

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Arab University level EFL Teachers' Code Switching: Types, Functions and Beliefs

Salah Alfarwan

Associate Prof of Applied Linguistics

Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Bio-profile:

Dr. Salah Alfarwan is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Majmaah University,

Saudi Arabia. He is well-published in Scopus and WOS-indexed journals. He has extensive

experience in academic administration, training and quality, assurance and teaching

excellency. His research interests include, but not limited to, sociolinguistics,

psycholinguistics, vocabulary strategies, reading and writing and EFL program evaluation.

Abstract

This study investigates code-switching (CS) among University Arab EFL teachers

(n=118) to find out how much they switch from English into Arabic in their EFL classes in

relation to (1) what types of CS they use (in Poplack's (1980) classification), (2) the functions

behind such use, and (3) their beliefs or attitudes concerning CS. Statistical analysis was based

on responses of 25 items covering key features of CS in a grounded questionnaire administered

to the teachers, supplemented by interviews and observation. The results showed that teachers

entertained only a modest actual awareness of the benefits of CS, being cognitively more

oriented towards a monolingual approach to foreign language teaching. This was supported by

the results showing that the majority of teachers seldom switch to L1 in their EFL classes, and

their switches mostly involve oral intersentential CS. Additionally, teachers switched codes to

perform a number of pedagogical functions, mostly clarifying the meaning of obscure grammar

or vocabulary. Teachers mostly upheld strong beliefs that maximum monolingual EFL teaching

is the right approach to enrich their students with adequate amount of English language input

that leads to success in language learning. A key recommendation is that teachers should be

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educated in the full potential of CS and how it could be utilized to improve EFL classroom

input and effectiveness, especially at low proficiency level.

Keywords: Code switching, EFL classroom setting, language proficiency, teachers' attitudes

Introduction

Code switching (CS) is an academic term for any use of one language (or dialect) while

speaking another, whether done by bilingual speakers highly proficient in both, or lower-level

learners of one or the other language: “the alternating use of more than one language” (Auer,

1984:1). Spolsky (1998: 49) stated that CS has a variety of types since it “can take place

between or even within sentences, involving phrases or words or even parts of words”. These

switches are not arbitrary since they depend on the function that the speaker uses them for,

such as the need to be understood, or the need to express solidarity (Deibert, 2010). Several

terms such as transfer, borrowing, translanguaging and code-mixing name phenomena that

relate to CS, though it is a mistake to use them synonymously, hence CS alone is used in this

paper.

Use of the first language (Arabic in our case) in the target language (TL) or second

language (L2) English classrooms is simply a special case of CS that we are interested in.

Research into CS in classroom interaction evidences teachers’ understanding of the nature of

classroom community discourse and the shared identity amongst the interlocutors (Macaro,

2001) as well as their views on English teaching. Pertinent research reveals that some

researchers conclude that the TL (English in our context) should be the dominant medium of

instruction (e.g., Krashen,1982: the comprehensible input hypothesis; Macdonald, 1993; Al-

Ahdal, 2020). However, other scholarly publications have made clear claims for the role of the

L1 in TL classrooms (e.g., Jingxia, 2008; Poplack, 1980; Brice, 2000; He, 2012; Cole,1998,

Alhourani, 2021, Alsaraireh, Singh & Hajimia, 2020, Alsarairey & Dubey, 2020, Charernnit,

2020). Nevertheless, teachers often feel guilty in using L1, and discourage L1 use among

students in English classes, missing the claimed advantage of CS where appropriate (e.g., Yao,

2011; Cook, 2001; Cavusoglu & Bostanci, 2013). The dominance of the belief in exclusive TL

or L2 use by L2 use proponents apparently stems from a set of reasons. They claim that any

gain from L1 use in TL/L2 classroom is almost negative. Their reasons are as follows:

(1) L1 use in a TL/L2 context undermines target language proficiency; (2) students do

not necessarily need to understand everything said by the teacher in TL/L2; (3) teaching

entirely through the TL/L2 reflects authentic language use and accordingly affords

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unpredictable language experience. Macaro highlights the value for learning of the natural

experience that comes through practice and exposure to the L2, and points out that teachers are

(in EFL countries) considered the main linguistic models for their students, and hence, they

should deliver as much TL/ L2 input as possible to their students (see further review in Macaro,

2001). Such reasons are deep-rooted within the 'natural approach' to language teaching,

claiming that language learning is a reproduction of the way humans naturally acquire their L1.

(e.g., Krashen & Terrell, 1983, Magulod, 2018).

In contrast, sociocultural theories of language learning (Vygotsky, 1986), for instance,

contemplate CS not only as a scaffolding strategy but also as a psychological tool. Cognitively,

learners who have already reached a high level of competency in their L1, e.g., students at

university level, can utilize their L1 schemata (top-down) in L2 learning contexts besides their

language input experience. Hence, the L1 is deemed a bonus and aids L2 learning; therefore,

the teacher ought to consider exploiting it in classroom instruction (e.g., Storch &

Wigglesworth, 2003). Wood et al. (1976) emphasized that L1 use establishes “a social and

cognitive space in which learners are able to provide each other and themselves with help

throughout the task” p, 338). Furthermore, sociolinguistically, L1 use in CS might legitimately

be used in ways like those in a bilingual community away from any classroom, such as when

interlocutors require to change the subject, stipulate an addressee, underscore their identity,

attract attention, or communicate with emotion (Poulisse & Bongaerts, 1994).

Sociolinguistic factors such as status and group identity are well documented in the

country where this study took place, and anecdotal evidence further illustrates that CS is a

common practice among the educated. There the switch is not, as in the EFL class, to Arabic

while speaking English, but rather the reverse, and is not typically motivated by any

interlocutor's deficit in language proficiency. For instance, such CS can be considered an

indicator of prestige, in a non-classroom context in particular, possibly intending to show a

person's higher degree of knowledge, and high social status (see further Turjoman, 2016).

In a nutshell, the ongoing debate for and against L1 CS in the classroom has painted

a rather confusing picture for practicing teachers in classrooms which is worthy of further

examination. Cook (2001) argues, for instance, that CS practices may perhaps uncover

important functions in the EFL classroom, which are grounded in teachers' attitudes and beliefs

(e.g., Al-Nofaie, 2010; Yao, 2011; Nadeem, 2012). Researchers have, therefore, examined CS

from a variety of perspectives, such as structural types of CS (e.g., Malik,1994; Alshugithri,

2015), CS pedagogical effects (e.g., Sakaria & Priyana, 2018), functions or reasons for use of

CS (e.g., Cavusoglu & Bostanci, 2013) and teacher beliefs and perceptions about CS (e.g.,

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Adrisosh & Razi, 2019; Alrefaee & Al-Ghamdi, 2019; Ja'afar & Maarof, 2016) in different

parts of the world, yielding perplexing results which are context-sensitive.

Consequently, there seems to be a necessity to further examine this phenomenon in

detail. One way of looking at this is through examining what types of CS teachers use, for what

functions, and with what underlying beliefs about doing it. In the L1 Arabic setting, CS in all

these aspects has not received enough attention (e.g, Al-Rowais, 2012; Al-Qaysi, 2016,

Almulhim, 2014; Hussein et al., 2020; Al-Saggaf & Binti Rusli, 2021). The few past relevant

studies threw light only on single aspects of CS like functions, or types. They have not typically

covered relevant areas comprehensively in one study, as is needed to promote a proper

understanding of CS from different angles, which could eventually inform best practices in

deployment of CS in the classroom. Therefore, our research aims to fill this gap and offer a

more holistic picture of CS in terms of types, functions and beliefs in a single and

comprehensive study. Furthermore, we did not follow the common practice employed by many

researchers in adopting a ready-made questionnaire; rather we ran a preliminary study (PS) to

gain as much information as possible on various attributes of CS like its functions, types and

beliefs that might be relevant to our context. In this grounded way, we aimed to design our own

valid and reliable questionnaire that realistically reflects the situation in our current context.

The following are our research questions (RQs) with respect to Arabic L1 university

EFL teachers in our country. Note that the study is limited to teacher CS rather than student

CS, which also occurs, and it does not pursue the issue of CS within Arabic (between Modern

Standard Arabic and the local spoken vernacular of an Arabic speaking country):

1. Do teachers switch to L1 in their EFL classes, and if so, how much do they do it?

2. Are the teachers aware of their English-Arabic switching in their EFL classroom?

3. In teaching what language skill areas do the teachers think their code-switching takes

place most often?

4. What are the most and least frequent structural types of code-switching used by the

teachers?

5. What are the causes of teacher code-switching from English to Arabic in their classes?

6. What are the EFL teachers' beliefs and attitudes concerning CS?

Literature review

Due to the word limit and scope of the current article, we will focus on the core areas of

CS targeted in this article (RQs 4, 5, 6) which are: types of CS, functions of CS, and beliefs

about CS.

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Types of teacher Code Switching in the EFL Classroom

One of the most widely discussed early CS typologies is that of Blom and Gumperz

(1972) where they described CS as “situational”, “metaphorical" or "conversational'. Poplack

(1980) however presented one of the most prominent and cited taxonomies of CS, which we

exploit since it suits our data. Three categories were identified in terms of grammatical

structure. First, inter-sentential CS which occurs where the language changes between

sentences at a clause or sentence boundary. Example: Study well. بكرة فيه اختبار (there is an

exam tomorrow). The second type is called intra-sentential which occurs within a sentence

often at a word or a phrase level. Example: the teacher says "the next session will be conducted

The last type involves insertion of an interjection or a tag into an utterance .(in the lab) في المختبر

in another language, which is called tag-switching. Example: The teacher asks a question.

.no one has an idea even? (guys) ,ياشباب

Rabab'ah and Al-Yasin (2017) examined the types of CS used by 106 Jordanian female

EFL school teachers. The results showed that the participants made use of all the three types

of CS namely, sentential, inter-sentential, and intra-sentential with the inter-sentential type

being most prevalent. However, it was found that teachers used CS to accommodate their

speech to their student’s proficiency level, implying that CS for them had a prime function of

ensuring student understanding (see next section). In other words, the higher the students'

proficiency level, the fewer the teachers' CS. The students of our participants are low proficient

(2.5 in IELTS); hence we hypothesise that teachers may accommodate to their students'

proficiency level in the same way.

Functions of teacher code-switching in the classroom

CS is performed with various social or communicative functions depending on different

variables like the topic or the interlocutor. Studies from all over the globe have produced

various answers to the important question of which functions or reasons are dominant in teacher

CS in the classroom. Previous findings report that teachers use CS with different functions

described as: clarification (e.g., Duff & Polio, 1990; Gulzar, 2010; Alshugither, 2015; Itmeizeh,

2017); translation (e.g., Rolin-Ianziti & Brownlie, 2002; Nzwanga, 2000); socialization (e.g.,

Nishmura, 1995; Rezvani & Rasekh, 2011); checking understanding (e.g,Ahmad & Jusoff,

2009; Alkatheery, 2014); repetition (e.g., Sert, 2005; Bensen & Cavusoglu, 2013);

recapitulation (e.g., Ferguson, 2009; Adrisah & Razi, 2019); classroom management (e.g.,

Turnbull & Daily-O'Cain, 2009; Then & Ting, 2010); effective instruction (Miller, 2009,

Gluzar, 2010); and interpersonal purposes (e.g., Canagaraja, 1995). Other studies have included

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similar functions under different categories (cf. Ferguson's framework, 2009). Furthermore, the

above list has numerous problems of overlapping categories (e.g., socialization and

interpersonal), catch-all categories (e.g. effective instruction could include many of the others),

and categories whose nature and relevance needs clarification. For instance, translation in a

translation class seems to be unavoidable and not to be considered as CS in the same way as

translation in a speaking class, where the teacher has a choice whether to use it.

In addition, while there are several studies (e.g., Alshugither, 2015; Adrisah & Razi,

2019) which have covered the majority of the functions mentioned above, they cannot be

deemed comprehensive. In fact, there might be a number of other functions that have not have

been recorded yet. One such is the function suggested by Macaro et al. (2012), that teachers'

judicious use of CS could facilitate students' oral production and help reduce students' anxiety,

especially for those with low proficiency levels. Hence, this study does not limit itself to any

predecided categories but attempts to seek as much information as possible to add to the

literature already existing, so enriching understanding of the CS field. However, Auer (1990)

acknowledged that it is impossible to bring together an inclusive list of the functions of CS

because the number of functions is unlimited.

Teacher beliefs and attitudes concerning CS

While a considerable volume of relevant research on the actual functions of CS has been

carried out, apparently there has been much less attention devoted to the study of teachers’

beliefs about whether, and how, CS should be used in the language classroom (e.g., Hussein,

1999; Cook, 2008; Ja'afar & Maarof, 2016). Although positive attitudes have often been

reported as held by teachers towards using CS in EFL classrooms (e.g., Al-Nofaie, 2010;

Alshammari, 2011; Hall & Cook, 2013), there is still some strength of opinion showing the

opposite (e.g., Ja'afar & Maarof, 2016).

The findings of Sondang and Bonik's study (2018) of Indonesian high school teachers

for example showed mixed views. The great majority perceived CS as essential to be included

as an integral part of the EFL lesson and that CS facilitated language learning. At the same

time, they mostly agreed that CS would increase student dependence on the teacher and should

only be used as a last resort when other options had been exhausted. They were as a group

indecisive on issues such as whether use of other languages would result in a decline in the

standards of English (45%) and whether the ideal teacher was a native teacher (55%). The

authors concluded that teachers believed that the advantages of employing CS outweighed the

disadvantages in EFL classrooms.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244019846214

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On the other hand, Ja'afar and Maarof’s (2016) teachers in Malaysia were much more

consistent. 51.6% of teachers viewed their use of CS in the classroom as detrimental to the

students' growth of proficiency, while 29.7% of them disagreed, justifying their CS as "a

response to the demands in the classroom" (Ellis & Shintani, 2013). Similarly, 59.4% of

teachers were in favor of English being taught in an English-only classroom in contrast to

31.2% of them disagreeing with the idea of monolingual ESL classrooms. In addition, 92.2%

of the teachers agreed that CS should only be used as a last resort supported by 79.7% of them

agreeing that students would be more successful in L2 if it was used more frequently in the

classroom. The greater consistency in support of monolingual English teaching without CS

could be due to Malaysia, unlike Indonesia and our context, being an ESL country where

English has considerable currency in daily life.

Based on the above review, it is anticipated that the results of this study will contribute

to improving researchers' understanding of CS, and its types, functions and associated beliefs

in an Arabic L1 context. This study, hence, will also benefit EFL teachers, as it can prompt

informed reflection on the usability of CS and so help update teachers’ personal instructional

theories of CS in their classrooms, particularly where teacher speech is the main source of

student oral L2 input.

Research Methodology

Preliminary Study (PS)

This gathered data on CS types, functions and beliefs with the aim of developing valid

instruments for the main study in a grounded way rather than simply adopting them from other

studies often carried out in very different contexts from ours.

PS Participants

A sample of 12 volunteers was obtained from the target population of the study: Arabic

L1 university teachers of EFL in our context (see Table (1)). All the participants included in

the PS were excluded from the main study.

