1,720,995 research outputs found
Tathwir Mawad al-Ta’lim Maharat al-Kalam ‘ala Assas Afkar Dat Bao
Get PDFThis research aims to describe the development of teaching materials for Arabic speaking skills based on the principles of Dat Bao. This theory is considered relevant because it focuses on cognitive and affective aspects of speaking. The research method used is literature review, which involves a critical analysis of Dat Bao's theory and related literature, as well as the development of teaching materials that incorporate these principles. From this research, it was found that there are five principles of Dat Bao's theory recommended in the development of teaching materials for speaking skills, namely: 1) Conceptualizing students' needs; 2) Identifying lesson materials and communication situations; 3) Identifying verbal communication strategies; 4) Utilizing verbal sources from real life; 5) Designing skill acquisition activities. These five principles provide a new foundation to achieve relevant and effective speaking skill learning goals. For developing Arabic speaking skills teaching materials, these principles make the lessons more contextual, engaging, and effective for students
Exploring Indonesian learners' beliefs about language learning strategies through reflection
No full textThis study investigated to what extent learners’ beliefs about language learning strategies (LLS) are subject to change as they are taken through a process of reflection. Three research questions were addressed: the profile of language learning strategies of the students, the nature of strategy use and belief about LLS and how the change of belief about LLS occurred. The study employed a minor quantitative measurement and qualitative analysis of the data. Findings at the beginning of the study are compared with the findings at the end of the study after the reflection procedure was implemented. The reflection was meant to provide time for the students to contemplate, and critically evaluate, their strategy use with regard to their English learning process. Twelve students participated in this study. Three types of data collection techniques were utilized to gather the data: survey, interview, and reflective journal writing. The Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL), developed by Oxford (1990) was used to collect data about the students’ current learning strategies. In-depth interviews about their learning experiences with reference to their language learning approaches were also employed not only to compare with the survey results but also to enrich the data needed for deep analysis. The last instrument was the reflective learning journal. Journals were assigned to all the students in all macro-skill subjects to explore their experiences regarding their language learning journey by documenting their success and failure stories. All these data were triangulated for verification and analysed accordingly to respond to the research questions. The findings indicate that before reflection in general the students were moderate users of the English learning strategies as formulated in the SILL. In terms of categories, metacognitive categories were the most frequently used strategies suggesting that, as adult language learners, the students were familiar with the strategies of planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning. However, they did not exploit their emotion sufficiently to facilitate their learning, as indicated by their affective strategies being the least frequently used categories. After the intervention of reflection, the frequency use of the strategies increased across categories the with the metacognitive strategy category remaining the most frequently used. Also there was a shift in the least frequently used categories from affective strategies to memory strategies. This finding weakened the popular claim that memory strategies were the most popular strategies` among Asian EFL learners. This finding also serves as evidence that reflection is among the determinants of the improved frequency use of learning strategies. This study shows that all of the students preferred collaborative learning especially in verbal skills, suggesting that this finding corroborates Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development and social learning. The fact that the students had different levels of English proficiency allowed them to learn from one another through their social interaction in which some students became the learners, and some others became the “More Knowledgeable Others”, that is, other than the teachers. This finding was confirmed with data collected from the SILL survey which found a high level of frequency in the use of social strategy categories. Linguistic and non-linguistic problems were also identified, as encountered by the students. The problem of limited vocabularies and limited knowledge of grammar impeded them from active participation in verbal and written practices as these weaknesses made them feel anxious and afraid of making mistakes. Lack of self-confidence and lack of motivation as a result of low English competence were reported. These factors prevented them from active involvement in learning activities as they caused them to feel shy and lazy. With regard to the learners’ beliefs, it was found that the students held strong beliefs about the importance of language practice, the use of learning strategies, the significance of vocabulary and grammar, and error-correction. All of them believe that practice in language learning is a must suggesting that without language practice learning would not happen. Most of the students also believe in the effectiveness of their use of learning strategies based on their learning experience. Students also claimed that vocabulary and grammar are fundamental in English language learning suggesting that they would give top priority to learning these components. Finally, they had a strong conviction that making errors is normal in language learning and that it is part of the learning process. Therefore, they were happy for any corrections if they made mistakes. In connection with belief change, this study found factors affecting belief change also included: self-esteem, self-confidence, motivation, mindset and conception of language and language learning. In conclusion, this study has implications for EFL pedagogical practices and for further studies in the field of learners’ beliefs
