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EFL Learners’ Misconceptions or Erroneous Beliefs about Language Learning: An ESP Context
Get PDFThe beliefs that learners have regarding language learning have been the subject of numerous research studies. But not enough attention has been paid to investigating the nature of learners’ beliefs shaped in the process of foreign language learning. Beliefs can affect the learners’ language success as well as their learning outcome and behavior. It is important to gain deeper insight about EFL students’ perceptions and understand their beliefs since it helps teachers to become familiar with learners’ use of learning strategies based on which they can plan a more appropriate language instruction. This study is an attempt to investigate language learning erroneous beliefs and misconceptions of 67 MSc ESP students of midwifery, operating room, and nursing in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. They were selected through purposeful sampling and their language learning behaviors were observed by the researcher throughout two consecutive semesters while passing their ESPI and ESPII. Furthermore, data were collected using unstructured field notes and semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed through thematic analysis, the data were coded in line with the research question, and themes as well as sub-themes, were extracted. The findings of this study suggest that action should be taken by the ESP teacher to modify learners’' erroneous beliefs, eliminate negative beliefs, and evolve their simplistic self-instruction beliefs. The findings of the study can inform syllabus design, curriculum development, teacher practice, and material preparation
A Review of Standardizing an English Second Language Test-Item through Reverse Engineering
Get PDFReverse engineering (RE) can play an important role in the re-designing tests in L2 English. It can also enrich the aim of teaching the same as raising children through academic achievement. In addition, it can play a key role in helping students understand how much their test is valid by using Standard reverse engineering (SRE). This paper is a literature review seeks to make a general second language test standardized through SRE by Popham's Model. According to this model, a test becomes standardized by considering the constructs of a standardized test through five steps respectively. This model evaluates participants' English test as foreign language proficiency. In order to explain it more, one example of writing the test in the site of the State Education Department Office of Bilingual Education in New York is explained in detail. This study can be used as a guide to other second language testers who wish to standardize their tests
Employee Trust and Ethical Leadership Decision Making
Get PDFOrganizations that encourage a trusting culture are believed to have a competitive advantage on ethical decision-making. Part of a leader’s functions is to work with employees to find problems within an organization and solve them. The ease at which a leader gains access to the information they need to make ethical decisions and solve problems depends on how much employees trust them, and how much they (leaders) trust employees. This study examines the role of employee trust on ethical leadership decision making. It explores the role of employees trust towards their leaders’ ethical decision making and how a lack of employee trust (mistrust) in an organization affects ethical leadership decision making. The research methodology employed in this study is literature review and it was aimed at addressing critically the role of employee trust (and lack of that) towards leadership ethical decision making. The findings of this study indicate that when leaders are trusted by their employees, they are forced to prove their competence and ethics in the decisions they make. It also shows that when employees are trusted by their leaders, they encounter a feeling of indefinite responsibility to show signs of goodness towards their leaders and this influences ethical decision making. A lack of trust between employees and their leaders weakens relationships, causes suspicion, deception and affects a leader’s decision making ethics
Determinants of Financial Sustainability and Access to Finance among SMEs in Malaysia: A Pilot Study
Get PDFThe unavailability of external financing and lack of access to finance is an important research interest topic for scholars and a crucial issue for policymakers all over the world. However, compared to large companies, SMEs tend to report financing as a significant obstacle. The inadequate access to finance could dampen their potentials for growth and competitiveness in the business ecosystem. The objective of this research work is to examine and explore a small sample of data on the determinants of financial sustainability and access to finance among SMEs in Malaysia. The study adopted a quantitative survey approach to collect 53 usable questionnaires from SMEs in Johor as one of the divisions based on the stratified random sampling method. Therefore, the validity and reliability of the instruments were examined through a panel of expert and also the collected data was analysed using SPSS v22. Results, using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s Alpha statistics confirmed the validity and reliability of the instruments adopted and used for the pilot study. It was concluded that the items on the surveyed instrument are suitable for future use in studies in the field of access to finance, especially in the SME service sector
Case Study of Pt Astra International Tbk Corporate Social Responsibility Communication through Company Website and Annual Report
Get PDFThe study aims to analyse corporate social responsibility of PT Astra International Tbk through the company's website. This research is also based on subjective research using case study research methods. The object of this research is the website of PT Astra International Tbk, namely www.astra.co.id. The researcher chose PT Astra International as a case study intended to analyze the company's website which contained information about CSR. The researcher used the company's website documentation technique. Overall, PT Astra International Tbk communicates CSR to meet company requirements in accordance with applicable regulations and policies. Statement of content for information communicated about program implementation and results. In addition, the priority built by the company through communicating CSR through packaging information to create a good impression is very important. The researcher concludes that basically, substantive support that is balanced with the company's performance, behavior and communication in implementing CSR is very important