Table (1). PS Participants’ Background Summary

Method

Participated in

EFL Teachers

Male Female Qualifications Experience

Questionnaire 8 4 B.A. or M.A

3-16 years

Interview 4 0

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Observation 2 0

Total 12

PS Instruments and Procedures

Based on an extensive literature review to amass a pool of possible items, the first

instrument was an open response questionnaire. The second instrument, a semi-structured

interview, was very like the open questionnaire, but afforded greater opportunity for detailed

response and interaction between researcher and interviewee: it took the form of a group

discussion interview with four of the 12 teachers who completed the questionnaire. The third

instrument was a classroom observation of teachers who had not yet completed the interview.

Two teachers were observed for 100 minutes in total, using a CS checklist, and then they were

also interviewed after being observed.

All instruments followed the same basic blueprint of content to be covered in accordance

with the RQs (Table (2)). Moreover, before their use in the PS, some modifications were made

based on an open discussion about their validity with a panel of EFL experts to ensure the

construction of an appropriate version that serves the research aim.

Table (2) PS Instruments Description

Instrument Description and Aim Aspects Covered Main questions asked

Open-ended

questionnaire

Allows participants to

report a wide range of

information on CS

frequency, types,

functions, and

beliefs/attitudes.

Demographic

information.

Types of CS occurrence,

functions and reasons

behind the use of CS,

and teachers'

beliefs/attitudes

concerning CS

● Do you code

switch? If so, what are the

types of CS that you

resort to when using CS?

● Why do you code

switch in the classroom?

● What do you

believe about the use of

L1 or code switching in

the L2 classroom?

Semi-

structured

Allows the researcher

to ask more probing

CS frequency of use, CS

types, functions and

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interviews questions on the above

CS issues.

beliefs ● Have you been

taught how and when to

code switch when

teaching English?

Classroom

Observations

Adds information on

what actually naturally

occurs (in contrast with

what teachers say

occurs, as above).

CS actual frequency of

use, types and functions

checklist

PS Analysis and Results

The results were primarily used to build a valid closed response questionnaire for the

main study, and more generally improve the instruments. That however entailed first analysing

the PS data, using qualitative content analysis, which is described briefly here.

1- All the teachers' responses to the same open questionnaire question were put together

paying no attention to how often the same point was made.

2- Any segments not related to our areas in focus were eliminated.

3- Segments of the responses were reclassified according to their corresponding

question since some responses had been given that did not fit the question asked (e.g. an answer

about CS function might be given to a question about CS types).

4- The interview and observation records were scanned and only new information was

extracted from these which had not been found in the open-ended questionnaire data. Segments

relating to new points were then transcribed and added to the open questionnaire answers as

supplementary data. For instance, one teacher whom the researcher observed was asked 'Why

did you use translation when explaining the present perfect tense to your students?' He said,

"in order to make sure they understand the grammatical rule very well because I believe that

grammar tenses, especially those that have no equivalences in Arabic should be taught through

compare and contrast in Arabic”. That function had not been reported in the questionnaire

responses, so was added.

5- Different CS types, functions and beliefs mentioned in the segments in the enhanced

open questionnaire data were then coded into subtypes. For instance, Teacher 1 stated that he

switches codes to make sure students understand his point. Teacher 2 stated that he switches

codes to check students' understanding. Both such responses were coded under "checking to

understand”.

6- The assignment of segments to classified aspects of CS (CS types, functions and

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beliefs) was thoroughly examined and discussed by a panel of research experts to ensure its

validity, and the final version with minor modifications satisfied all.

Afterwards, the results using the final coding were compared with findings in the few

other studies in the literature that match the researcher's in context, as shown in Table (3).

Codes and findings were judged to be largely similar. However, the PS results drew attention

to a new question related to which of the language skills was associated with greater CS

occurrence when teaching EFL. Furthermore, the use of observation alongside self-report data

drew attention to the issue of whether the teacher is aware of using CS and the relative amount

of CS a teacher thinks they use compared with their actual use.

Table (3) PS Results in comparison with those of the nearest previous studies.

Question Self-report Results Matching literature Researcher

Observation

Do you code-switch? If

so, what are the types of

CS that you resort to

when using CS?

EFL teachers frequently use

CS of the three types: inter-

sentential, intra-sentential

and tag-switching

Poplack, 1980; Almelhi,

2020

Confirmed, during

observation of EFL

classes.

Why do you use CS in

the classroom, if you

do?

EFL teachers use CS for

explaining complex language

elements, difficult concepts,

checking to understand,

translating abstract concepts,

recapitulation, repetition,

socialization, clarification,

and classroom management

Polio & Duff, 1994;

Alkatheery, 2014

What do you believe

about the use of L1 or

code switching in the

L2 classroom?

EFL teachers showed a

positive, but cautious,

attitude toward L1. They use

L1 as their students are of low

English proficiency coming

from secondary schools.

Mahdi, & Al-Malki

2019; Alkhudair, 2019

271

Have you been taught

how and when to code

switch when teaching

English?

No clear response on that. In

other words, they were not

instructed, but some teachers

said that they were advised to

be careful using CS from

English into Arabic and must

keep it as a last resort

strategy.

Alkatheery, 2014;

Almulhim, 2014

Main Study

Main Study Setting and Participants

The population of the current study includes all Arabic speaking EFL teachers, who teach

students of the preparatory year program in a State University. A convenience sample of 118

EFL teachers agreed to participate and responded properly to the questionnaire. They were

from different Arab nationalities: Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians, Tunisians, Syrians,

Sudanese…etc. to obtain a broad multi-Arab national perspective and to represent the range of

nationalities commonly found teaching at that level in my country. 89% had MA and the rest

BA. Participants were randomly selected for interviewing or observation from those of the 118

who were happy to volunteer for these further types of data gathering.

Table (4) shows the characteristics of the participants and numbers for each research

instrument.

Table (4). Demographics of Main Study Participants

Instrument Demographic Variable Frequency Percentage

Questionnaire Gender

Male 96 81%

Female 22 19%

Total 118 100%

Experience 1- 5 years 32 27%

6- 10 years 38 32%

11- 30 years 48 41%

Total 118 100%

Observation Total 5 5%

Interviews Total 10 8%

These teachers teach newly admitted students (high school leavers) to the university in

the preparatory year prior to embarking on their majors. Student English proficiency level is

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generally false beginner with a few lower intermediate. The study took place in the first term

of the preparatory year where students took their first English course, a general one since the

greater likelihood of CS use by EFL teachers was thought to exist at this low level. The English

course covers the four language skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking - and targets

general English.

The Main Study Closed Questionnaire

The main study questionnaire again contained both demographic items and items

targeting Arab EFL teachers' CS. The latter this time covered frequency of CS use, types,

functions and beliefs about CS, and additionally awareness of CS and skill areas associated

with CS. The latter was closed response items based on the results of the PS, articles reviewed

(Gluzar, 2010; Ferguson, 2009; Alshugither, 2015; Sondang & Bonik, 2018), and standard

books on CS and bilingualism such as Wheeler and Swords (2006), and Brown (2009). Several

items elicited from our PS and relevant literature were added, and items were omitted or

changed in order to yield a suitable CS questionnaire that fits the purpose of the current study

(Table (5).

In order to ensure the validity of the instrument developed, all items of different sections

were also checked and revised by independent experts in EFL and CS. The triangulation

methodology of the PS used to develop the instrument, incorporating semi-structured

interviews and observations, also ensured the validity of the main study questionnaire.

Moreover, the new questionnaire was piloted with 8 EFL teachers to check reliability, and test-

retest reliability, based upon two administrations one week apart, was .891.

Table (5). The Final Organization of the Closed Questionnaire

Section# Topic Response Options

1

Background information (gender, experience)

Choices of categories

2

CS reported frequency of use Never (0%) -always (100%)

5 point scale

Awareness of English-Arabic CS Never-always 5 point scale

Language skills where CS were reported used.

Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Grammar,

Vocabulary, Exams and Assessment

Choice from 7 frequency

levels for each skill

3 Types of CS reported used. Sentential,

Intersentential, Intrasentential

Yes/no choice for each type

4 Reported functions of CS (7 items) Never-always 5 point scale

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5 Beliefs about CS (12 items) 5-point Likert agreement

scale

Other Main Study Instruments and the Procedure

Three instruments were employed in the main study: observations, semi-structured

interviews and the closed questionnaire. Before gathering any data, necessary participants'

consents and official permits were obtained in advance. Next, five teachers were observed in

their classrooms, using a checklist reflecting the questionnaire content. This data totalled 250

minutes where each lecture was 50 minutes long. They were then interviewed immediately

after. This was done prior to the questionnaire to achieve a natural classroom session.

The questionnaire after that was completed by all the 126 EFL teachers in the preparatory

year and took an average of 10 to 15 minutes. Eight questionnaires were deleted as they were

not completed properly. Interviews were then conducted with a further 5 EFL teachers, mainly

to further examine the aspects targeted in the questionnaire and to supplement the questionnaire

results. Interviews were held in the university library and took approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

It should be mentioned here that it was not our interest in the qualitative part of the main study

(observations and interviews) to quantify the instances of any CS aspects we targeted. Rather

we used the qualitative data to support the questionnaire findings.

Main Study Data Analysis

For the quantitative analysis, questionnaires were input into SPSS version 20 where

frequencies and percentages, means and SD and relative importance index were calculated to

answer our research questions where appropriate. Since the data failed to exhibit normality of

distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction), all significance tests used

were non-parametric (e.g. the binomial, Friedman, Mann-Whitney tests, Spearman

correlation). Qualitative analysis of the interview and observation data was performed as

described for the PS and the results in terms of selected quotes and extracts were used to

supplement the account of the results of the questionnaire to illuminate how CS is used in the

classroom.


This section provides the results, organised by the research questions, with

accompanying interpretation and discussion.

274

RQ1 Frequency of L2-L1 CS Use.

Table (6) shows that Arabic L1 EFL teachers in mostly report that they seldom use L1

CS. There is a highly significant majority reporting rates of use less than 'sometimes' compared

with those who report more than 'sometimes' (Binomial test p<.001). That answers RQ1: Do

teachers use L1 CS in their EFL classes, and if so, how much do they say they do it? This result

did not differ for genders (Mann-Whitney test z=-.097, p=.923) nor for teachers of different

degrees of experience (Spearman rho=-.128, p=.166).

Table (6) Amount of reported CS Use

Behavior Frequency Percent Binomial

test Sig

Never 6 5.1%

<0.001

Seldom 74 62.7%

Sometimes 30 25.4%

Often 4 3.4%

Always 4 3.4%

Total 118 100%

Relatively similar results were reported by Adrisoh and Razi (2019) but our results are

not in line with other previous findings (e.g., Al-Nofaie, 2010; Hall & Cook, 2013). Macaro

(2005) claims that beyond 10%-15% L1 use in L2 class, the benefit of CS will be ruined. In

our case about a third of teachers responded 'sometimes' or more and would likely have been

exceeding this rate, which reflects their positive attitude towards L1 use in the L2 classroom.

However, the qualitative results in general, showed that the teachers had a reluctant attitude

towards the use of L1 in L2 classrooms and even those few who employed it usually did so

purposively. Still, our results confirm that CS is a controversial point and not agreed on among

teachers. For instance, one teacher said, "I rarely use L1 in my classroom because I do not

believe it is helpful for the students", while another teacher said, "I use L1 in my classroom

just when I feel the communication was broken”. In addition, this aligns with the general

observation that the teachers resorted to L1 in limited situations which demonstrated that the

teachers had a greater predisposition towards more L2 use in their classrooms.

275

RQ2 Teachers Awareness of CS Use.

Our participants reported a quite high level of awareness of using CS: 61% reported

'often' or 'always' (Table (7), which was significantly more than those reporting below

'sometimes' (Binomial test p<.001). This clearly answers RQ2 positively: Are EFL teachers

aware of their English-Arabic Switching in their EFL classroom? This result did differ for

genders, where females were significantly less positive about their awareness than males

(Mann-Whitney test z=-1.975, p=.048), but not for teachers of different degrees of experience

(Spearman rho=.105, p=.259).

Table (7). Code-Switching Awareness

Behavior Frequency Percent Binomial test Sig.

Never 4 3.4%

p<.001

Seldom 22 18.6%

Sometimes 20 16.9%

Often 16 13.6%

Always 56 47.5%

Total 118 100%

The finding that the majority of teachers had high awareness was supported by the

interviewees who also made claims of being aware of CS, and confirmed by most of the

observation notes. This suggests that they switched purposefully in different patterns to

perform different functions (Rabab’ah & Al-Yasin, 2017). This is in line with the results

concerning their reluctance about use of L1 obtained for RQ1 above.

RQ3 Language Skills attracting Most frequent CS Use.

Our Arab EFL preparatory year teachers provided information about their perception of

the incidence of using CS when teaching seven different EFL language areas or (in the broad

sense) skills. Table (8) shows results answering RQ3: In teaching what language skill do EFL

teachers think code-switching takes place most often? It shows that the areas where CS was

most often reported used, significantly above the middle frequency (F4), were grammar,

vocabulary and exams/assessment. There was the least CS associated with listening, which

came close to being reported significantly below the middle frequency (F4). In general, the

traditional four skills of language use, where the focus may be more on meaning than form,

276

attracted less CS than the areas of language knowledge which are often taught by explicit

language explanation (especially of grammar and vocabulary). Males reported CS for grammar

significantly more than females (Mann-Whitney z=-2.486 p=.013).

Table (8). CS in different Language Teaching Skills (F1 = highest reported

frequency)

Skills F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 Rank

Order

Binomial test

Sig

Reading Frequency 24 14 24 8 16 10 22

4 .215

Percentage 20% 12% 20% 7% 14% 8% 19%

Speaking Frequency 20 14 14 18 2 16 34

6 .764

Percentage 17% 12% 12% 15% 2% 14% 29%

Listening

Frequency 18 8 14 18 12 14 34

7

.057

Low

frequency

Percentage 15% 7% 12% 15% 10% 12% 29%

Writing Frequency 16 12 26 18 0 22 24

5 .484

Percentage 14% 10% 22% 15% 0% 19% 20%

Grammar Frequency 26 26 20 18 6 10 12

1 <.001 high

frequency Percentage 22% 22% 17% 15% 5% 8% 10%

Vocabula

ry

Frequency 34 26 10 14 6 14 14

2

.001

High

frequency

Percentage 29% 22% 8% 12% 5% 12% 12%

Exams

and

Assess

ment

Frequency 38 16 14 8 4 20 18

3

.017

High

frequency

Percentage 32% 14% 12% 7% 3% 17% 15%

Figure 1 depicts the frequencies of CS with respect to language skills.