The milieu of oral english assessment in Malaysia: processes and challenges
No full textIn line with the current global trend, the School Based Oral English Assessment (SBOEA) is implemented as a means to decentralise assessment and provide students the opportunity to be assessed in their familiar environment by those closest to them: their teachers. The aim of the SBOEA is to assess students’ ability to communicate in the English Language in everyday life and teachers as the immediate implementers play an important role in ensuring that this aim is achieved. Teachers’ conduct of the SBOEA is guided through the use of a manual produced by the Malaysian Examination Syndicate (MES). The study for this thesis explores the way teachers conduct the SBOEA in their classrooms in Malaysia. It looks at three areas: the stages and processes involved in implementing the school based oral assessment, the factors that influence their practices and the challenges they face in their oral assessment practices. To explore these areas, this study employed a qualitative case study that encompassed the use of semi-structured interviews and classroom observations on ten English Language teachers. This study reveals that teachers undergo four main stages in the implementation of the SBOEA: planning, implementation, scoring and recording, and reassessment. At each stage, a number of processes are identified leading to the complete cycle of the assessment implementation. This study discovers that teachers approach the processes variedly due to the influence of two main factors: teacher factors and external factors. Their struggle to balance their practices with what is prescribed in the SBOEA manual and the identified factors have led to several challenges. These challenges are identified as teacher assessment competency, the validity and reliability of the SBOEA, fairness and accountability and the impact of the SBOEA. Understanding teachers’ school based oral assessment practices within the factors and challenges highlighted in this study can contribute to better implementation approach to the school based oral assessment by addressing the challenges teachers face and acknowledging the stages and processes they undertake to conduct the assessment in the classrooms
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
ELT materials adaptation for multiethnic classrooms: a case study of tertiary education in Manado, Indonesia
No full textThis study investigates how a group of Indonesian lecturers of English at the Universitas Sumikola in Manado perceived and adapted the content of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials and how their students’ ethnic backgrounds and the lecturers’ ethnicity-based teaching styles, preferences, professional experiences, qualifications and job circumstances influenced such practices. This research attempts to establish an understanding of the relationships among teachers’ pedagogy in the selection and adaptation of materials, the ethnic diversity of learners of English and the content of teaching materials. To achieve this aim, the study poses the following research questions: 1. What do teachers know about students’ backgrounds and needs and what role does this knowledge play in the adaptation process? 2. What expectations do teachers develop towards students that seem to influence their adaptation practices? 3. What teacher factors influence ELT materials adaptation in the classroom and how are these factors negotiated in light of students’ needs in relation to their ethnic backgrounds? 4. How do teachers bridge the gap between the existing materials and students’ ethnic cultural background through their everyday teaching practices? In addressing these questions, the case study, which is qualitative and constructive, draws on concepts of materials adaptation highlighted by a host of researchers in the field of materials development, such as Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004), McDonough and Shaw (1993), McGrath (2002), and Richards (2007), who have pointed out the importance of considering students’ backgrounds and needs in their choice of teaching materials. In particular, Gray (2000), Hill (2005), Bao (2003), Zakaria and Hashim (2010) believe that the appropriateness of course materials can be promoted through the inclusion of relevant cultural topics. The data were collected from English lecturers with Minahasan ethnic backgrounds but with a variety of professional and academic qualifications, who taught in Universitas Sumikola. Through observations in their classrooms, semi-structured interview sessions with them, and supporting materials evaluations conducted by them, the teaching materials adaptation practices in their multiethnic classroom settings were examined. The findings elucidate lecturers’ practical understandings on teaching material selection and adaptation, which was constructed through the negotiation of lecturers’ factors, students’ ethnic backgrounds and sociocultural contents. A variety of teaching strategies were also applied to overcome the challenges which emerged in teaching and teaching materials adaptation. This negotiation is reflected in a new adaptation framework which illustrates the teachers’ optimised understandings of how students’ multiethnic backgrounds can be better acknowledged in English teaching practices
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