Developing Writing Abilities Of Efl Students Through Blogging

Cooperative and individualistic learning experiences were compared in terms of their effects on interaction and relationships between hearing and hearing-impaired students. Two contradictory hypotheses were tested—one stating that the effort required for hearing and hearing-impaired students to communicate would lead to frustration, withdrawal, exclusion, and rejection; the other stating that cooperative learning experiences would lead to cross-handicap interpersonal attraction regardless of communication difficulties. Thirty 3rd-grade students (20 hearing and 10 hearing impaired) were assigned to conditions on a stratified, random basis controlling for handicap, sex, and ability level. They participated in the study for 55 min a day for 15 instructional days. The results indicate that subjects involved in cooperative learning experiences performed higher on measures of interaction and interpersonal attraction between hearing and hearing-impaired students than did subjects involved in individualistic learning experiences.

The integration of the handicapped into the regular classroom: Effects of cooperative and individualistic instruction

This article describes the teacher's role in using cooperative learning groups to teach junior high school introductory French classes. It also describes the results of an evaluation of how cooperative learning experiences affect (1) the students' attitudes toward French, (2) their relationships with peers and the teacher, and (3) the perceived impact of the cooperative learning experiences on their motivation to learn French, the personal benefits they received from the group experiences, and their attitudes toward learning in groups. Cooperative learning experiences promoted positive attitudes among students toward all of these aspects of learning French.

The purpose of this study was to describe and interpret the teacher's and students' experiences of co-operative learning in a high school setting. A multiple-method design included interviews of the physical education teacher and eighth (year 9) and eleventh grade (year 12) students, nonparticipant observation, field notes, and document analysis. Inductive analysis and constant comparison were used to analyse and organise the data throughout the research process (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). The teacher believed co-operative learning helped her students meet the following goals: developing motor skills, developing game strategies, actively participating, respecting one's peers, accepting responsibility, improving communication skills, and having fun. Students reported that co-operative learning encouraged learning motor skills, participating, communicating, having fun and co-operating.

<p>Learner autonomy, primarily defined as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning” (Holec, 1981, p. 3), has gained much research interest in the field of language learning and teaching due to its potential contribution to effective language learning. Although the concept of learner autonomy has been extensively discussed in the literature, little research has empirically investigated how this concept is realized in language classrooms. This research explored learner autonomy and its development in the Thai secondary school context. The research was structured in two phases. The first phase of the study was an exploratory phase conducted to identify the Thai teachers’ perspectives towards learner autonomy and how their classroom practices prepared learners for autonomous learning. Data were collected through class observations, teacher interviews and learner group interviews. The findings revealed that although the teachers shared positive views about learner autonomy and regarded it as a useful concept, they did not sufficiently promote autonomous learning in their classroom practices. Learners’ accounts of their learning experiences also indicated that their classrooms did not prepare them methodologically and psychologically to take responsibility for their own learning. Findings from the exploratory phase indicate that the teachers’ use of the teacher-led teaching method as well as the learners’ lack of skills and confidence in their ability to direct their learning process could pose significant challenges to learner autonomy development. Building on findings from the first phase, the second phase of the study featured a strategy-based intervention program designed to promote learner autonomy. This intervention phase involved 30 learners from an intact class in which the strategy-based instruction program was implemented, and 32 learners from a comparison class who received regular English lessons. Data regarding the intervention’s impacts on learners’ development of knowledge and skills to direct their learning were obtained from learner group interviews and weekly learning journals while the intervention’s influence on learners’ language proficiency was observed through reading think-aloud sessions and three sets of reading tests. Findings revealed that strategy-based instruction was an effective means to raise learners’ awareness of their learning process and foster autonomous learning. First, the intervention lessons significantly contributed to learners’ gradual development of knowledge and skills to independently direct their learning process. Secondly, learners’ learning experiences during the intervention also motivated them to create learning opportunities in which they can interact purposefully and creatively with English. Furthermore, learners’ strategic approaches to learning appeared to have led to their increased scores in English reading. In sum, this study indicates that learner autonomy is a viable goal in the Thai educational context. It also provides empirically-grounded insights into the process of developing learner autonomy in language classrooms and reveals factors that can mediate the process. Findings from this study contribute to the current understanding about learner autonomy in language learning and offer practical implications for teachers in creating a learning space to promote autonomous learning.</p>