277

Figure 1. Frequencies of CS with respect to language skills

Variation in skill-related CS use has been found also by Kim (2015) who reported that

many instructors (77.2%) felt that CS would be very helpful to improve English reading skills,

followed by 65.2% for writing, finally 56 % for listening and 55.8 % for speaking. This is

similar to our order for the four skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) and perhaps reflects

that reading is often accompanied by vocabulary explanation, which as we saw was separately

rated among the high frequency areas. Speaking and listening, being done orally in real time,

do not afford so much opportunity for explanations in L1 as the written skills. Our findings are

however somewhat at odds with Jinxia's remark (2008:59) "the amount of L1 varies in different

lesson contents, that is, least….in the discussion of tests and other assignments". We found

quite high reported CS in that instance. Jinxia was however studying a Chinese university,

possibly very different from ours. It should be mentioned that the relevant literature is less

developed in this particular area, and no directly comparable studies exist, hence ours are new

findings.

We found our questionnaire results mostly align with the observation data. Interviewees

shared the view that exam instructions, vocabulary and grammar are important to be well

explained. As one teacher said: "Well I mostly use Arabic when I clarify exam instructions,

also when teaching grammar and when I failed to get the meaning of a new word across to my

students, doing so helps me be sure of the work I delivered". This reflects what other research

suggests. In our data, the findings are consistent with teachers' support for the function “Making

sure that the student has understood a certain vocabulary or meaning of a concept" (see later

below).

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

24 20 18 16 26 34 3814 14 8 12

2626 1624

1414

26

20 10 14818

1818

18 14 816

2 120

66

410

16 1422

10 1420

2234 34 24

12 14 18

F7

F6

F5

F4

F3

F2

F1

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RQ4 Frequency of CS structural Types

The analysis presented here links the results concerning RQ4: What are the most and

least frequent structural types of code switching used by Arab EFL teachers? to the results

above related to RQ1, which concerned frequency of reported CS use regardless of types. This

link allows us to ascertain if we can say that our Arab EFL teachers seldom/never use CS in

their classes regardless of its type. The analysis in Table (9) maps their claims related to RQ1

(68% seldom or never) to their responses to the current question. The results confirm their

claims of low overall use. The 'no' responses outweigh the 'yes' responses significantly for

interjection/tag and intrasentential types of CS and are also in the mid 60% 'no' area. For the

intersentential type, although the 'yes' is descriptively a majority, there is no significant

difference between 'yes' 56% and 'no' 44% frequencies. Still, the type that comes closest to

providing evidence against the overall frequency pattern is the intersentential. Furthermore,

Cochran's test showed a significant difference existed among the responses to the three types

(Q=10.644, p=.005); from follow up paired tests (sign tests) it emerged that this was in fact

due to the 'yes' frequency being significantly higher for the intersentential type compared with

the other two types (which did not differ significantly from each other in their lower amounts

of 'yes' response).

There was one significant correlation with teacher experience: more experienced teachers

chose yes more often than less experienced ones for the intersentential type (rho=.200, p=.030).

Apparently more experienced teachers favor more switching for complete clauses and

sentences rather than just a word or two. There was also a striking gender effect on the

interjection/tag type: none of the 'yes' responses came from females, creating a significant

gender difference (Mann-Whitney z=-3.85. p<.001). It seems perhaps that the females do not

favour this sort of more casual conversational CS in the classroom context.

Table (9) Frequency of use of CS types

Do you use L1 in your

EFL classes, if so, how

much you think?

Interjection/tag

Frequency

Intersentential

Frequency

Intrasentential

Frequency

Answer f % No Yes No Yes No Yes

Never 6 5% 2 4 4 2 4 2

Seldom 74 63% 54 20 30 44 50 24

279

Someti

mes 30 25% 18 12 18 12 18 12

Often 4 3% 2 2 0 4 2 2

Always 4 3% 0 4 0 4 4 0

Total 118 100% 76 42 52 66 78 40

Use % for each CS type 64% 36% 44% 56% 66% 34%

Rank (based on yes) 2 1 3

Binomial test Sig. (based on

yes vs no) .002 .231 .001

Similar results to ours were reported in other studies (e.g., Poplack, 1981; Rabab'ah &

Al-Yasin, 2017). Our current study result also seemed to correspond well with the evidence of

classroom observations, which indicates that most teachers are aware of the types of CS they

use in their EFL classrooms (RQ2). This, therefore, contradicts Sert (2005:4) who proposed

that “in some cases code-switching may be regarded as an automatic and unconscious

behavior”.

In the classroom observation, the most used type of CS noted was intersentential followed

by interjection/tag and the least used one was intrasentential. An interjection/ tag example is:

Teacher: (Giving instructions to students) Now, يا شباب, (guys) every one stay at his seat

immediately.

This example showed that the teacher addressed his students by the word “شباب” shabaab

which means “guys” interjected in a sentence. This Arabic word was repeatedly used by several

(male) teachers during their classes which might be a sign of their wishing to express solidarity

and intimacy (see functions below), as said by one interviewee:

"It is a habitual practice used not only with students but also with friends and shows a

kind of solidarity with the students".

RQ5 Frequency of different Functions of CS

This section answers RQ5: What are the causes of teacher code switching from English

to Arabic in their classes. Table (10) shows the results.

280

Table (10) Frequency of Functions of CS

Function Always Ofte

n

Sometim

es

Seldo

m

Nev

er

Mode Relative

Importa

nce

Index

Rank

order

Bin.

test

Sig

Clarifying the

meaning of

unclear matters

F 30 32 26 18 12 Often 0.61 1 .001

% 25% 27% 22% 15% 10%

Translating a

word from

English into

Arabic

F 6 40 34 32 6 Often 0.52 3 .445

% 5% 34% 29% 27% 5%

Making sure that

the student has

understood a

certain

vocabulary or

meaning of a

concept

F 30 28 28 10 22 Alway

s

0.57 2 .008

% 25% 24% 24% 8% 19%

Summarizing

major points of

the lesson

F 16 18 16 22 46 Never 0.36 7 .001

% 14% 15% 14% 19% 39%

Repeating the

question in

Arabic

F 12 34 22 16 34 Never 0.44 6 .760

% 10% 29% 19% 14% 29%

Giving or telling

a joke in Arabic

F 12 28 32 33 13 Seldo

m

0.49 4 .590

% 10% 24% 27% 28% 11%

F 14 34 16 37 17 0.48 5 .621

281

Asking the

students to

behave in the

classroom

% 12% 29% 14% 31% 14% Seldo

m

The table clearly shows that two of the seven CS functions stand out as claimed to be

used significantly above the mid frequency of 'sometimes' while another is reported as used

significantly below that mid frequency. The rest do not differ significantly from 'sometimes'.

Another overall finding of interest is that males reported more use of all functions than did

females and in four cases this difference was significant (translating a word z=-3.117, p= .002;

ensuring understanding z=-3.467, p=.001; classroom behaviour z=2.451, p=.014;

summarizing z=3.325, p=.001).

The most frequently used CS functions Arab EFL teachers often use CS for clarifying

the meaning of unclear matters, ranked first by its relative importance index. In addition, they

often use CS to make sure that the student has understood a certain vocabulary item or meaning

of a concept which is ranked second. Similar findings were obtained by Alkatheery (2014). It

is noticeable however that translation of a word, although the third highest in the ranking of

the 7 functions, was not claimed to be used significantly more than 'sometimes'. This may

perhaps suggest that several attempts prior to the direct translation of new vocabulary would

occur and it is not a first resort strategy preferred by teachers.

The observation data contained several utterances in support of teachers' use of CS (1) to

clarify the meaning of unclear matters; (2) to make sure that their students have understood a

certain concept or aspect of language, and (3) to translate new vocabulary. An example from

the qualitative data of the most frequently claimed CS function is the following, where the

teacher clarifies some points with extra focus and explanation:

Present perfect continuous means مضارع التام المستمرال .. ..Meaning….The form is used to

express that an act is repeatedly occurring until the current moment of speaking for instance:

I have been lecturing since 10 o'clock…..You have been listening to me since nine

o'clock…well… I will try to explain this in Arabic to express the appropriate meaning to you,

alright?

الم الحدث استمرار عن للتعبير فاعل صيغة سبيل وتستعمل على الحاضرة اللحظة حتى انقطاع باال اضي

المثال..........

"I have been trying to call you so many times all day"

ل طوال اليوم االتصال بك" قد كنت أحاو '.

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Here, the teacher first tried to explain the point using simple sentences in L2, and repeated

some sentences in the present perfect continuous to illustrate the grammatical meaning, but he

finally switched to Arabic to clarify the meaning in an easy way since no equivalent structure

exists in Arabic.

We asked some interviewees who had followed a similar pattern about the reasons

behind that, and one said:

"I switched to Arabic in explaining the present perfect continuous and in some other

complex structure when there is no equivalent structure existing in Arabic and language issues

like difficult reading texts"

Another interviewee said:

I try to switch to Arabic to bridge the gap between their general language knowledge and

standard grammar knowledge, when it comes to grammar, which makes them understand

better and one way of doing so can be through making some type of comparison for instance

between English and Arabic grammar sentences bearing in mind my students are still weak in

language proficiency and would not possibly understand me well."

The above extracts demonstrate that the teachers use CS in a variety of detailed ways

within the category that we labelled collectively Clarifying the meaning of unclear matters. CS

is put to use by teachers to implement topic switch and repetition functions to clarify grammar

points for their students, and, rather differently, as part of a teaching strategy of 'compare and

contrast' between L2 and L1 structures and parallel grammar examples. It appears from the

qualitative data that such sub-functions may create bonds between students' understanding of

their language of daily life and the new information their teachers offer. This is what other

research suggests (e.g., Greggio & Gil, 2007; Alkatheery, 2014). More specifically, Cole

(1998) expressed such a process as follows: “a teacher can exploit students’ previous L1

learning experience to increase their understanding of L2”.

The usual follow up action after clarification of unclear matters to students can often be

making sure that they have understood such words or concepts. This is the second most used

CS function reported by our sample significantly positively (Table (10)). Again, the

questionnaire results were supported by the classroom observation to a great extent. For

instance here CS is used to convey a crucial piece of management information that requires to

be understood:

Teacher: "Do not forget, we have changed the time of your lecture time next week, guys!!"

ن ياشباب غيرنا موعد المحاضرة األسبوع القادمالتنسو

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Then and Ting (2009) concluded that teachers often code switched also by posing a

question to confirm the students' grasp of what they said. This is an example from our data:

Teacher: Blackboard technology … "!It means a system for electronic educational

management, like lectures and exams, do not forget, clear right?"

ال واالختبارات..., المحاضرات مثل التعليمية للغايات الكمبيوتر في نظام التعلم...وهو إدارة نظام معناها

تسون..واضح صح؟

This is in line with Greggio and Gil's remark (2007) in terms of use L1 translation for

understanding.

When we asked the teacher who was observed producing the above example, he said:

"The student seemed not to understand well, and thus the word or concept would still be

not very much understood so I thought that I should make sure that not only him understand

well the meaning but also the rest of the students as they are still at a beginning proficiency

level and in need of some hints and assistance in Arabic sometimes so to motivate them to be

active in classroom".

That comment was found to capture other teachers' views more generally when we

interviewed them. Furthermore, it suggests to us that the teacher, in using CS with this function,

may perhaps have in mind an ulterior function of making sure the students are engaged in the

lesson and interact. Indeed it came to our attention that a single extract may evidence more

than one CS function occurring together, including translating from L2 to L1, checking a

student's understanding of the new information, and meaning clarification, which are the three

most used CS functions in our current study. However, it remains clear that the translation

function is different from clarification or checking someone's understanding, since the former's

purpose is oriented to supplying information about language, whereas the latter are related to

conveying conceptual information or a message successfully.

The least frequently used CS functions.

The questionnaire results in Table (10) show a rank order of the four least used CS

functions as follows: giving or telling a joke in Arabic ranked fourth, asking the students to

behave in the classroom ranked fifth, repeating the question in Arabic ranked sixth and

summarizing major points of the lesson ranked seventh and significantly below 'sometimes'.

Interestingly three of those functions were however reported significantly more by more

experienced than less experienced teachers (repeating question rho=.218, p=.018; classroom

behaviour rho=.270, p=.003; summarising rho=.199, p=.031).

284

Several overall remarks can be made here. On the one hand, the teachers seem to focus

their CS functions on important or unclear aspects of L2 like unknown vocabulary and on

confirming successful student understanding of what is said. This perhaps suggests that they

perceive cognitive, informational and linguistic roles of CS to be paramount. On the other hand,

however, they are not especially friendly users of CS functions in that they for instance seldom

use social and affective CS functions like making jokes to lessen any possible anxiety in the

classroom because of intensive use of L2 with low language proficiency learners. This was

clearly noticed in the classroom observations where few instances of making jokes were noted.

Hence this does not accord with suggested best practices for CS use such as expression of

emotion and brief socializing ‘communicative functions’ (Macaro,2014).

Noticeably, responses about repeating the question in Arabic had a bimodal distribution

with 34 teachers saying 'never' and 34 saying 'often'. This difference of opinion between two

groups of teachers finds a parallel in our result in Table (8) showing high reported use of CS

in exams and assessment by many, and again there was a distinctly separate group that reported

low frequency. The correlation between the two items is strong (rho=.497, p<.001), showing

that the questions that teachers had in their minds as being repeated in L1 were assessment

questions. The precise nature of the question repetition CS is revealed by several interviewees

in comments such as this:

"In fact, we do not say the exam questions in Arabic but when needed we use Arabic

when we talk about the exam and assessment instructions and relevant information which

deemed important like types of question, nature of assessment …etc."

This was noted in the observation as well:

Teacher: Question two in reading text 2 asks for paraphrasing the main idea of the text?

(This is a deduction question not translation) السؤال عن االستنباط وليس الترجمة

Another example:

Teacher: "The assessment of the course is well outlined in course syllabus which includes

objective and subjective types of exams and portfolio at the end of the course"

"أساليب التقييم في المقرر تحتوي على أسئلة مقاليه وموضوعية في االختبارات والحقيبة التعليمية في نهاية المقرر"

The teacher code switched to inform the students about the type of question, not what it was.

CS for summarizing major points of the lesson ranked seventh out of 7 functions and was

reportedly used significantly below 'sometimes'. This reflects what we observed in classrooms

but is not in line with Adriosh and Razi (2019). This is possibly due to their few small sample

of subjects (6 teachers) and different context of the study.

285

A teacher interviewee explained this by saying; "I already have used several functions

like clarification of unknown matters, making sure that they have understood what I have

presented in L1 when the necessity arises, which is enough to keep using English as much as

possible". In other words, a summary in L1 was not seen as really essential and so to be avoided.

This extract supports the findings that CS with social and management functions, which

is also in a sense inessential, emerged as seldom chosen by the participants. This is supported

by our observations in classrooms though there were some instances in which these functions

occurred. However, some were due to the request of the students and not the teacher-initiated.

For instance, one teacher asked the students to make a round table shape technique for a reading

activity but the students did not understand that and one of them asked the teacher in Arabic to

say it in Arabic and the teacher felt obliged to do so, as he said in the interview when asked.

RQ6 CS Beliefs

In order to investigate the Arabic EFL teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward CS, and so

answer RQ6, Table (11) shows the belief questionnaire results in the form of means,

Std.deviation and their rank. For these items the scale ran from 1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly

agree. Seven of the 12 beliefs attracted agreement significantly above 3 (undecided) and just

one significantly below, with four beliefs remaining in the undecided region.

