This research seeks to discover what happens to students’ English language skills while studying in English-medium classes in UAE universities, and to look at how this compares with what instructors and students think happens to students’ English proficiency during the four years of study. This is explored through a retrospective panel study using a test/retest method to investigate score gains on the IELTS exam after four years of undergraduate study. Student and teacher beliefs about how English-medium instruction (EMI) affects language proficiency, the need for language support after admission, and the selection and delivery of course materials are discussed in conjunction with the research findings, leading to recommendations for institutions whose primary goal in using EMI is to increase proficiency. This research continues the exploratory research of Elder and O’Loughlin (2003) and O’Loughlin and Arkoudis (2009) regarding score gains in IELTS after a course of study, but this study is situated in a society where the language of instruction is not the language of communication for the students outside the university and at home. The research findings indicate that there is a statistically significant score gain in all four of the English-language skill areas that are tested by the IELTS exam after four years of EMI for the participants in this study. The most gain occurred in the area of speaking, followed by reading, writing and then listening. Results from questionnaires and interviews indicate that students and teachers have different perceptions regarding language ability and the problems associated with the use of English for instruction. Students generally do not feel that studying in English causes problems for them, and they rate their ability in listening, reading, writing and speaking as good to excellent. On the other hand, teachers do not feel their students’ language ability meets expectations for students studying in an English-medium environment and think that their students are especially weak in the areas of writing and listening. Teachers feel that they must make adaptations to course content and assessment criteria due to students’ language ability. The research indicates that institutions whose goal it is to increase language proficiency through EMI need to have clear instructional goals in place for language development along with support systems for teachers and learners throughout the entire educational experience and not just in pre-academic support programs.

This paper presents a case study carried through with interviews from three remedial teachers in English working with students with dyslexia at public schools in the south of Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate the learning strategies used by remedial teachers in order to help students with dyslexia to facilitate their learning process and reach higher grades in English as a foreign language. The results of this study indicated an agreement between the remedial teachers and previous research found regarding the use of technological learning aids, the adjustment made for students with dyslexia as well as using formative assessment. However, the remedial teachers appeared to show a divided approach to the aspect of focusing on grading requirements when supporting student with dyslexia in English. Since previous research on the area of working on grades appeared to be deficient, these finding could indicate a need for research of effective strategies to support students with dyslexia in developing and reaching higher grades in English. This study therefore concludes the necessity of further and wider research within the area of supporting student with dyslexia in the process of learning a foreign language.

The purpose of this paper is to examine in depth and to synthesize the literature on foreign language anxiety, with specific focus on speaking anxiety. This paper reviews the development of the foreign language anxiety construct and extensive research on its relationship with other domains of second language acquisition, including specific language skills and language learning processes. Review of the literature has confirmed that foreign language anxiety plays a significant role in learners’ performance and achievement. However, there are still many areas that need further research and clarification. Variables such as individual differences still cloud the relationship between anxiety and achievement, thus suggesting that further research should be conducted in order to clarify the effects of foreign language anxiety and should strive to alleviate learners’ anxiety in the language classroom. / text

This paper is a curriculum proposal for students from grades 2 – 5 at the Elementary level in a bilingual-immersion school in Brasilia, Brazil, who are enrolled in the English Adaptation (EA) program. The curriculum is based on the SIOP Model, an approach to teaching language through content in strategic ways to enhance students’ development in both content and language. The paper also provides detailed lesson plans as an example and assessment processes that can be carried throughout the school year. / text

The aim of this study is to: (1) examine whether non-native EFL teachers experience feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety; (2) investigate whether non-native EFL student teachers experience feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety; (3) examine how the participants’ feelings of foreign language teaching anxiety compared with other cultural groups in previous studies; and (4) examine how foreign language teaching anxiety affects foreign language classroom instruction. In total, 79 non-native EFL teachers and 131 non-native EFL student teachers participated in this study by completing a battery of questionnaires. The results indicated that both non-native EFL teachers and student teachers experience varying levels of foreign language teaching anxiety. However, foreign language teaching anxiety does not appear to have any effect on the foreign language teaching/learning activities the teachers or student teachers use in their classrooms. / text

This qualitative descriptive case study investigates four Chinese international students’ use of online resources for academic writing in a western Canadian university. This study has direct implications for English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language writing instruction as well as international students’ use of university library. Methodological triangulation was used to collect data. This included a semi-structured interview, a computer-based writing task, and a think-aloud activity. Data was coded and analyzed within cases and re-analyzed across the four cases. The salient themes that emerged from this analysis include: indispensable role of online resources in academic writing; a solution to language problems; ability of evaluation; a solution to plagiarism; influences of search habits; concerns about graduate students; and the importance of professors. Four major findings of the study include: important uses of online resources for solving language problems; students’ search skills in online databases; students’ use of the UVic library; and the importance of professors’ instruction. These findings will be helpful for educators to consider as they work to integrate online resources for international students’ writing instruction; and for academic libraries to consider as they offer services to assist EFL/ESL learners. / Graduate / 2017-12-05 / 0727 / 0399 / 0515 / ketien0421@gmail.com

