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Welcome to Haraya! An English Game-Based Learning Environment for Primary Grade Students in the Philippines
Get PDFBlended learning in the Philippines has not fully addressed classroom challenges, such as inadequate student engagement attributed to outdated approaches. Welcome to Haraya! is an educational game that immerses students in an innovative and engaging Game-Based Learning Environment (GBLE) and integrates interactive learning of Bloom’s lower-order and higher-order competencies with game mechanics. The competencies are “to remember and apply arguments for a particular stance when they are identified in a scenario or situation” (LO) and “to organize arguments as ‘for’, ‘against’, or ‘irrelevant’ upon being given a specific scenario and situation” (HO). Framed by Communicative Language Teaching and Game-Based Learning Design, the research employed a mixed-methods approach, including a pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design and a survey involving 6th-grade public school and external play testers. Using the MEEGA+KIDS model, the game’s quality was evaluated. T-test and Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference in the performance between the two groups. While the public school students showed no significant improvement in their posttest scores, suggesting a lack of enhancement of their learning, the external play testers’ performance improved, as shown by their posttest scores. The latter’s baseline language proficiency and age may have led to learning. The findings recommend strengthening the teaching of prerequisite skills and improving the game’s iteration to enhance GBLE-enabled instruction.  
Analyzing the Drivers of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and their Impact on Economic Growth in Tanzania
Get PDFThis paper aims to deepen understanding and knowledge regarding the analyzing the drivers of foreign direct investment inflows and their impact on economic growth in Tanzania. Many developing countries aspire to shift from agriculture-centric economies to achieve sustainable development through industrialization. Realizing this goal, however, has been challenging, prompting an examination of the sixty-year trends and effects of FDI on Tanzania’s industrialization trajectory. This study employs a comprehensive approach utilizing time series models, specifically the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and the Error Correction Model (ECM), to analyze the dynamic influence of FDI on economic growth. By forecasting the 33-year trajectory of economic growth and FDI inflows using data from the World Bank spanning 1990 to 2020, this methodological framework aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the FDI- economic growth relationship, contributing valuable insights to the economic development discourse. The study’s results highlight the significant role of FDI in shaping both short- and long-term FDI progress, which is critical to advancing Tanzania’s economic growth. This underscores FDI as a key driver for economic growth by facilitating economic upgrading through FDI
Book Review: Multilingual selves and motivations for learning languages other than English in Asian contexts, edited by Anas Hajar and Syed Abdul Manan (2024), 238 Pages. £25.00 (eBook), £34.95 (Paperback), ISBN: 978-1-80041-721-2, Multilingual Matters.
Get PDFDespite typological differences, children invariably attain fluency in their native languages. Foreign language learners, however, show a great degree of variation in terms of ultimate attainment even in the same learning conditions. This intriguing inter-learner variation has been a subject of academic interest since Skehan’s (1989) seminal work Individual Differences in Second Language Learning, which to a large extent laid the foundation for further investigation into factors such as aptitude and motivation as important contributors to success in mastering a foreign language (Dörnyei, 2005). Today, it is a fact beyond dispute that motivation plays a pivotal role in the acquisition of additional languages (Dörnyei, 2005), yet the preponderance of academic literature seems to focus on English learners only, leaving many lacunae to be filled. This book is an attempt to fill one of them by studying learners of languages other than English in a particular context, namely, Asia
Brand Equity and Customer Life Cycle in Start-Ups
Get PDFThe relationship between brand equity and the customer life cycle has garnered increasing attention, especially in the context of start-ups where establishing a solid brand presence is crucial for long-term success. This research investigated the relationship between brand equity and the customer life cycle of start-up firms. The study examined the influence of brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations on customer acquisition, retention, and advocacy, drawing on Keller's Customer-Based Brand Equity Theory and the Customer Life Cycle Theory. The study employed a quantitative approach, utilizing a structured questionnaire to explore the perception and interaction of start-up customers with the brand. Data analysis was examined through  Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to get a statistically significant association between constructs. Noteworthy are the high correlations observed, especially between Perceived Quality 2 (PQ2) and Perceived Quality 3 (PQ3), as well as between Brand Loyalty (BL) and Brand Association 2 (BrA2). The findings demonstrate that creating favourable brand associations is indeed a powerful tool in building a loyal customer base, and that an increase in specific quality features can have a stronger emotional impact on customers
Self-Concept and Educational Success on Career Adaptability Among Nurses
Get PDFThe aim of this study is to examine the effects of self-concept and educational success on career adaptability among nurses in the Ukraine. This study aimed to help human resource management attract and implement resources effectively, especially in healthcare systems. We distributed 119 questionnaires randomly and asked nurses to answer questions related to career adaptability, self-concept, and educational success. First, we conduct a confirmatory factor analysis on the career adaptability aspects (Concern, Curiosity, Control, and Confidence) and self-concept to analyze the reliability and validity of the constructs. The second phase, using the regression method, showed that educational success has a significant effect only on concern. However, self-concepts significantly affect concern (.46), control (.41), Curiosity (.47), and confidence (.45). Career adaptability has been significantly affected by self-concept (.50). Managers should consider self-concept as a significant predictive factor of career adaptability in the future, which cannot be predicted by educational success. Additionally, the results revealed that although educational success did not significantly predict all aspects of career adaptability, it had a significant relationship with the concern aspect