Table (11). EFL teachers' CS Beliefs

Item Beliefs Mean Std.

Deviati

on

Rank Binomi

al test

Sig

1 CS can facilitate L2 learning process. 3.46 1.15 2 <.001

2 The practice of CS will increase the students’

reliance on the teacher 3.05 1.13

9 .195

3 CS should be included as an integral part of an

EFL classroom 2.91 1.25

11 1.00

4 CS should be totally avoided in EFL classroom 2.96 1.32 10 .749

5 CS should only be used as a last resort when all

other options have been exhausted 3.42 1.24

4 .001

6 CS is an efficient, time-saving technique 3.42 1.13 5 <.001

7 English is best taught in English-only 3.35 1.29 6 .012

286

classrooms (monolingual approach)

8 The use of other languages in the EFL

classroom will result in a decline in the

standards of English

3.22 1.26

8 .075

9 The ideal teacher of English is a native speaker 2.51 1.32 12 <.001

10 The more English that is used, the better the

results for the learners 3.61 1.27

1 <.001

11 CS helps reduce students' anxiety 3.45 1.21 3 <.001

12 The teacher should make a conscious effort to

CS in L2 classroom. 3.27 1.23

7 .042

The two top-rated beliefs already reveal signs of some contradiction in the teachers'

minds. The first ranked belief - The more English is used, the better the results for learners

(M=3.61) - was endorsed only marginally and nonsignificantly more than the second most

popular - CS can facilitate the English learning process (M=3.46) - which is in many ways an

opposing belief. This is illuminated further by the observations conducted in classrooms where

teachers mainly used L2 (English) to explain their lessons. Similarly, our interview data

showed that the teachers had positive to neutral attitudes toward the value of teacher’s CS but

with strong reservations, in other words, interviews signposted that there was a tendency to

code switch to Arabic only if necessary or perhaps if the content was outside the syllabus. This

is confirmed by the high rating of item 5 (M=3.42) that CS should be a last resort and is stated

explicitly in teacher interviews:

"Well…I believe that code switching to Arabic is necessary but only if I failed to

communicate in English"

The belief in CS as only a last resort was in fact held much more strongly by more experienced

than less experienced teachers (rho=.364, p<.001).

There was however a gender difference on the matter of what was best for learners.

Females endorsed the importance for them of English in the classroom more than males (item

10, close to significance: z=-1.872, p=.061), while the reverse was true (significantly: z=-

2.076, p=.038) for item 1 citing the learning value of CS. Consistently with that, females also

endorsed item 2, concerning CS making students rely on the teacher, more than males did

(z=2.447, p=.014). Females therefore begin to emerge as taking a harder line than males on the

287

learning value of use of English in the classroom. There was no significant difference between

genders on item 5 however, concerning CS use as a last resort.

The results in Table (11) also showed strong agreement by all teachers that CS reduced

students' anxiety (M=3.45, ranked third). This is in line with Collins (2001) who reported that

CS to L1 contributes to reducing the anxiety of L2 learning and so contributes indirectly to

successful L2 learning, which any teacher hopes for. When asked, interviewees also generally

held the view that anxiety is one source of students' complaints and affects L2 learning; hence

reducing it is one way towards better L2 learning outcomes (cf. Cook, 2001).

While the above belief items focused more on benefits (or not) for learners in CS use, the

other beliefs that we targeted mostly focused on the teaching perspective. These generally were

endorsed less (below rank position 4) and include some of the lowest rated items. The teachers

most strongly held the belief that CS is time-saving and efficient for them (M=3.42, rank

position 5), as shown in Table (11). However there are again some contradictions in the results

that suggest that teachers did not all hold a fully coherent set of beliefs on CS in teaching. For

instance, in the area just above the midpoint of the agreement scale we find, as expected, similar

levels of agreement that (item 7) English is best taught in English-only classrooms

(monolingual approach) and that (item 8) the use of other languages in the EFL classroom will

result in a decline in the standards of English, and those two beliefs are highly correlated

(rho=.523, p<.001). Less predictably, however, the teachers also agree (item 12) at a similar

level that the teacher should make a conscious effort to CS and there is a significant positive

correlation between items 7 and 12 (rho=.202, p=.031). The teachers seem to be more

monolingual-approach supporters in the interviews when asked, but several also showed a

positive attitude towards CS though again with reservations like using CS when necessary. One

possible explanation is that while teachers show a strong orientation to a monolingual approach

as an idealistic belief in principle, they accept that in practice it is not achievable and that there

are benefits for teaching in the context if some CS is used. This kind of conflict is not unusual

in teacher belief research (Borg, 2003).

In the area of doubt and disagreement close to 3 on the agreement scale we find both

(item 3) CS should be an included as an integral part of an EFL classroom and (item 4) CS

should be totally avoided in the EFL classroom. Here the correlation is negative, showing

consistency of participant beliefs (rho=-.408, p<.001), and the overall indecision on these

beliefs may reflect the conflict described above.

288

Finally in lowest position in the rank order is the belief that (item 9) the ideal teacher of

English is a native speaker, which was significantly disagreed with, and indeed significantly

more so by females than males (z=-3.398, p=.001). Disagreement here of course is consistent

with favouring CS since most English native speaker teachers on a Preparatory course would

be on short contracts and not have lived in the country and acquired any proficiency in Arabic

to enable them to CS. Furthermore one interviewee stated:

"I believe that the concept of native speaker is not any longer an issue in foreign language

teaching. If the non-native EFL teacher is well qualified and experienced then he or she can

be better to their low proficient students especially for grammar and terminology teaching.

Although not stated explicitly, this interviewee may have had in mind that the non-native

teacher in the context would most likely be an Arabic speaker and so be able to 'better' help the

low proficiency students via explanation in L1 (cf. Hall & Cook, 2013; Rabab'ah & Al-Yasin,

2017).

To sum up, it becomes clear that the majority of teachers hold the belief that monolingual

EFL teaching is in principle the best way to enrich their students with an adequate amount of

language input that leads to success in language learning. However, at the same time they give

some support to CS as needed in practice for reasons such as speed, low student proficiency,

anxiety reduction and failure of communication by other means. This seems in line with Yao's

(2011) argument, that researchers and teachers judge L1 use in the classroom in relation to

practicalities such as slowness or impediment of the L2 learning process.

Implications and Conclusion

This study examined 118 Arab EFL teachers' CS in terms of frequency, awareness, types,

functions and beliefs, through data collected both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results

showed that the majority of teachers are monolingual approach devotees who at the same time

reflect a positive attitude towards limited use of CS orally, especially the intersentential type,

with certain functions such as notably clarifying grammar and vocabulary, and particularly

used with low proficiency students where other forms of communication fail and to reduce

anxiety or not waste time. This reflects what other research suggests (e.g., Tang, 2002; Dash,

2002). Teachers did not significantly agree or disagree that CS had bad effects such as

increasing student dependence on the teacher and driving down standards of English.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244019846214

289

Based on the findings of the present study, a number of implications can be presented. In

particular the teachers mostly claimed to be always or often aware of CS, but our research

suggests that they probably did not actually employ it as much as might be suitable. We found

that 62.7% of the teachers report that they seldom use L1 in their classroom while a research

consensus suggested from 10 to 15% use in L2 classrooms as appropriate (Macaro, 2005). That

is, CS or L1 use in classroom has been seen as a facilitative strategy that may aid in L2 learning

(e,g., Cook, 2001; He, 2012). Teachers should be reminded that CS is a teaching strategy that

works as a bridge for transferring intelligible input from the teachers to their students. As said

by Atkinson (1993:13), "For many learners (in particular adults and teenagers), occasional use

of the L1 allows them to show that they are intelligent, sophisticated people".

Macaro (2001) further argued that teachers, for the maximum L2 benefit of their students,

should perform CS deliberately. This implies awareness, but our study also shows there are

areas that they are either not aware of or do not fully understand or have not thought through

fully. First, it can be seen that there were instances where the teachers gave conflicting

responses to questionnaire items, although to be fair the closed format did not allow them to

explain their answers. We interpret these instances as possibly due to a mismatch between

teacher beliefs (in what should be the case) and their practices (where they have to adjust what

they actually do to what is the case in the teaching context) (Borg, 2003). However none of the

teachers expressed the matter in this way in interview and this suggests that there is room for

guiding teachers to reflect more deeply on their practices so as to understand this issue better

and optimise their CS practices accordingly (Cole, 1998).

Second the majority of teachers had some misconceptions or reluctance to implement

some specific CS functions like telling jokes in the classroom. Previous research findings (e.g.,

Cook, 2001) have shown inspiring evidence that CS is a natural linguistic process and can be

an aid to L2 learning not only in cognitive ways like explanation of words and concepts but

also in social and affective ways, such as telling a joke or generally using L1 to show solidarity

and reduce formality and so anxiety, all of which broadly falls within classroom management.

Teachers need to be reminded that CS is a natural part of teaching and learning interaction and

CS can be considered a useful tool in such an interaction.

Third, although some teachers showed awareness of the crucial role that CS can play

with less proficient learners (Adroish and Razi, 2019), it is not clear that they all understood

this. Our teachers in general had considerable teaching experience and postgraduate

certificates in English language but still hold strong beliefs about L2 dominance in the

classroom even with their low proficiency students. CS however can be recommended as an

290

integral part of the EFL classroom at the low proficiency level, according to the findings of

several studies (e.g., Dash, 2002; Rabab'ah & Al-Yasin, 2017). Besides, as concluded by Cole

(1998) “L1 may be used from introductory to upper-intermediate levels on a decreasing scale.

At lower levels, translating individual words, explaining grammar use, and facilitating complex

instructions can save time and anguish, especially for mature students”.

These ideas can all be implemented through teacher professional development events

where teachers are encouraged to share and reflect upon their past experiences with CS, rather

in the way they had to in the group interviews of our study. Another way of doing that is

through the encouragement of classroom visits among teachers teaching the same level of

learners with the observation of CS in mind.

In conclusion, it is important to mention the limitations of this study, which also provide

ideas for future research. Our sample was chosen from one university, and had this study been

carried out in locations add to the available setting, a representation of a larger population

would have been achievable. With more time, it would also be valuable to examine teachers'

CS outside the confines of the classroom to assess factors underlying their CS behaviors in

other contexts. Furthermore, this study included teachers only and clearly it would be

informative to include students as well to promote a fuller understanding of the CS

phenomenon inside classroom. Nevertheless, we feel that, within our chosen scope, our

approach to illuminating key attributes of CS was successful in revealing a number of crucial

findings and what we have demonstrated is highly suggestive.

Acknowledgement

The author extends his appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Majmaah

University for funding this work under project no (R-2021-90).

291

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Corpus-Based Instruction: Fostering EFL Learning in Jordan

Mohammad Yousef Alsaraireh

Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan

Bio-profile:

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Alsaraireh is a Professor of Language Studies and Translation at Al-

Balqa Applied University, Jordan. He has published numerous articles in international journals.

His research interests centre on ELT, Linguistics, and Translation.

Abstract

Corpus linguistics is one of the most recent developments in language analysis. One of the aims

of learning through corpus-based approach is to enable students with more ‘hands-on’ learning

compared to subjective learning. Besides, corpus-based approach also improves students’

cognitive and critical thinking skills whilst motivating them to find patterns in authentic

language leading to novice linguistic researchers. The current study reports on perceptions of

students and the researcher’s observations made during corpus based EFL teaching and

learning interventions. Several applications of corpus-based instruction like concordance,

collocation and word analysis are used during the teaching-learning activities. The respondents

were 30 intermediate EFL students from a private school in Jordan who are interviewed as well

as observed for data collection. Both interviews and observation data were collected and

analysed by using the thematic analysis technique. Overall, according to the findings, there is

a positive insight on the application of corpus-based approach in EFL language learning and

teaching process in Jordanian EFL classrooms, which concludes that students tend to be more

motivated and cheerful while learning via this approach.

Keywords: language teaching, writing skills, corpus-based instruction, grammar learning,

motivation

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Introduction

Use of language corpora in ESL/ EFL classrooms has developed in globally over the past three

decades. According to Hanks (2008) as quoted in Boulton (2010), "corpus is now almost

universally used in the construction of reference materials, in particular dictionaries, grammar

books and manuals of usage"(p. 2). A lot of work has been done in many countries for studying

the efficacy of corpus-based instruction as a teaching technique to emphasize how native

English speakers use language, speech and vocabulary. Many studies found that using real-life

language examples with students is more effective than superficial examples generated by

teachers which neither stimulate the leaners nor simulate real life language use. Corpus

linguistics is considered to be one of the most appropriate methods of language teaching and

learning based on technology (Singh, 2014). However, the use of corpus-based instruction in

teaching and learning aspects of a second or a foreign language is still poorly used in some

countries, one example of which is Jordan (Alsaraireh & Suryani, 2020).

Learning by using a corpus-based approach helps students to get acquainted via multiple

modalities that offer hands-on learning experience. This approach helps students to develop

critical thinking based on questions that inspire them to identify patterns and help them evolve

as novice linguistic researchers in reliable real-life language usage (Singh, 2014).

During corpus-based teaching-learning, various methods of corpus use like word analysis,

concordance, and collocations have previously been used in classrooms (Hajimia, Singh, &

Rathakrishnan 2019). In fact, the most important contribution of computer science to language

teaching and learning is taking place through the introduction of corpus linguistics that focuses

on developing, constructing, processing, and analysing language use through various computer

systems. Consequently, computer-assisted corpus analysis has been made available by some

studies conducted on specifically compiled representative corpora (Singh 2014; Singh,

Yasmin, & Shamsudin; 2012; Singh & Shamsudin 2010).

The term ‘corpora’ refers to a web-based collection of authentic electronic texts which are

collected and stored on a personal computer (Hunston, 2002). The main purpose of such

collection is to analyse the linguistics structures and to use it as examples of real-life language

use. It is important to note here that these language contents are samples of real-life language

use by native speakers of a language. Subsequently, the corpora can be incorporated into the

classroom to teach students on various levels to master the language being taught (Ergül, 2014).

However, corpus-based studies still lack, especially in the field of learning and the field of

teaching in Jordan. Using such a method suggests an approach to data-driven learning (DDL),

a concept which was first coined by Johns in 1991.

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Data-driven learning (DDL) refers to, as claimed by Johns (1991), actions that provide

computer-generated concordance screens for language learners in a language classroom to

examine and explore the language patterns. Being aware of the substantial benefits that DDL

has to bring to language learning pedagogy (Mukherjee, 2006) and acknowledging its

advantages such as authentic learning and positive student-centered learning is the core of

corpus-based instruction in language teaching and learning as evident in many recently

conducted corpus-based studies (Lateh, Shamsudin, Singh, & Said 2017; Singh et. al, 2016;

Kanestion et. al, 2016; Noorizan, Shamsudin, Manan, & Singh, 2017; Al-Thunaibat & Singh,

2020; Khorsheed, Dzakiria, & Singh, 2020).