The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers in Israel who participated in the Explicit Multisensory Phonics Intervention Programme. Previous research focused on changes in knowledge, practices, student attainment, and beliefs. Changes from negative to positive self efficacy were not examined, and a model for the professional development of the English foreign language teacher did not exist. The conceptual framework is based on an integration of the concept of self efficacy with theories of professional development and literacy acquisition. Literacy acquisition is based on the knowledge and practice components of the process of professional development in this research. The process of professional development is set in motion by a sense of negative self efficacy. The attainment of content knowledge is followed by a change of practices and thereafter improved student attainment, leading to changes in teachers’ beliefs and positive self efficacy. The research questions seek to clarify teachers’ incentives for joining the programme, their standard of content knowledge and perceptions of the impact of the process of professional development. A mixed methods approach was used. The content knowledge of teachers was tested with a pre and post test. A questionnaire about the process of professional development was sent to teachers who had participated in the programme since 1991. Several unstructured interviews were held. Results showed that the teachers’ sense of negative self efficacy and failure in the field initiated their need for professional development. The impact of the process of professional development was: increased knowledge, changed practices and beliefs, claimed student attainment and positive self efficacy. The research contributes to knowledge by empirically supporting a theoretically based model for the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers. Positive and negative self efficacy are key factors in the process of professional development and knowledge is the basis of this process. These conclusions have practical applications for teacher training.

It is widely recognised that parents play an important role in children’s emotional and intellectual development, including their success at school. Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the potential of parents to support and enhance children’s English foreign language learning, especially since English learning resources are easily accessible through electronic media. In appreciation of this, there has been an increased interest in recent years in finding ways to harness parental potential through the creation of home-school partnerships in many parts of the world, including in the field of teaching English as an additional language. An important point of departure for developing effective home-school dialogues is an informed understanding of what parents are already doing to support their children’s learning, as an awareness of this can help schools and governments provide parents with targeted input to assist and improve their efforts. However, to date, this remains under researched. Of the limited research that has been undertaken, very little has examined parental efforts to support their children’s learning at home in non-western settings, and research into parental support for children’s foreign language learning is virtually non-existent. In order to address this research gap, the study reported in this thesis examines parental support for young children’s foreign language learning in Saudi Arabia with respect to English T.V. viewing. Drawing upon Vygotsky’s concepts of mediation and the ZPD, it aims to examine the extent and the ways in which parents currently mediate their children’s viewing of English T.V. programmes in Saudi Arabia, the factors which impact on their mediation practices, and how this is seen to contribute to their children’s experience of English language learning. The study is comprised two stages. The first stage entails the distribution of a questionnaire to 500 parents of children aged 6-8, who are currently learning English in a number of private schools in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia in order to gain a global overview of parental perspectives on mediation. This is followed by stage 2, which aims to examine the features and quality of parent-child mediational dialogues. This is achieved by collecting recordings of the dialogues of two parent-child dyads watching DVDs of English T.V. programmes over a four-week period as well as interviewing parents and their children on the experience. The results of the study show that parents believe in the importance and value of supporting their children’s learning (both in general and with regard to their EFL learning). Moreover, they show that they are actively engaged in trying to do so. However, they also highlight a number of ways in which their mediational practices could be improved so that these are less directive and more responsive to their children’s learning needs and growing ability to self-regulate. More broadly, they highlight the need to engage with the complexity of parental mediation as an activity system in discussions of the quality of mediational practice. That is, to understand that parental efforts to mediate need to be considered alongside task, sociocultural setting and, most importantly, the child’s engagement with parental efforts. A number of implications are drawn from the results of the study. Chief among these is that research into parental mediation should look at the inter-relationship between the different elements of the parental mediational system identified and that this provides richer in-depth understandings of parental efforts to support their children than are currently available from those who seek to understand this merely as parental scaffolding. In addition, it is argued that the picture this in-depth analysis revealed provides valuable information which can be used to inform the need for home-school partnerships and the support parents need to make sure they engage in these effectively in settings such as Saudi Arabia where there is currently little appreciation of the importance of parental involvement and the concept of home school partnerships remains in its infancy. In line with the emphasis on the complex multidimensional understanding of mediation as activity as illustrated by the results of the study, it is argued that efforts to promote parental involvement should primarily focus on how parents can help promote quality learning experiences for their children.

Presented thesis deals with teaching differences between British and American English. Its aim is to suggest a suitable way of teaching selected vocabulary differences between these two English varieties in EFL classes. The theoretical part of the presented thesis summarizes the knowledge background gained by studying relevant researches and professional publications. On that study the author's original teaching materials are based. The practical part consists of a brief research; original materials were used in five EFL classes, and consequently their efficiency and utility was examined. The main goal of this thesis is to propose this topic as a kind of useful enrichment of English lessons and to examine the way it could be included in a lesson plan without affecting it or burdening teachers with an extra preparation. Key words: American English, British English, differences, teaching EFL classes

The present research focuses on students' attitudes and preferences towards English language learning at Czech private language schools. In essence, the thesis focuses on unearthing the relationship and attitudes of students towards language mistakes, goals, and creativity. The study approaches language learning from more and less norm-bound perspectives and the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) paradigm is introduced. In connection with the main focus of the research the intention is also to detect tendencies that could hint at the suitability of integrating knowledge about ELF into English Language Teaching (ELT). To obtain original data from the selected target group I conducted a mixed-method research (a questionnaire survey and in-class observations). The key concepts discussed are: mistakes, learner goals, learner needs, accuracy and language creativity (or 'languaging'). Key words: EFL, ELF, learner goals, accuracy, language creativity, languaging.