This is a literature review of the teaching principles in English language and their relationships to motivation. This article is based on personal teaching experiences with teacher trainees in the field of language teaching. Motivation is key to successful education; however, it requires the right approaches to benefit teaching and learning. This article explores the importance of meaningful learning and authentic materials in language learning. It also emphasizes the significance of the role of reward in increasing motivation. It argues that rote learning should play minimal role if at all, whereas meaningful learning be the core of the whole experience. Moreover, culture connection, self-confidence, and attitude are considered as other important factors of teaching and learning. In conclusion, this article reiterates the importance of teachers' role in language learning success whereby teachers need to set the stage for learning through creating learning environment that foster meaningful experiential learning and where students could make sense of the whole learning experiences.

The latest advances and trends in technology have enabled rapid development in the field of language education. Students and teachers alike now benefit from the assistance of various technological innovations, thus increasing the overall effectiveness of the curriculum. The Handbook of Research on Individual Differences in Computer-Assisted Language Learning addresses the implementation of current research methodologies within EFL and ESL classroom settings and the variety of modifications employed by language experts. Focusing on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies, this book is an essential reference source for applied linguists, CALL researchers, language teachers, and upper-level students within the field of foreign language education.

The book is devoted to scholarship in the field of pre-service teacher education, with a specific focus on research into the enhancement of self-directed learning, and contributes to the discourse on creating a disposition towards self-directed learning during the social and academic integration of first-year students within higher education institutions. Two chapters also deal with research on the development of self-directed learning and nuanced understandings of the chosen professions of Law and Health Sciences students. The target audience is scholars working in the fields of teacher education, self-directed learning, engaging pedagogies, problem-based learning, cooperative learning and gamification. Whereas social constructivist learning theory served as an overarching theoretical framework for the virtual excursions, the various chapters in the book also draw on other secondary theories, such as self-determination theory, social interdependence theory, gender theory and the with fitness model of Kounin (1970).

The use of digital media as a mode of delivering course materials has become increasingly common in the field of language education.The aim of language educators has therefore been to discover suitable ways of using digital media to enable learners to engage with materials effectively and enhance their learning experience.This paper describes a collaborative syllabus between teachers at two Japanese universities which shares the same mode of delivery: a website of news-based materials.Students are asked to read an authentic and current news story each week and, after a classroom session, write their reactions to the story by adding their comments on the website.By using an online mode of delivery, students are motivated to build their confidence in expressing themselves in English away from the classroom and begin to engage fully with the course materials as their opinions become topics in the developing online discussions.Recent years have seen a significant rise in the proliferation of digital media in our lives.This is also true of the classroom, where teachers are now able to use a vast array of material from the Internet as an alternative to more traditional teaching tools such as board work and handouts.However, as Chun (2008) pointed out, the use of such technology should not be considered a methodology in itself.In fact, Blake (2008) envisaged that language teaching will change not because of technology but as a result of teachers "rethinking what they do" when incorporating technology into their syllabi and lessons (p.8).There has therefore been a great deal of experimentation and research by teachers into using digital media and materials as an aid to language learning (Arena & Jefferson, 2008;Carney, 2007;Johnson, 2004, Kung & Chuo, 2002).Significant to this is what Alm (2006) has identified as the recent shift from using the Internet as a repository of reference materials to using it for blogging and social networking, modes of communication that many language learners use in their daily lives.This has exciting implications for the process of language learning, now seen by most as a more personal, proactive, conscious, and cognitive endeavor (Brown, 2006).As a result, Erbaggio, Gopalakrishnan, Hobbs, and Liu (2010) consider digital technology to be an effective way of connecting with the current population of students by communicating with them in "their own language."This, in turn, can have an impact on their motivation and engagement.

Learning and teaching languages in technology-mediated environments : why modes and meaning making matter

The objective of this research is to investigate the Indonesian EFL Postgraduate students’ attitudes towards the course of translation. The researcher used a case study method by managing observation, interview, and questionnaire to collect the data. The questionnaire contained 30 items concerning students’ attitudes in terms of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects. The participants in this present study were 11 students of the English Education Department of Postgraduate degree at a public university in Banten Province, Indonesia. The results indicate that the students hold positive attitudes toward the existence and the learning process of the translation course. These can be verified from the results of questionnaires which show that the average scores of positive attitudes for behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects consecutively are 74.3%, 80.6%, and 84.4%. These positive attitudes are not only affected by the lecturer-student interaction, but also by the cooperative learning atmosphere and experience that the lecturer and students manage while having a teaching and learning process of translation. Since attitudes can be modified by the experience, the effective translation teaching and learning process can encourage students to be more positive towards the translation course they are involved in.