The present study investigated the impact of enriching adjective usage, using concordance line

screen shots in the compiled tourism corpus as well as retaining awareness among Jordanian

EFL students. The participation of many more language teachers in corpus-based research and

thus the dissemination of information on the use of corpus-driven instruction appears extremely

significant especially in Jordanian settings (Al-Thunaibat & Singh, 2020; Khorsheed, et al.,

2020; Al-Shorman, Singh & Halim, 2019). As Gilquin and Granger (2010) mentioned another

explanation for not using DDL in classrooms could be simply stated that the teacher knows

nothing about corpus-based teaching materials and the potential for corpus-based instruction

in a language classroom. Thus, the main purpose of the present study is to encourage the use

of corpus-based instruction in learning and teaching verbs and vocabulary, particularly in

Jordanian EFL classrooms because it is the researcher observation from earlier teaching

experience that Jordanian EFL learners particularly lack in these two language components.

A review of previous literature shows that while computer-based learning and teaching has

become firmly established in language classrooms across the world, the inclusion of corpus-

based teaching-learning in schools is still a distant possibility. In terms of funding too, while

assistance is extended for inclusion of innovative and complex learning environments, the

focus is rarely on enhancing learner motivation which is a central factor in ensuring learning

success. At the same time, studies show that corpus-based lessons increase students’ learning

capacity and reduce the performance gap, while traditional teaching and learning is considered

monotonous.

This study investigated the experiences of the students as well as the observations made while

learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) using corpus-based instruction. To achieve the

objectives of the present study, the researcher used corpus compilations and corpus analysis

applications that are used in the learning and teaching session, particularly in the learning and

teaching of verbs and vocabulary (Singh, 2014; Al-Shorman et al., 2019; Hajimia et al., 2019).

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It may be added here that a great deal of learning time in Jordanian EFL classrooms is

consumed by the teaching of English verbs and vocabulary. The corpus developed here is based

on the tourism genre as it was found that at present, tourism plays a crucial role in Jordan’s

economy. Therefore, the core objective of the present study is to discuss the advantages of

using corpus-based language learning instructions in classroom learning and teaching sessions

while considering the traditional methods that were adopted by the tutors and students. The

advantages of using corpus-based approach were investigated by two aspects of pedagogical

grammar: verbs and vocabulary teaching (Mukherjee, 2006).

Literature Review

Various student-centered learning theories demonstrate the active engagement of the students

themselves, including descriptions of ideas, participation in learning and teaching activities and

important outcome in the form of students’ writings (Kanestion et. al, 2016; Noorizan et. al,

2017; Lateh et. al, 2017). Students' active participation can stimulate the mind and help students

master the language being taught, particularly while learning grammar. Most importantly, the

constructivism theory plays a significant role in developing holistic and competent learners.

The Ministry of Education in Jordan has given priority to training students who can master

information, skills, and technology. There is also emphasis on mastery of technology in the

curriculum implemented in the country. Among others, the development of information and

technology skills has also been stressed. Due of the authentic language input, the corpora are

thought to be useful in language teaching particularly. The examples in the corpora, unlike the

illusory and artificial language used in most dictionaries and specially prepared books and

language learning materials, reflect the actual language used by native speakers. Consequently,

for more than two decades the corpora have been used, though in a limited way in the EFL

context, for language instruction and for pedagogical purposes. But with greater emphasis on

enabling learning to ‘communicate’ in as opposed ‘learn’ a foreign language, there is increasing

interest in conducting English-language teaching based on corpus. Much of the work performed

consists of learning the terms to construct dictionaries. Empirical research, especially those

investigating the effectiveness of corpus-based language instructions in the sense of vocabulary

and verb teaching is still scarce in Jordan.

While corpus has been around for a long time, it is still not popularly used in Jordan's language

classrooms for teaching and learning. Several studies showed the use of corpus in learning and

teaching especially in helping learner attain mastery of grammar and vocabulary. For example,

a study conducted was by Ergül (2014) to investigate the effectiveness of using corpus-based

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practices in students’ learning of English grammar when combined with conventional

techniques like dictionaries and textbooks. Ergül (2014) examined student expectations and

behaviours during the use of the corpus in language teaching. In this quasi-experimental

research, 30 Turkish students participated. The findings of this study indicate that it is more

effective to use corpus-based practices than to use the conventional language teaching method.

Moreover, this research also showed that the perception of the students towards corpus-based

behaviour was overall good and positive.

It was the work of Johns (1986) and his knowledge of data-based learning implemented in

classrooms in the 1980s that created an interest in and empirical study using corpora in a

language learning context (Tribble and Jones, 1990; Stevens, 1995). However, Johns' (1986)

approach is still not widely used in language classrooms and, thus, more empirical work is

required to help spread the efficacy of the concept and promote the use of corpus-driven

teaching and learning practices in language classrooms. More specifically, the work found new

ways of encouraging the implementation of classroom activities guided by the corpus.

However, additional research on corpus linguistics and corpus-based language teaching needs

to provide conclusive evidence that linguistic component teaching can be incorporated and

improved using a corpus-driven teaching method.

Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide realistic examples of potential research that can

be conducted using a small representative language corpus and to analyse how Jordanian EFL

students relate to corpus-based teaching and learning, both in terms of their ability to solve

language use problems and in terms of their opinions or attitudes towards the approach. It will

support schools and universities directly in the classroom to teach, explain and practice

different language teaching methods.

Methodology

In the present study, the CACA approach was adopted to compile a genre-specific corpus which

was then used to develop activities used in the teaching and learning. Computer-Assisted

Corpus Analysis or CACA for short, was proposed by Singh (2014) to assist in conducting

textual analysis where data is gathered and compiled into a corpus and computer applications

are used to conduct various structural analyses. Apart from using the experimental research

design to conduct the pre-test, intervention and the post-test, the study also gathered data in the

form of observations and interviews.

The present paper reports the findings from the observations and interviews conducted with

the students who were involved in the experimental group. During the informal interview

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sessions with randomly selected students in the classroom, besides English, the researcher also

used Arabic language to probe and extract reliable information from the students, as many of

them were incapable of efficiently communicating in English. The responses were then

translated to English and interpreted according to the identified themes of the content analysis.

Sample of the Study

The study sample consisted of 30 intermediate students in Jordan. The respondents were chosen

based on purposive sampling method (Creswell, 2012) in order to meet the research objectives.

All respondents were male with the median age of the group computing to 16.3 years. They

shared a minimum number of years of EFL education ie. 8 years. All participants owned

computers which they frequently used for educational purposes apart from for communication

and entertainment. Each of the participants were allotted a code (P1- P30) to represent them to

keep the personal information confidential.

Research Design

This duration of conducting the research was eight weeks and the setting was an urban private

school in Jordan. As reinforcement activities, the first 6 weeks of the intervention were

followed by another two 2 weeks of teaching and learning outside class time. Interviews and

informal observations were conducted during the intervention period. Each of the observation

session extended to only forty minutes whereas the informal interview took up to an hour with

randomly selected students. Finally, the data gathered from both the interviews and the

observations were examined by using thematic analysis (Braun, Clark, & Weate, 2016).

Results

Interview and observation data were collected and analysed by using the thematic analysis

technique to identify leading themes contained in the data. From the results of the thematic

analysis of the observations and the interviews, three main themes were identified;

1. Understanding corpus applications,

2. Interest in the use of corpus-based instruction in learning and teaching activities,

3. Encouraging self-learning

The following section discusses each theme with supporting extracts from the observations and

interviews.

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1. Understanding corpus applications

The theme 'understanding corpus applications' is based on observations made on the use of

information technology by students in the experimental groups. To explain in depth, this theme

investigates the technological knowledge of the students in order to properly install and operate

the tools related to corpus use in learning and teaching sessions.

Students were found to be capable to comprehend the teaching methods used by their teachers.

Only a few (never more than four at a time) of the students requested that the teacher repeat

the instructions given as they had difficulties understanding them. Even so, many students

understood the grip of downloading and installing the tools without the assistance of their

teachers and immediately started on the corpus-based learning activities. These students used

the instructional modules that their teachers had provided as a guide. The students were well-

informed and understood what is required by the teacher, as stated in the module, and continued

doing the given exercises without facing any difficulties.

The interviewed students said that they were (P. 6) “very good at using computers” and “used

to use home computers” (P. 21) before being taught by their teachers. According to Cilliers

(2017), this current generation of students is rightly named Generation Z, a generation that was

born and raised in the midst of technological goods. This question proves the assumption that

students are well-versed with technology use, particularly the computer which was used to

install the corpus application. Some of the students stated that the instructions given in the

modules were “easy and clear to follow” (P. 13) and that they just “follow the steps” (P. 28).

It can be learnt from this that the instructions to use the application is clearly stated out, and

can be easily followed by student, even by the first timers.

Another group of students said that they found the compiled corpus “so good” (P. 11) and is

“best and very interesting” (P. 15). Collectively, the students seem to agree that examining

and analysing the corpus on their own gave them an opportunity to analyse real language as it

is being used by the native speakers. Corpus-based learning and teaching highly motivates

students and increases the performance gap. Students found the approach interesting, thus

increasing the attention span and knowledge input.

When asked if they encountered any problems when using the corpus application in teaching

and learning, some responded that they 'feel good' (P8) about it, as they 'have this book (with

reference to the teaching module) easy to follow' and 'it is not difficult to understand' (P20).

The teaching module acts as a blueprint towards learning. Students tend to find it easier to cope

with corpus application when aligned with the teaching module. In the present study, the corpus

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application had been designed according to the teaching module. This provided an easier

learning and teaching path for both students and teachers.

2. Motivation and interest in the use of corpus-based instruction

The theme of ‘motivation and interest in the use of corpus-based instruction’ is also reflected

in both the interviews and the observations conducted. This theme reflects behaviour and

perception compared to actions of the students. As interest may vary from one to another, the

common goal is to replicate an encouraging learning and teaching experience through corpus-

based approach. In the findings, students explained on how this approach helped them in a

positive manner, in the language learning and teaching sessions that formed the intervention

period.

During the learning activities, students appeared to be happy and were extremely motivated.

Observations showed that students were happy and interested in the use of computers in the

classroom activities. The researcher also observed that students interacted more freely with

each other while conducting corpus-based exercises, they frequently questioned each other

about computer operations and the applications of the corpus tools. The learning environment

was overall vibrant and interactive. Students exhibited a minimal fear of mistakes while

learning. This opposes Krashen’s (1985) affective filter theory. With a minimal fear of making

mistakes and being judged, students tend to reduce the affective filter and increase knowledge

input.

It was also observed that students were motivated to check with each other for the answers

gained from the corpus analyses conducted. This further foster positive relationships between

the students in the classroom. A healthy environment promotes higher learning skills among

students. Besides encouraging scaffolding learning among students, corpus-based approach

also inspires communicative learning that leads to knowledge being stored in the long-term

memory. During the interviews, several students stated they enjoyed and loved the teaching

techniques used by their teacher. Among the responses received, one of the students said that

he 'like it because I feel like a scientist' (P3), while another student said 'this exercise is best

because it make me feel like a pro (translated from Arabic)' (P5). When motivation and interest

come together in learning, the learning process speeds up in a fun and incentive way. As seen

in the excerpts above, students felt motivated in learning through challenges and it provided

intrinsic motivation towards the lesson. In a corpus approach, students become well-versed and

are in charge of the learning process itself, leaning towards an autonomous student-centered

learning experience.

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When asked about their interest in the corpus and corpus application tools and also the

integration of corpus in teaching of English, many answered positively, for example; 'really

interested' (P1), 'I like this because it is a new technique' (P7), 'interesting I can learn like that

(translated from Arabic)' (P9) and 'I think I like… I like this corpus' (P17). Students openly

expressed and displayed an attitude of acceptance towards learning with the corpus application.

Besides receiving a good feedback on the application, the researchers concluded that students

were attracted to this application because it had several new features that could keep the

learners engaged and interested in the process.

Moreover, the students felt that the use of corpus actually enhanced their learning stating ‘I can

learn better English’ (P1). This corpus tool aids in the learning and teaching of English, in

particular the learning of verbs and vocabulary. Students reported that they found it easier and

more reliable to learn verbs and vocabulary, and the basics of grammar, by using a corpus-

based learning application. This promotes a higher performance intensity in learning languages,

or specifically the English language as was the case in the current study.

3. Encouraging autonomous and self-learning

The theme of 'encouraging autonomous and self-learning’ can be seen through interviews and

observations conducted specifically when students are given the opportunity to complete the

reinforcement exercises during the out of classroom activities. Self-learning is the ability of

students to independently work towards understanding the lessons. It prompts a more intrinsic

motivation in learning, compared to extrinsic motivation. Students are aware of consequences

and act according to their self-will. To relate this self-will in learning, the researchers ensure

there was sufficient time for students to use the computers in the school’s computer lab to carry

out corpus learning without much intervention from the teacher. The teacher played the role of

a facilitator where he only helped students when there was a need for tutoring. A minimal

intervention was recorded from the teacher. This was to ensure that the students are enabled to

use the application on their own and are not dependent in the learning process. During the data

collection, it was observed that the teacher was walking through the class and was only

observing the students while they are completing the reinforcement exercises. The students

finished the assignment in the module without seeking assistance from the teacher, but rather

exploring the application on their own. The students were highly motivated, curious and

interested throughout the intervention.

During the interview, students said 'did what I was told to do in the module' (P3) this means

that the students were comfortable with learning on their own. Another students said that 'I love

308

to do it myself ... if I don't understand then I ask the teacher' (P8). According to P3, the teaching

module was designed in detail and specifically arranged to assist students in learning through

the application. This has proven to ease the teacher’s work as students were following a guide

on how to process the application. Besides, if in any case a student fails to understand the

teaching module, the teacher offers help and acts as a facilitator to guide the student through.

There were also students who said that they were also trying to do the exercise at home, on

their own. Some of the students said ‘I was trying to do it at home… it was fun too’ (P4).

However, another student also said that 'if I don’t understand ...it is difficult to ask teacher ...

have to wait tomorrow (translated from Arabic)' (P4). Self-learning occurs inside and more on

the outside of classroom. Students are encouraged to learn on their own, in an environment that

they are comfortable in. The researchers relate this to autonomous learning theory where

students are keen to take charge of their own learning as they hold the right to regulate and

control their learning activities. This theory can also be seen as self-directed learning, when the

learning process occurs without the presence of a teacher.

There were some students who said that they like to practice doing the exercises in the module

because they 'already know how to do it' (P. 10), 'can do it myself… I am good at using this

corpus (translated from Arabic)' (P. 19) and 'can try it on my own ... try to find it other words

(translated from Arabic)' (P24). As mentioned earlier, learners today are well versed with the

use of technology and even when a new tool is introduced to them, they master its use extremely

quickly. When students are well-equipped with the application knowledge, confidence in

completing the tasks or assignments could be seen. This is because self-learning promotes

operant conditioning that allows students to learn by nature as teachers are not controlling

reinforcements. When natural learning takes place, the confidence towards accepting new input

is highly regarded, thus, resulting in a better performance scale by the students.