Investigating Teachers and Students’ Perceptions of Written Corrective Feedback in the Context of Tertiary Education in Oman
Get PDFThis paper focuses on written corrective feedback in the testing context of the English language foundation program at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. In more detail, in response to the encountered testing problem that involves variability in written corrective feedback and, as a consequence, inconsistent evidence of student position in relation to their improvement in writing and ways to achieve it, the authors discuss the ways teachers respond to students’ writing, the type of feedback they deliver, and the strategies they adopt to provide their feedback. The reported study uses mixed methods research methodology, and is grounded on the understanding of giving feedback to students as a social action that is implemented in specific cultural, institutional, and interpersonal contexts with a purpose to accomplish educational and social goals. The participants of the study are foundation program students and English language teachers representing the multicultural teaching community of the Centre for Preparatory Studies at Sultan Qaboos University. The results of the study reveal that written corrective feedback is by no means unanimous among all students and teachers. Diversity in the teachers’ background yields a corresponding diversity in the way it is perceived, provided, and interpreted. Undoubtedly, teachers’ ultimate goal, in any context, is to help students improve their writing skills in all respects, be it in form, content, or organization. Yet, its effectiveness in improving students’ writing remains inconclusive
The Role of Instruction: An Update
Get PDFDoes instruction make a difference? This was the original question of a paper written by Michael Long (1983) in the 80s. Since then, scholars and practitioners have been debating on whether instruction makes a difference in the acquisition of language properties such as morphology and syntax. Contemporary theories have addressed this question by taking different positions around the role and effects of instruction. Researchers have investigated the effects of a number of different instructional treatments (e.g., textual enhancement, processing instruction, recasts). Overall, the main findings from empirical research on the effects of instruction seem to indicate that there are two main positions: (i) instruction has a limited and constrained role; (ii) instruction might have some beneficial effects (not on the route but on the rate of acquisition). Several key questions (VanPatten, Smith, & Benati, 2019) have been raised in this field about the nature and role of instruction and on what we really measure with instruction (explicit or implicit knowledge?)
Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception on their EFL Competence and Professional Requirements
Get PDFLanguage teaching and teaching through language have undergone a standardization process all over Europe. In the Spanish context, a myriad of programs has emerged in the last ten years whose main aim is to guarantee a plurilingual education. That means implementing and consolidating European directives on the matter from the Council of Europe. Universities have joined this trend in their need for internationalization. This contribution analyses pre-service teachers’ perceptions on their English Foreign Language level and the professional requirements regarding language competence in the current context in which language is a key aspect in education at any level. In spite of the fact that most students (95.5%) consider that a language teacher should master the language (C1 CEFR level or at least B2), some of them (19.3%) acknowledge not having any language accreditation yet, and most are in between B1 and B2 (70%). Therefore, there is a lack of consistency between their real language level and their perception of what is needed in order to be a successful primary education language teacher. Unquestioningly, their desired level is above their real competence, that is the reason why they plan to continue their English studies once they finish their university degree
Should Feedback be Direct or Indirect? Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of WCF on L1 Arabic Writers’ Use of English Prepositions
Get PDFThis study investigated the effects of direct and indirect WCF on students’ revision accuracy as well as on new pieces of writing over time. Intermediate level pre-faculty university students were divided randomly into four groups: direct, underlining only, underlining metalinguistic, and a control group. They produced two texts from two different picture prompts and revised these over a two-week period. They also produced two new texts three and four weeks after the last treatment. Both WCF significantly reduced learner errors in subsequent revision tasks. All three treatment groups also made significant reduction of errors after 3 weeks of CF treatment
World Economic Crisis and Its Influence on the World Economic Development
Get PDFContemporary world admits and analyses the destroying results and consequences of the largest-ever the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers Investment bank which lead to the mortgage crisis and turned into the global one. The recession continues up to present, i.e. almost for ten years. Leading economists forecast the further negative issues and confess that the economic figures would never go back to the ones we had back ten years ago. The extreme points of consideration the recession and the crisis issues are in contradiction with the economic theory which predicts further recession though may never provide consistent and exact figures and dates. The reflection of the crisis onto the economic theory, science and on the real picture may provide further materials for discussions and arguments against the existence of the crisis, as the global economy development never interrupted. Moreover, the world faced the birth of an absolutely new and enigmatic product on the market –cryptocurrency. The question is: would the cryptocurrency bring the relief in terms of recession or would it lead to a new default of the market. The economic science estimates the pros and cons of the existing risks and market threats and hopefully will play its substantial role in eliminating them