Carol Chapelle and Technology for Language Learning: Over Forty Years of Leading the Way
Get PDFCarol Chapelle has had a remarkable career, spanning four decades and influencing developments in applied linguistics across a range of its subfields, such as Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Language Testing and Assessment, and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). In this paper, we focus on her contribution to CALL by offering personal accounts of how Carol’s work has influenced us individually
Underestimated Utility: Recording Design Decisions in Language Test Development
Get PDFOur designs of language tests understandably focus on the endpoint: a useful test with interpretable results. We should not neglect what precedes that endpoint: the critical phases in the development of the test. We do not reflect enough on the development process, perhaps because we think that this is not worthy of research. Awareness of the stages of test design is useful, however: it pays handsome dividends when the quality of the end product is examined. The wide-ranging scholarly work of Carol Chapelle has focussed, among other issues, on two critically important components of testing language ability: assessing vocabulary knowledge and computer-assisted platforms for taking language tests. Their interaction will be highlighted here. Using a five-phase approach to language test design, this contribution sets out how the intuitive initial solution becomes the prompt to greater deliberation; how the articulated specification of what is being tested leads to greater theoretical defensibility; and how considerations of economy can be accommodated, leading to justifiable technical compromises in devising a quick test of reading levels. The initial solution associated reading ability closely with vocabulary knowledge only. The more deliberate subsequent design sought to overcome some of the limitations of that premise, by enriching the test with the addition of several further task types. The record of these design decisions indicates the rise in language assessment literacy (LAL) among the design team members, and how useful such a design record can be to enhance the quality of the eventual measure
How Many Language Testing Publications Use “the Unqualified Phrase ‘the Validity of the Test’”?
Get PDFThe Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA et al., 2014) states that “It is incorrect to use the unqualified phrase ‘the validity of the test’” (p. 11). Although the Standards clearly states that it is incorrect to use the phrase “validity of the test” because “it is the interpretations of test scores for proposed uses that are evaluated, not the test itself” (p. 11), many authors still use this terminology. This study examines how frequently this occurs, why this may occur, and how to interpret this phenomenon. First, examination of articles published in Language Testing and Language Assessment Quarterly between 2011–2022 resulted in 233 articles being identified as including the expression “validity of + test” at least once. Next, the context around the occurrences of “use(s)” and “interpretation(s)” within these articles was analyzed to determine whether the author(s) referred to test interpretation and use. This was interpreted as evidence that the authors were familiar with the Standards’ definition of validity, even though they used language that contradicted the Standards’ guidelines. This study sheds light on the extent to which authors adhere to the Standards’ guidelines and potential factors contributing to deviations from the recommended terminology
Market Orientation and University Performance in Tanzania: Mediating Efficacious Leadership Style
Get PDFUniversities will function well if the management and administration of the education sector are improved and the resources available are well utilized. These resources include the caliber of professors, instruction, market orientation, and an efficacious leadership style. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between market orientation, university performance in Tanzania, and the mediating impact of an efficacious leadership style. The Resource Based Theory (RBT) was applied. Self-administered questionnaires were used at five of Tanzania's largest public universities to collect data. One hundred twenty responses were analyzed using SMART PLS. The outcomes were as follows: Efficacious leadership demonstrated a significant positive relationship with university performance, and market orientation demonstrated a significant positive relationship with efficacious leadership. An efficacious Leadership Style (EL) had a mediating effect on the relationship between University Performance (UP) and Market Orientation (MO). Policymakers and other interested parties were also provided with the study's recommendations for additional research
Organizational Culture and Professional Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Work Control
Get PDFIn the search for psychological determinants of professional well-being, organizational culture attracts attention as a potentially influential factor, in particular, such a mediating effect as work control, since the type of organizational culture determines how control is implemented, which, in turn, can affect the professional well-being of an employee. The purpose of this study is to identify the presence and nature of the relationship between the type of organizational culture, job control, and employees' professional well-being. The aim of the study was implemented by using a cross-sectional method using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) by Cameron and Quinn, the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS) by Spector, and the Work Control Scale by Dwyer, & Ganster. The study involved 92 Ukrainian higher education teachers. The statistical processing of the results included mediation analysis and correlation analysis. The results of the study found that organizational culture is a determinant of professional well-being when an employee has control over their work. The complete mediation of the opposite types of organizational cultures by perceived control over work signifies the universality of this variable and demonstrates its importance for achieving professional well-being under any working conditions. The mediating effect we identified in the relationship between the studied variables deepens the understanding of the role of organizational culture in shaping the professional well-being of employees and opens new opportunities for effective prevention of its violations