Most of the students said that using corpus-based teaching and learning modules was very

useful for creating and completing assignments outside of class time. Among the responses

received, some were: (P22) 'I think this module is very useful’. 'this book is good ... I refer to

this book a lot’ (referring to the teaching module provided) (P27) and 'if no this module it is

difficult to understand how to use this corpus' (P26). The teaching module received positive

feedback in the teaching and learning through corpus-based approach. Students tend to refer to

the module when in doubt. The module was designed specifically for the teaching and learning

of verbs and vocabulary. As mentioned before, a module acts as a blueprint that assists the

teacher and learners in the process. As seen in excerpt of P26, without this module, students

would find it difficult to master the application as quickly as they did with its assistance. The

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corpus application designed with tourism genre is slightly complicated and the activities are

also sufficiently challenging. Relating back to Krashen’s (1985) theory of affective filter, if a

student finds the activity difficult to complete, the student would be unlikely to be motivated

to learn. Therefore, the module acts as a tool to stimulate students in self-learning and to lessen

the complexity of the application itself, provoking a better understanding for the learning and

teaching process.

Overall, by examining all the three themes, the researchers concluded that the students were

motivated and happy in completing the activities by themselves. The excerpts above prove that

corpus-based learning encourages self-learning, without the control of the teacher.

Conclusion

History shows that the approach to constructivism in learning and teaching is important in

terms of generating the skills of using knowledge learned in the classroom. The approach of

constructivism has been the basis of the current research. This study has been conducted with

the aim of exposing intermediate Jordanian EFL students to corpus-based language learning.

The linguistic aspects studied are modern linguistics in which the use of corpus is believed to

encourage classroom and autonomous learning, where students are given the opportunity to

research and study the use of their chosen linguistics components.

The findings showed a positive feedback from the students on the use of corpus application in

the teaching and learning of English verbs and vocabulary specific to the tourism sector. This

research also concludes that when students are given a difficult task with technological

application, they tend to be more creative and productive. Besides motivation, scaffolding

learning was also observed among the students. Students leaned on each other to share

knowledge and inquire about the lesson. This leads to fostering of better communication and

collaborative skills amongst the students. The results of this study also show that with the

assistance of a module and a challenging application, students are more intrinsically motivated

in the learning process.

Subsequently, the study concludes that today's generation of students has a higher level of

information technology knowledge than previous generations of students. It was also found

that as the Generation Z learners, most traditional teaching techniques often frustrate students.

With the corpus-based learning and teaching technique, students were found to be more

positive, enthusiastic, motivated, and cheerful to learn. Therefore, it can be concluded that a

corpus-driven teaching and learning method is a good technology-based practice which

310

(perhaps) motivates learners by adding examples of authentic language use (Gilquin &

Granger, 2010).

In conclusion, this study states that with the use of corpus-based teaching techniques, language

learning skills among Jordanian intermediate students can be enhanced. Pedagogically, the

study also found that the use of corpus-based learning instructions can encourage students’

interest and motivation in studying languages such as English, particularly in activities that

challenge the mind.

311

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http://www.econjournals.com/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291884400_

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Investigating L2 Students’ Misuse of Prepositions in Written English

Mohammed Abdullah Alharbi

Department of English, College of Education

Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

Bio-profile:

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Alharbi is an associate professor in the Department of English at

Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include L2 writing instruction,

computer-mediated communication, peer review, and peer feedback.

ORCID ID : http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5548-2340

Abstract

This study endeavors to investigate the misuse of prepositions in written English by L2 students

at different levels of an undergraduate program in the Department of English. The study data

was collected from 120 students covering all four levels of the University’s undergraduate

program. The sample was divided equally into groups of thirty students at each level. The data

on English prepositions and other grammatical categories was analyzed the using statistical

model SPSS version 16.0. The statistical analysis indicates: (1) there are notable variations in

the rate of errors committed by students at the different levels. Moreover, students encounter

multiple problems that affect their use of English prepositions. These problems are

predominantly caused by a combination of interference from their mother tongue (Arabic), and

a lack of linguistic competence. (2) Errors of prepositions and other grammatical categories

were not equally distributed across the levels. (3) The statistical analysis shows prepositions

are the most problematic grammatical item for students. Moreover, the role of Arabic

interference negatively affects the process of learning English prepositions and mastery of

other grammatical categories. Some pedagogical implications are given to conclude the paper.

Keywords: prepositions; L2 writing; L1 influence; Grammar; writing errors

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5548-2340

315

Introduction

Syllabus makers have acknowledged the high prevalence of syntactic errors in the written work

of L2 students at university level. One of the most frequent errors concerns the erroneous use

of English prepositions. Many scholars and researchers have clearly stated that prepositions are

the most problematic linguistic component for many L2-English learners due to the difficulties

of using them correctly (Larsen-Freeman & Celce-Murcia, 2016; Lindstromberg, 2010; Park

& Jang, 2011).

Furthermore, numerous Arab researchers have confirmed that Arab EFL learners generally

experience serious difficulties using English prepositions accurately (e.g. Rababah, 2001,

2003; Zughoul, 1991, 2003; Al-Khataybeh, 1992). Arabic and English prepositions share some

common features, but they still vary in terms of number, meaning and usage. The differences

between Arabic and English prepositions add to the challenge for Arab EFL learners in general

and L2 learners specifically. Typically, researchers highlight two causes of difficulty that arise

for L2 learners when selecting the correct preposition. First is the number of meanings each

preposition carries, and second, is the use of teaching methods that encourage students to

translate into their native language/mother tongue, which contributes to L1 interference. In the

case of L2 students, the process of switching to their L1 to try to find the Arabic equivalents of

English prepositions is routine. Unsurprisingly, then, mother tongue i.e., Arabic, interference

in the case of preposition use is somewhat higher than that for other syntactic structures.

Previous researches have attributed the scale of the preposition errors in the EFL Arab context

to L1 interference (e.g. Zahid, 2006; Mohammed, 2008; Mourtaga, 2004; Al-Ahdal, Alfallaj,

Al-Awaied & Al-Hattami, 2014; Imperial, 2020). Despite the hard work of some studies to

define the distinctive preposition uses between the two languages, there remains a gap in the

research on frequency of preposition errors for Arab EFL learners in general and L2 learners

particularly.

Previous studies on prepositions

A large body of literature has been devoted to second and foreign language teaching and

learning. Consequently, there have been many studies devoted to evaluating and explaining the

challenges and problems faced by learners of ESL and EFL (See Gass & Selinker, 2008; Dulay

& Burt, 1974; Abu Ghararah, 1990; Tahaineh, 2010a, etc.). Moreover, as there is abundant

research in this area, this researcher focuses on the several studies that relate to the problems

and challenges with learning English prepositions in the Arab EFL student context.

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A study conducted by Abu Ghararah (1990), which examined the syntactic errors committed

by Arab EFL learners disclosed that syntactic errors, such as misuse of prepositions, articles

and third singular marker are the most frequently committed by Arab EFL learners. He

proposed that these errors could arise from three factors: (1) L1 interference, (2) insufficient

command of syntax, and (3) overgeneralization. He further asserted that error analysis can help

reveal the several categories of errors Arab learners of EFL are most likely to commit. His

study also noted that EFL errors that appear due to L1 interference were worse than those

caused by overgeneralization and inadequate learning of syntax. Another study by Tahaineh

(2010b) showed the majority of Arab EFL learners commit errors with prepositions that can be

attributed to L1 interference. A similar study regarding the use of English prepositions by Arab

learners found the same issue dominated (Scott and Tucker, 1974).

In the same vein, a study by Al Shormani (2012a) investigated the sources of syntactic errors

in the English compositions of Yemeni EFL learners. A group of 50 Yemeni students at the

third level, studying EFL, were selected haphazardly. The students were asked to write

argumentative compositions on topics related to their ambitions and families. A wide-ranging

error taxonomy was applied based on Jame’s (1998). In this study, errors were classified into

five categories. Preposition errors scored one with the highest number being for other syntactic

errors. In addition, prepositions errors were categorized into three main sub-categories:

substitution relying on errors recognized in the data, omission, and addition. In the case of

prepositions, the study revealed that L2 effect was the most significant source of frequently

committed types of errors in the substitution subcategory, then addition, and then omission. As

regards L1-transfer as a source of errors, addition accounted for most errors, then substitution,

and then omission.

In Iraq, Abu Humeid (2013) conducted a study highlighting Iraqi EFL University students’

problems using English compound prepositions. He employed a diagnostic test for 100 third

year Iraqi EFL students. In view of the students’ responses, he stated that most Iraqi EFL

students failed to identify and generate correct prepositions. The students’ errors revealed a

lack of understanding concerning the role of prepositions, because they believed they do not

produce meaning. He further observed that most grammar texts do not state prepositions’ uses

or meanings. As a result, he referenced Hornby (2006) to elucidate their meanings and uses.

He attributed the students’ errors to several causes: i) interlingual transfer, ii) intralingual

transfer, iii) communication strategies, and iv) context of learning.

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Finally, a study by Al-Sindy (1994) investigated syntactic interference errors on written

English tests committed by L2 students, and concluded that the majority of errors could be

linked to L1 interference.

These previous studies focused on syntactic errors, principally preposition usage errors among

EFL Arab learners. However, to date, there is no body of studies targeting errors produced in

writing by L2 students. Therefore, this study will be one of the first of such studies in this area.

It is anticipated that the findings of this study might raise awareness among instructors

regarding the precise challenges English prepositions present to L2 students. The findings will

also help students become aware of their difficulties, and help them to overcome them to

improve their writing skills.

Research questions

Similar to other Arab students, EFL students experience a variety of difficulties with speaking

and writing English. Multiple errors appear in their writings, especially in the area of English

prepositions. Such problems are not routinely limited by the proficiency level of the students.

EFL students studying English language as a major subject in departments of English at

universities that display various grammatical problems in their writings and speeches.

Therefore, this study intends to examine the following questions: (1) What are the misuse

patterns/variations of English prepositions by L2 students? (2) What is the most difficult

grammatical category for L2 students? (3) What is the role of mother tongue in influencing the

learning of English prepositions by L2 students?

Methodology

Participants

The study participants are 120 undergraduate EFL students, majoring in English. They are all

native speakers of Arabic studying at the Department of English. The participants range in age

from 18 to 26 years. The researcher had a sample of 120 students from the four levels of

undergraduate program, i.e., 30 students from each level were evaluated as shown in table (1).

Table (1): Participants Distribution

1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year Total

30 30 30 30 120

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Data collection

The data for the present study was collected using two instruments: a questionnaire and a Free

Composition Test (FCT). The questionnaire comprised 30 sentences, distributed across

different grammatical items, such as articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and other grammatical

structures such as tenses, conditional sentences and majority of sentences are on prepositions.

According to Morrow et al. (1998) objective questions can be achieved and analyzed

competently, quickly, and reliably, as they are clear. The questions in this questionnaire were

objective. The possible responses were presented in a multiple choices format, so students

could choose the correct answer (option). The second test was a Free Composition Test (FCT).

This test elicited written data from the students. They prepared a free composition on any two

from four given topics, “The Importance of English in Middle East”, “What are your

Future Plans”, “What do you want to be in the future?”, and “What would you do if you

won ten million dollars?” These four topics were intended to motivate students to write more

spontaneously and help minimize psychological tension.

Quantitative Analysis

To answer the research questions set out in this study, the researcher conducted a statistical

analysis of data revealing English proposition errors and errors in other grammatical categories

collected from the four levels of undergraduate students studying in the English department.

The data were first reviewed and organized, i.e. edited, coded, categorized and then tabularized

on detached sheets. After coding, categorization and tabularization, the data was inserted into

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 16.0, for the analysis.

The data on prepositions was elicited from the four levels students analyzed as follows. The

following table and graphs show the results of the analysis. (i) Correct use of prepositions and

(ii) incorrect use of prepositions.

Table (2): Correct use of prepositions.

N

Correct use of the Prepositions

Frequency Percentage Mean

1st Year 30 57 23.4 1.90

2nd Year 30 52 21.3 1.73

3rd Year 30 57 23.4 1.90

4th Year 30 78 32.1 2.60

Total 120 244 100 2.03

Table (2) shows the correct use of prepositions by undergraduate students from the Department

of English. In table (2), we see the rate of improvement when learning English prepositions at

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different levels. At level one, 23.4% students chose the right prepostion. The percentage

decreased to 21.3% at level two. There was then no improvement at level three relative to level

one i.e., 23.4%. At level four, 32.1% students demonstrated accurate use of English

prepositions. Level four students were the best at choosing the right options.

Table (3): Incorrect use of prepositions.

N

Incorrect use of the Prepositions


1st Year 30 183 25.65 6.14

2nd Year 30 188 26.2 6.27

3rd Year 30 183 25.65 6.14

4th Year 30 162 22.5 5.40

Total 120 716 100 5.99

Table (3) shows incorrect use of prepositions by undergraduate students in the Department of

English. Table (3) displays the incorrect choices made by students at each level. It helps us to

assess the extent of the knowledge of English prepositions that the students gain at each level.

The percentage of students committing errors fell from level 1 to level 4. The percentage of

students unable to provide correct forms of English prepositions dropped from 25.65.8% at

level one to 22.5% by level four. The reduction in errors suggests some improvement in

students by the higher levels.

Graph (1) below compares the correct and incorrect uses of prepositions, and Graph (2)

shows errors made with prepositions.

0

20

40

60

80

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year

23.75 21.67 23.75

32.5

76.25 78.33 76.25

67.5

Graph (1): Comparison between the correct and wrong uses of

prepositions (in percentages within levels)

Correct use of the

Prepositions

Wrong use of the

prepositions

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The data also included evidence of other grammatical errors, such as articles, conjunctions,

tenses, conditional sentences, and prepositions. These errors were examined and analyzed. The

following table and graphs show the results of these errors and the subsequent analysis.

Table (4): Comparison of students’ performances with the grammatical structures

examined in our analysis

Articles Prepositions Conjunctions Other

grammatical

errors

1st Year 21.67 23.75 38.80 42.85

2nd Year 40.00 21.67 51.03 48.40

3rd Year 42.50 23.75 51.40 49.29

4th Year 45.83 32.50 51.23 53.09

Total 37.50 25.42 48.12 48.41

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27


25.6526.2

25.65

22.5

Graph (2): Errors of the prepositions (in

percentages)

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Table (4) and Graph (3) show that of all the grammatical structures analyzed, prepositions were

the most problematic. The overall mean percentage for students from the department of English

at all four levels was 25.42%. The articles were second in the hierarchy of problematic items

for students at the four levels. All the students received 37.50% as the mean percentage in terms

of the uses of articles. The students scored 48.12% and 48.41% for uses of conjunctions and

other grammatical structures separately. In terms of the percentages, the number and mean of

errors at each level in each grammatical structure are revealed in the above tables and graphs.

Table (5): Correct uses of other grammatical structures.

N

Correct other structures


1st Year 30 220 23.76 7.33

2nd Year 30 226 24.41 7.53

3rd Year 30 229 24.73 7.63

4th Year 30 251 27.10 8.37

Total 120 926 100 7.72

Table (6): Incorrect uses of other grammatical structures.