The research is experiment. The research design is One-Group Pretest Posttest Design. The research employed two experiment classes, namely class VII.1 consist of 29 students and class VII.2 consist of 33 students chosen by using simple random sampling technique. Both classes were given the same treatment, namely experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory. Data collecting techniques were learning result test, observation sheet, and questionnaire sheet. Data analysis employed descriptive statistic, inferential statistic, and effectiveness analysis. The results of the research indicate that: 1) Mathematics learning result of class VII students at SMPN 29 in Makassar after the implementation of experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory is in high category, the improvement of Mathematics learning result (gain score) of class VII students at SMPN 29 in Makassar is significant and in high category. Mathematics learning result of class VII students at SMPN 29 in Makassar after the implementation of experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory has not reached classical completeness; 2) the students activity with the implementation of experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory is in active category; and 3) the students response toward the implementation of experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory tended to be in positive category. Learning effectiveness score reveals that the implementation of experience, language, pictorial, symbol, and application is fairly effective in Mathematics learning based on Bruner’s theory to class VII students at SMPN 29 in Makassar

The purpose of this study was to investigate the problem-solving skills (PSS) and chemistry learning experiences (LE) of teacher candidates. 191 pre-service chemistry teacher (130 women, 61 men) were taken as the research sample using the purposive random sampling technique. The research design used a cross-sectional survey with focus group interviews. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed using the MANOVA test and while the interview data using the Patton analysis technique. The research findings show that: 1) the level of the chemistry learning experience of pre-service chemistry teacher (LE) is higher than the ability of problem-solving skills (PSS); 2) the level of ability of female chemistry teacher candidates for PSS and LE was found to be higher than that of males; (3) there are differences in PSS and LE based on grades levels, but there is no difference based on gender; 4) there is a difference in PSS and LE between freshman, sophomore, and junior grades. The findings of the interview are relevant to the results of the survey which proved that male and female students both have positive attitudes towards chemistry, however, it was found that there were differences in PSS and LE between grade level (1stgrade, 2stgrade, 3st grade). Thus, it is suggested that the learning process in universities prioritizes the development of LE and PSS in chemistry learning so as to improve the soft skills and academic achievement of prospective chemistry teachers.

As the AI (Artificial Intelligence, AI) technology, especially the language model and the rapid development of intelligent learning system in the field of language education, contextualized input and output have gradually become an important path to promote Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Based on the theory of input hypothesis and output hypothesis and social culture and interactive approaches, this article system combed the AI drive learning environment, language input, output, and the change of the interactive mechanism and its influence on second language acquisition. Research suggests that AI can enhance the understandability and relevance of input through adaptive recommendation, multimodal presentation, and virtual situation simulation. At the output level, AI dialogue system, real-time error correction and scaffolding support for language learners provides a high frequency, low anxiety generated opportunities, complexity and accuracy in grammar, syntax and vocabulary, expression fluency and pragmatic appropriateness, etc, to promote the language output quality improvement. More importantly, AI integrates input, output and feedback into a dynamic loop process, thereby reshaping the occurrence conditions of traditional second language acquisition to a certain extent. In the affirmation of the potential of the AI in language learning at the same time, the paper also points out its authenticity, learner differences in interactive adaptation and technology rely on is still limited, and emphasizes on the importance of teachers' professional guidance to realize man-machine coordinated. This article aims to provide references for the research and instructional design of second language teaching supported by AI from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Writing is a visual depiction of thoughts, feelings, and ideas using the written language for communication purposes or conveying certain messages. Having the ability to write, of course, allows humans to communicate ideas, appreciation, and experiences to others. Writing skill is possessed through intensive training and guidance which must be trained continuously to gain excellent writing skill. This study explores EFL learners’ writing ability in actualizing their skill in writing a descriptive paragraph. The study revealed that EFL learners’ writing ability is under expected skill. Therefore, this study implies that intensive improvement programs should be conducted by the educational institution to maximize learners’ writing skills