N

Incorrect other structures


1st Year 30 230 26.32 7.67

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


Graph (3): Comparison between the students' performances in

grammatical structures

Articles

Prepositions & prepositional

verbs

Conjunctions

Other grammatical structures

322

2nd Year 30 224 25.63 7.47

3rd Year 30 221 25.28 7.37

4th Year 30 199 22.77 6.63

Total 120 874 100 7.29

Tables (5) and (6) show the correct and incorrect use of other grammatical structures, which

were analyzed along with prepositions. More precisely, the grammatical structures that were

analyzed, were first compared and then combined to clarify the use of these grammatical

structures and to illustrate which structure(s) is/are most problematic for the students surveyed.

The students’ performances across all four levels were analyzed and compared, and are

presented in the above tables and the following graphs.

Results

The data showed an improvement in usage of English prepostions at the different levels, as

shown in Table (2) above. At level one, 23.4% of students chose the right option from the

English prepostions available. This percentage decreased to 21.3% at level two. There was no

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


48.89 50.22 50.8955.78

51.11 49.78 49.1144.22

Graph (4): Comaprison between correct and wrong uses of

other grammatical structures (in percentages within levels)

Correct other structures

Wrong other structures

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27


26.3225.63

25.28

22.77

Graph (5): Errors of other grammatical

structures across levels (in percentages)

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improvement at level three relative to level one, as the percentage was again 23.4%. At level

four, 32.1% students were able to accurately use English prepostions. Level four students were

the best at choosing the right option. Table (3) demonstrates the incorrect choices made by

students at each level. It helps us assess the knowledge of English prepositions the students

were able to gain at every level. The percentage of students committing errors fell from level

one to level four. The percentage of students who could not provide the correct forms of English

prepositions dropped from 25.658% at level one to 22.5% in level four. The reduction in error

rate suggests an improvement in students at the higher levels.

The results of the composition test confirmed with the results of the questionnaire. The nature

of the preposition errors and errors made with other grammatical structures could be linked to

two factors: (i) negative transfer from L1 (Arabic), and (ii) the students lacked linguistic

competence. Moreover, the total of number of errors on the questionnaire and composition tests

were most readily attributed to prepositions. Negative transfer from Arabic to language two

i.e., English caused most of the errors that occurred. This appeared to be because the students

translated prepositions literally from their L1 into the L2.

The first type of errors was negative L1 transfer, whereby students chose to insert prepositions

that would be suitable in their mother tongue. In the example below, some students inserted

the preposition “of”, which is obviously as used in Arabic. Arabic ensures two prepositions

occur subsequently in the context and are accompanied by the quantifier “some”.

- I have to make some of duties*.

The second set pf errors were committed because of the subjects’ lack of linguistic competence.

These errors could not be linked to discrepancies arising in the L1 or L2. Such errors occurred

because learners did not have sufficient knowledge of English rules and were aware of no

equivalent in his/her mother tongue. Thus, they aim to use prepositions in such a way that two

types of error emerged, (i) replacement, (ii) omission.

In errors of “replacement” the students were unable to use the correct preposition, and replaced

them with other words from their L1 or L2. For example, as shown below one student wrote

“according to” instead of writing “regarding” or “for”. Such errors are due to a lack of

knowledge of the correct preposition and the lack of an equivalent in the L1.

- According to me, my future will be good*.

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In errors of “omission” the students omitted prepositions where they were required. In the

example below, the student did not write a preposition but omitted it. This indicates that the

students lack competence in such structures and require further education to produce well-

formed sentences.

- I will go USA soon*.

Discussions

As the analysis shows, prepositions were the most problematic of the grammatical items for

undergraduate students at the department of English. Then, articles followed subsequently. The

performances of the students when choosing the right answers in conjunctions and other

grammatical structures were higher than their performances on prepositions and articles. This

means prepositions were the least often correct options. The performances of the students

improved regarding some grammatical structures and weakened in others, but even when

proficiency increased it was not satisfactory, particularly among level three and level four

students, with the exception of level two students’ use of articles and conjunctions. The data

for the level three and level four students showed unremarkable or insufficient progress in their

performance when grammatical structures were examined. Furthermore, level four students’

performance on conjunctions declined. This lack of progress seemed to relate to the intrusion

by the students’ L1 (Arabic) when selecting English prepositions and other grammatical items.

Since both languages (Arabic and English) differ vastly in terms of prepositions, influences from

Arabic affect use of English prepositions and result in multiple errors. This finding corresponds

with studies that suggest the errors produced by Arab EFL learners of English prepositions are

a result of the influence of, or “interference” or transfer from Arabic (See Abu Ghararah, 1990;

Al-Sindy, 1994; Tahaineh 2010a). However, this finding also contradicts that of Al-Shormani’s

(2012b), who asserted that L2 effect is the principal source of most errors frequently committed

by Yemeni EFL learners.

Conclusion

The study reveals considerable variations in the rate of errors committed by students at different

levels. The errors committed by students were not equally distributed across all English

prepositions, and there were significant differences in students’ correct uses and incorrect uses

across the four levels. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that the students at levels

one and two attained the least success in terms of selecting the correct forms of English

325

prepositions. The students at level one produced a maximum number of errors in terms of their

use of English prepositions. This could be attributed to variations between English and Arabic

regarding the expression of their prepositions systems. Students arguably resorted to their

Arabic conceptualization of prepositions when writing and marking correct answers. Students in

the initial years apply their knowledge of L1 (Arabic) while learning English (FL), resulting in

notable interference, especially at level one. Moreover, the statistical analysis showed that

prepositions are the most problematic category of the reviewed grammatical categories.

Furthermore, the negative role of Arabic influences was apparent in the initial years, especially

for level one and two students.

Pedagogical Implications

Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that syllabus makers and EFL teachers

consider the differences between English and Arabic systems with regard to prepositions.

Students should be given focused classes to explore Arabic and English differences in

preposition systems. Moreover, the influences from the students’ mother tongue i.e., Arabic on

learning English prepositions should be highly considered. Moreover, EFL teachers should

direct extra attention towards prepositions when teaching L2 students English, especially in the

early years of undergraduate study. Finally, the study recommends there should be a way to

develop and establish new techniques for teaching prepositions and other grammatical items to

benefit L2 students especially and those from other Arab countries in general.

326

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Approaches to the teaching of poetry in EFL Classrooms: A Critical Study

Mohammad Mujtaba Ahmad

Department of English & Translation, College of Sciences and Arts,

Methnab, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Bio-profile:

Dr. Mohammad Mujtaba Ahmad got his M. A. degree in English literature from Lalit

Narayana Mithila University (Bihar), India. He engaged himself in comparative study of

various languages and got his Ph.D. from the here in 2004. He started his teaching career as a

lecturer in the department of English at M. R. S. M College, Darbhanga, India where he taught

for more than a decade. He joined as a lecturer in Ministry of Health, K. S. A, in 2004. In 2009

he joined Qassim University and is currently rendering his service as an Assistant Professor in

the Department of English Language and Translation, College of Sciences and Arts, Methnab.

He is a reputed creative writer and has authored several books including Songs of Tears and

Laughter, a collection of his published poems. He used to compose humorous poems in English

most of which have been published in esteemed Indian dailies like The Hindustan Times, Patna,

apart from many magazines. His humorous articles are frequently published in popular

newspapers and magazines from Hyderabad, India. He has also earned a name for translating

into English the articles from Urdu newspaper Akhbar-e-Mashriq published from Kolkata,

India. He has also translated many famous Urdu poems into English and published the

anthology as Sunny Songs.

Abstract

The present study aims at showing the advantage of sundry teaching approaches of poetry in

use in EFL/ESL classrooms. Poetry has often failed to get acceptance as a favorable tool of

teaching language, even though it has the richest repertoire of language elements. From time

immemorial poetry has mesmerized readers from the elite to the masses. In the EFL/ESL

classrooms, it can be used to enhance language proficiency, instill critical thinking, endow

creative skill besides refreshing learners’ mood. The current study examines the different

329

approaches to teaching poetry and its relevance in the EFL/ESL classroom. Its special focus is

on the necessity and utility of this genre of literature in its historical and cultural perspective in

student-centered approaches that ensure the students’ engagement in the class. Another area of

its focus is the language-based and stylistic approaches. The multimodal approach which is

the latest approach of teaching poetry in EFL classrooms, though still not fully explored, has

also been discussed in this paper. The study also discusses the different types of poems that

can be employed in the language classroom to make it usable for teachers.

Keywords: Poetry, Proficiency, Vocabulary, Approach, Stylistic, Language-based

Introduction

Poetry has the potential to leave a deep imprint on human society because it is a veritable social,

cultural, emotional, and historical mirror. The uniqueness of poetry lies in its skillful use of

language in limited space. Coleridge has said about poetry, “it’s the best words in the best

order”. It’s easy to use it in the EFL classroom because of the limited language content as

compared to any other form of literature. Commenting on the role of foreign language poetry

as a powerful tool in learning language Doochin ( 2019) says, “…there are certain universal

aspects of poetry that make it an ideal tool for learning a new language in creative ways across

language. It’s much easier to motivate yourself with a short poem every day than it’s with a

part of a 500-page behemoth of a book you dread opening because you fear you’ll never finish

it.” However it's an admitted fact that its role as a magical tool to teach linguistic skills and

humanistic values has not yet been fully recognized. Gönen (2018) citing McIlroy (2013) notes

“Poetry is sometimes exiled or marginalized by instructors as “poetic language involves

manipulation of grammar and lexis to make for orthographical and phonological congruence;

and thus deviation from standard norms of language may be considered inaccessible to foreign

language learners.” But it is an admitted fact that poetry uses language in a special way through

the learning of these special features of language. “Poetry allows writers to play with the

standards of conventional grammar and generally bend the rules of language a bit or a lot.

You can learn a great deal about a language by the ways its speakers have wrought and

wrangled its syllabus and words into lines and stanzas.” Poems give us a strong medium to

understand the cultural heritage of new nation and society. Shakespeare, Milton, T.S Eliot, and

other great writers have represented their age, culture and social values through the genre of

poetry. Poets use special words that produces the musical effect and because of these musical

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qualities, poetry becomes interesting and an enjoyable exercise. The following lines from a

very old poem may illustrate this point:

Little Jack Jingle,

He used to live single,

But when he got tired of this kind of life,

He left of being single, and lived with his wife.

(http://www.britannica.com/art/poetry-as-a-mode-of-thought-the-Protean-

encounter:3/27/2021)

Poetry arouses human emotions. Every color of life is present in poetry. Notes of despair and

gloom to the notes of happiness and excitement, all can be discerned in poetic lines. In the

present paper, an attempt has been made to give a true picture of the overwhelming importance

of poetry and its need to the EFL classroom has been shown. Different approaches of teaching

poems in the EFL classroom have been discussed. Teaching poetry in the EFL classroom poses

certain challenges and the most prominent among them is the engagement of students’

attention, putting them at ease is an important task before the instructors. Keeping in view these

difficulties, instructors have to plan some strategies and to meet these challenges, they should

be aware of the different methods of teaching literature. Showalter notes in Juhlin (2018) how

poetry is like a gold mine: “Teaching poetry offers the literature instructor some of the most

fundamental, immediate, active, even, physical ways to engage students in learning”. Teachers

need to be very cautious in the selection of teaching material to ensure that the learning

experience is interesting and useful (Collie & Slater, 1987).

History of Poetry

Poetry is among the oldest literary art forms. During ancient times, poems were sung or recited

to pass on oral histories and other information. Before the development of writing, it was an

easy method to remember the things because of the rhythms associated with it. Every culture

has a tradition of poetry and it continues today as a great literary form to express emotions and

as an ally in loneliness as well as a moral guide. Poetry has been around human civilization for

thousands of years in different forms. Most of the scholars admit that the genre of poetry came

into existence in epic form, so the earliest instances of poems are found in epic forms. Poetry

is traced in the ancient world in the famous epics like Beowulf (England), The Iliad (Greece),

The Odyssey (Greece), The Mahabharata and The Ramayana (India) and the Divine Comedy

( Italy). Ancient Greek writers contributed richly to the development of this literary form during

http://www.britannica/

331

the 7th to 4th centuries BCE. Notable poets of this era include Homer, Sappho, Hesiod,

Anacreon, Euripides. However, Epic poems weren’t the only types of poems that existed in the

ancient world – there were different kind of poems, like those of the lyric and the dramatic

kind. During this period, China had its own different kinds of poems as well, which we refer

to today as Classics. During the 11th to 13th centuries A.D. French musicians used to compose

lyrics. Inspired by Arab writers like Rumi and Greek and Latin writers, the troubadours

performed for royal courts, and later on, for communities. During the 13th and 14th centuries,

Sicilian poets wrote about courtly love.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Sir Thomas Wyatt and Geoffrey Chaucer helped in modernizing

the English literature. During the renaissance period a new type of poetry came into existence

known as blank verse which is a non-rhythming poetic form often written in the iambic

pentameter. Blank verse is any verse comprised of unrhymed lines, all in the same meter,

usually iambic pentameter. It was developed in Italy and was widely used during the

Renaissance because it resembled classical unrhymed poetry.

(https://uni.edu/english/craft/blankverse.html). William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe

and Ben Johnson introduced this poetic form to the literary world. A famous poetic form known

as Sonnet which was invented by an Italian poet Giacoma da Lentini was written in 14 lines

with a variable rhyme scheme. Dante and Petrarch popularized this literary form across Europe.

During the 17th century a new kind of poetry was born in Japan which came to be known as

Haiku, that is a three-line poem. During the 18th century metaphysical poetry became popular.

John Donne, Katherine Philips and Samuel Cowley proved to be the torchbearers for the

American transcendentalism and romantic writers. Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo

Emerson wrote about spirituality and propagated utopian ideas. In the last century T.S Eliot

influenced greatly the modern poetry and criticism. During the 1940s and 1950s Eliot’s Waste

Land gained unprecedented popularity and acceptability. Now, in contemporary times, modern

poems are written in free verse with no fixed meter, and fixed line and length. The Modern

Period in literature may be said to extend from the 1920s to the cold war of the 1960s and

1970s. The period includes the war years, which produced its own literature, and the many

literary and cultural movements in Europe. British and American writers were greatly

influenced by these movements. (Nayar, 2018)

Why to Teach Poetry in EFL/ESL Classroom

Robert Frost says, “There are three things, after all, that a poem must reach: the eye, the year,

and what we may call the heart of the mind. It’s most important of all to reach the heart of the

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reader.” Actually, among all the genres of literature poetry is the most valued genre as it leaves

a permanent imprint on our mind and heart. Poetry arouses our emotions as William

Wordsworth says “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin

from emotions recollected in tranquility.” But poetry is such a charismatic thing that it can’t be

understood merely in the light of overflow of emotions. It also shows the ugly face of

civilization. It is the voice of the poor and the deprived. The language used in poetry is different

from the language used in prose. Mathew Arnold wrote, “Poetry is simply the most beautiful,

impressive, and widely effective mode of saying things, and hence its importance.” The use of

figurative language, metaphors, simile, personification, assonance, alliteration and rich

imagery makes an object of great beauty and charm.

Poetry can arouse phonetic awareness as the poet’s use of vocabulary is not only rich but

also, unique. The readers come across many words and constructions, some of which may be

strange for them. Through the recitation of poetry a reader develops the ability of apprehending

the phonetic features of the language like rhythm, pitch, inflection and volume. Poems have

the potential to enrich the reader’s vocabulary (Lazar,1996). Poetry is so engaging that a reader

is lost in it and when he comes across a strange word which proves to be a hurdle in the

understanding of the poem he tries to know the meaning of the word. This exercise helps him

in the enrichment of his vocabulary which is a good use of teaching poetry in the EFL/ESL

classroom. Among the sundry benefits of poetry teaching is the power of observation that is

stimulated by poetry. Here is an example from an ancient poem with obscure origin that may

invite our power of observation to appreciate it. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty

had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together

again. It is an example of the poetry of observation. Poets are the citizens of their age and

poetry is the mirror of society. One of the reason to teach it in the EFL class is to let the

students know about various cultures of the past and the present era. Literature can nonetheless

incorporate a great deal of cultural information ( Collie & Slatter, 1987). The benefits of

teaching literary text including poetry has been classified into three categories: Linguistic,

Intercultural, Motivational.

The above mentioned three dimensions decipher the benefits of teaching poetry and other

genres of literature in EFL classrooms. Regarding the linguistic advantages that may be

garnered from the teaching of poetry and literary texts, many scholars believe that it develops

the learners’ language skills along with improvement in their pronunciation and knowledge

of grammar and vocabulary.( Duff &Maley,1989; Lazar, 2009). As for the intercultural

dimension, literature-based EFL instruction is believed to promote awareness not only of the

333

cultures of English-speaking countries but also, of learners’ own cultures. ( Collie & Slatter,

1987). Similarly, it is argued that motivation towards language learning increases when EFL is

approached from a literary angle. This motivation has been argued to stem, on the one hand,

from the effective responses elicited by literary texts, whether raising critical awareness of the

world that student live in (Xerri & Agius, 2015), fostering their creativity and imagination

(Lazar, 2009), or awakening their emotions. More specifically, poetry is also believed to be a

motivating EFL resource due to more formal characteristics: its nature as authentic material (

Mckay, 2014), its brevity ( Maley & Duff, 1989), or the non-triviality of its topic (

McKay,2014). From the above mentioned the advantages of teaching poetry in the EFL/ESL

classes may be summarized as follows.

Linguistic Perspectives

i. Poem’s potential to enrich vocabulary (Lazar, 1996)

ii. Improve pronunciation, foster grammatical knowledge (Kirkgoz, 2008)

iii. Practice language skills and forms (Tomlinson, 1986), along with its value in providing a

rich source for language input (Duff & Maley, 2007)

2. Literary perspectives

i. It enhances cross-cultural awareness (Lazar, 1996)

ii. It improves expressive abilities (Lzar, 1996)

iii. It constructs social connections amongst students (Chanmann-Taylor et al , 2017)

iv. It enhances more personal involvement in the language class to find a ground for expressing

personal ideas within a larger human reality (Hess, 2003)

v. Reading poetry is likely to promote linguistic and cultural knowledge (Hanauer, 2001)

Poetry uses the language in an intensive way. Discussing the advantage of teaching poetry

in a foreign language classroom, Hismanagolu (2205, p-61) writes that students can appreciate,

the process of writing poetry, students understand about the composition and structure in

composing poetry, students are to be sensitive for new words and are able to find out the

meaning to get deeper interest and to be analytic person. Literature allows a person to go

beyond the level of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. It invokes feelings and thoughts. With

the study of literature, a person learns the higher usage of language. Figurative language is used

in poetry so the learners acquire higher ability excellence in the use of figures of speech. Use

of poetry also teaches cooperation and communication. Hughes (2007, as cited in Ward, 2013)

says “poetry is a powerful medium for building on students’ knowledge and allowing for the

connection to self, others and the world because poetry encourages expression of emotion, can

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help to develop higher order thinking skills, develop ways of knowing.” One of the great

advantages of teaching poetry in EFL classrooms is that it helps greatly in the learning of other

cultures. Chen (2009) says in this regard that including poetry in the curricula of foreign

language classes can help developing greater awareness of and sensitivity to ( foreign)

language and culture and at the same time introduces a cross-cultural difference to discussion.”

Teaching of poetry in the EFL classroom has numerous advantages. Not only are the

linguistic skills like the use of grammar, syntax and enrichment of vocabulary are attained, but

also, sensitivity to different cultures is also acquired. It also provides readers the ability to face

the challenges of modern existence.

Teaching Approaches

In the early years of language learning, teachers used the Grammar -Translation Method. This

method was first used in the teaching of Classical languages, Latin and Greek (Chastain 1988),

therefore it is also called Classical Method. Earlier in this century this method was used for

the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language literature. It was thought

that foreign language learning would help students grow intellectually. (Larsen- Freeman,

2000). The traditional way of did not give enough opportunity to the students to engage

themselves more actively in the process of learning. The teacher used to give information about

the author and the text to be taught. The novel, drama, plays, poems and other genres of

literature used to pose linguistic problems. In the traditional classrooms only a few advanced

student engaged themselves in the interaction with the teachers and most of the students sat

silently. In the subject-centered technique, content took the most importance, it is also called

transmission theory where knowledge is transferred from the teacher to the students. The

second group of techniques depend on the charismatic performance of the teacher.

Teachers of literature have always been applying and experiencing different teaching

approaches to make the teaching of literature enjoyable and refreshening. Teachers can choose

and use several approaches in teaching and learning literature in teaching poetry to EFL

learners (Antika, 2016). While analyzing and teaching poetry, or any piece of literature,

teachers may base their practices in different theoretical lenses such as the new criticism,

structuralism, stylistic approach, and reader -response approach. (Gönen, 2013). However,

despite the presence of so many approaches of teaching literature, it is very important to note

that New Criticism focuses on the study of traditional poems which are unfamiliar and

irrelevant to the students. In the structuralism approach texts are discussed scientifically and

focus is on themes, structures and mechanical formal relationship into a hierarchical system.

335

New criticism and structuralism don’t invoke the learners’ interest in the lesson of foreign

language. The stylistic and the reader response approach value the readers’ experience with the

language with the text for the extraction of the meaning. The stylistic approach put emphasis

on the formal features of the language including vocabulary, grammar, discourse and

phonology (Short, 1996). Reader response approach is based on transactional theory. The

mutual or reciprocal relation between the reader and the poem is important in this approach.

The main benefit in this approach is the personal transaction of extracting meaning from the

text of the poem. The transaction of meaning is multi-faced. It is not merely limited to the

awareness of grammatical or phonological level rather the attainment of higher aesthetic sense

is also secured here. In the EFL class, this approach is useful as it involves the learner in the

reading of the text by building up personal relation and the sharing of ideas and feelings.

In addition to the aforementioned methods of teaching poetry, the following three approaches

of teaching literature and also poetry which is a part and parcel of literature have widely been

acclaimed as the main approaches ( Carter & Long: 1991:2).

Language Model

This model relies on the integration of language and literature to use it for the attainment of

language proficiency. Literary texts are used for the teaching of linguistic features of the

language. According to Aydin (2013) this model uses literature in teaching different functions

of language like grammar, vocabulary, and language structures from the literary texts to

students. Through this model one can learn the use of language in literary text. It helps in the

acquisition of the information related to the target text. This model comprises of paraphrastic

approach, stylistic approach and language- based approach.

Paraphrastic Approach

Generally, almost every genre of literature and specially in poetry, powerful language by

employing metaphor, similes, alliteration, assonance and personification which require

paraphrasing. Shakespearean plays, Milton, Hopkins, Donne, and Eliot’s works are not easy

to understand unless made easy by the instructor. Teachers explain the difficult words and they

re-narrate the whole text in easiest possible language to make the text easy and enjoyable. It is

teacher centered and doesn’t require much of the learners (Hwang & Embi, 2007; Alkhodimi

& Al Ahdal, 2019).

Stylistic Approach

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This is considered to be a meaningful approach for linguistic awareness and knowledge. It

analyzes the language prior to the elements of literary text (Aydin, 2013).The language of

poetry is different from the language of prose. The French poet Paul Valery said that if prose

was walking, poetry was dancing. Indeed, the original two terms, prosus and versus, meant

respectively, “going straight forth” and “returning”; and that distinction does point out the

tendency of poetry to incremental repetition, variation, and the treatment of many matters and

different themes in a single recurrent form such as couplet or stanza.

The stylistic based approach deciphers the linguistics marvels of the language of poetry.

Appreciation of poetry is a creative pursuit and learners of poetry at least acquire the ability to

appreciate the creative language and this appreciation may lead them to creative writing after

their continued association with poetry world.

Language-Based Approach

Language-based approach of teaching literature is an approach in which students are brought

in direct contact with the literary books. Students are provided with the tools to interpret a

literary text. The main focus in this approach is on the reading of the literary texts. The students

read the text and extract their own meaning (Carter, 1996). It is a student centered and activity

based approach. Creating acoustic poems, reading, filling the blank spaces, paraphrasing are

some of the popular activities. However, it is up to the instructors to provide activities in a

given text that may help in the learning of the language.

To have a bird’s eye view of the reading lesson pre-presentational stage is desirable. In the pre-

reading stage, a quick reading of the lesson is essential. During the while- reading students

undergo diligent and repeated reading to do the language based exercises and in the post-

reading stage the teacher carry the students outside the lines of the text where the students try

to understand the relevance of the text. Lead-in activity gives a sense of the ensuing activities.

The questions asked in the language-based reading lessons are from lower to higher order to

know if the students are aware of the representational and referential language or not. (Carter

& Long,1991; Al-Ahdal, 2020). As a result of the lead-in activity, students attain competency

in analyzing the text. The following poem entitled “The Rebel” is a lead-in activity. Different

types of questions are provided at the end of the poem to test the different language-based skills

like vocabulary, grammar, power of comprehension, language awareness etc.

The Rebel

337

When Everybody has short hair,

The rebel lets his hair grow long.

When everybody has long hair,

The rebel cuts his hair short.

When everybody talks during the lesson.

The rebel doesn’t say a word.

When nobody talks during the lesson,

The rebel creates a disturbance.

When everybody wears a uniform,

The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.

When everybody wears fantastic clothes,

The rebel dresses soberly.

In the company of dog lovers,

The rebel expresses a preference for cats.

When everybody is praising the sun,

The rebel remarks on the need for rain.

When everybody is greeting the rain,

The rebel regrets the absence of sun.

When everybody goes to the meeting,

The rebel stays at home and reads a book.

When everybody stays at home and reads a book,

The rebel goes to the meeting.

When everybody says, Yes please,

The rebel says, No thank you.

When everybody says, No thank you,

The rebel says, Yes please.

It is very good that we have rebels,

You may not find it very good to be one.

( D.J.ENRIGHT )

Working with the poem

Answer the following questions.

If someone doesn’t wear a uniform to school, what do you think the teacher will say?

When everyone wants a clear sky, what does the rebel want the most?

If the rebel has a dog for a pet, what is everyone else likely to have?

Why is it good to have rebels?

Why is it not good to be rebel oneself?

Would you like to be rebel ? If yes, why?

Find in the poem an antonym ( a word opposite in meaning) for each of the following words.

long ………………………………

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grow ……………………………..

quietness …………………………….

Sober …………………………….

Lost …………………………….

Find in the poem lines that match the following. Read both one after the other.

The rebel refuses to cut his hair.

He says cats are better.

He recommends dogs.

He is unhappy because there is no sun.

He is noisy on purpose.

The questions are from lower to higher order of difficulty. The first three questions are simple

while the last few questions are of the high order meant to test their language awareness and

power of comprehension. Finding antonyms will enhance their vocabulary and it will introduce

new words. The last question would lead to the vigorous reading and searching which would

increase their involvement and engagement with the recitation of the poems.

Cultural Model

In the Cultural Model Approach students don’t merely study the linguistic marvels of the

language but they focus on cross-culture elements in the text. Learners go behind the lexis of

the text and are encouraged to interpret the social, cultural and ideological elements that the

target texts represent. It is related to information- based approach (Thunnithet, 2011) which is

a teacher-centered approach in which the teacher deciphers various elements in the literary text

like the historical, social, and cultural aspects.

The Personal Growth Model

In this model students need to be emotionally engaged in the text and the reading activity.

Here the focus is on the use of language and its cultural aspects. It encourages students to love

and enjoy reading literature for personal development as well as to relate their relationships to

the environment (Aydin, 2013). Literature is used as a resource not just as a subject of study.

Students make use of their critical thinking to connect their own experience to the literary

texts. This personal growth model is used as personal-response approach and moral-

philosophical approach.

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Personal- Response Approach

In this approach, students associate their personal experience to the literary texts. The themes,

ideas, messages, and morals contained in the literary text are associated with the personal

experiences by the readers. According to Divsar (2014) “It engages individual in literary text

reading as personal fulfilment and pleasure can be met while developing the language and

literacy competency.”

Moral Philosophical Approach

Literary texts often carry strong moral lessons. Students need to go beyond the text for moral

and philosophical inference (Divsar, 2014). Many literary books are replete with strong moral

lessons and are being taught in many EFL classrooms. Through this approach students learn

the lessons of human values and a sense peaceful existence of human society is developed. T.S.

Eliot’s Waste land and Milton’s Paradise Lost are examples of books of great poetry replete

with moral lessons.

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Multimodal Approach

One of the most effective ways of enhancing the students’ engagement in the poetry teaching

exercise is the use of multimodal approach. Digital technology is used in the multimodal

approach. Dressman (2010) has defined it as “the crafted integration of two or more ways, or

modes, of communication, so that their combined meaning as a whole is greater than either

mode separately, or their simple combination” Use of computers, videos of the poems and

different visuals may have the power of catching the attention of students in a better way.

However with the use of digital technology the use of text are not to be abandoned, rather there

should be a combination of the two.

Conclusion

Poetry is an essential element of literary study and one which appreciated in all cultures. The

currency of poetry is valid in every nook and corner of human society. Poetry broadens our

outlook, pleases our head and heart and serves greatly in the acquisition of linguistic skill.

Hence there is a need to introduce it in every EFL/ESL class. However, its language can pose

a challenge for the non-native learner. Hence there is a need for the teacher to decipher the

manifold meanings and intrinsic beauty hidden in it. In the present study an attempt has been

made show the difference between various teaching approaches. There has been an increasing

agreement on the insufficiency of dependence on one single approach or model, and thus there

is a tendency on the integration of different approaches and models based on the needs of the

language learners for the effective implementation of literature into language practice.” (Divsar

and Tahriri, 2009; Savvidou, Van, 2004; Timucin,2001; Al-Ahdal & Alqasham, 2020). Various

approaches and models are considered as tools to be used in different parts of the lesson to

foster motivation, personal appreciation and linguistic awareness. However, the onus to pick

on the one most suitable to a given learner group lies with the teacher.

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