Discourse Analysis and English Language Teaching

Qatar is a Gulf state undergoing a sweeping educational reform where educational development is linked to ICT and the English language. ICT is promoted to upskill the future generation or the “digital natives”. English is seen as a key to a myriad of doors and a passport to a world class education. In all public schools, English is a compulsory subject taught from grade one where learners are exposed to English for more than 500 teaching hours every year. It is also the medium of instruction for maths and science. The purpose of my year-long study was to investigate the effectiveness of ICT in supporting the learning and teaching of English language in the Qatari context. It was guided by the critical paradigm and employed action research as the investigative methodology. The initial data collection process was carried out through a survey instrument. More than 200 students answered questions about their attitudes, perceived values, current uses and issues with ICT. The findings of the study have identified a number of challenges. One of which is the minimal support that ICT is providing to the teaching of the listening skill. An intervention programme was later designed in a form of a webquest lesson based on CLIL (content and language integrated learning) and informed by the survey findings, student’ voices and previous research in the field. After that, the intervention programme was trialed with two classes (n=50) and evaluated by qualitative (classroom observations) and quantitative instruments (questionnaires). Evidence from the evaluation data showed that ICT has the potential to support the teaching and learning of English language through its positive impact on autonomy and motivation. The results also revealed that teachers have limited knowledge of the potential of ICT and they could play an indirect role in impeding its use. This study has shown how action research, as a self-reflective inquiry, could broaden our understanding of the role of ICT in language classes. The study concluded that ICT-supported teaching of English in Qatar should be accompanied by a positive ICT culture, reflective research, proper staff training, teacher networking and supportive educational leadership.

This research aims to evaluate the possible positive aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in English language teaching that occur when training learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL). The study seeks to understand how AI technology and methodologies enhance language learning and teaching, including the unique possibilities that arise when considering learners and educators with an evolving role in increasingly larger education systems and educational environments. It seeks to understand the potential of AI for personalizing English language training. Also, by asking the question study, if there are methods including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), and AI-based analytics or tools, can they personalize learning experiences for EFL-ESL learners? A qualitative study was completed through interviews with learners from different experience levels engaged in EFL or ESL programs that used AI-based tools in the pedagogy. The results demonstrate that AI has positive opportunities for personalized language education in the EFL and ESL contexts, the ability to enhance language skills in specific domains, and offer customized language learning experiences. This research has indicated challenges that surround cultural elements, technical challenges, and distinctly human teaching and learning elements. The research also offers helpful information for English language learning and recognizes the shifting nature of personal learning experience whether enhanced through AI, the practical requirement of incorporating AI will also provide a unique lens and perspective in English language learning and teaching, recognize the affordances AI can offer, alongside students and language learning never being exclusively cultural or human.

English language learning and teaching in Libya has a chequered history. It has come in and out of favor over the last 50 years. It has been a necessary commodity in the oil economy, a pariah during the Gaddafi era, and an enduring source of cultural capital in the twenty‐first century. However, to most Libyans, English language also represents the threat of cultural and linguistic displacement of Libyan culture; other invaders have attempted to do this in previous centuries. Against this historical background, in a country struggling to repair its governance and economic stability after a decade of civil unrest, English language teaching and learning in Libya is faced with some insurmountable challenges. These challenges also include systemic corruption and mismanagement in education in general, and a deeply ingrained culture of nepotism at all levels of politics and public administration.

Gamification in English language learning comprises of game mechanics which involve points, badges, leader boards and rewards. It is one of the approaches that has been used by the educators to change the pace of lesson in learning English. This approach has been used in the class because of the benefits that it can offer in English language learning. This paper focuses on the use of gamification in English language teaching (ELT) and learning by looking at the advantages it has brought to language skills. Gamification can be used in the teaching of the different skills in English and in terms of its benefits to English language learning, gamification makes learning more effective by making grammar learning more pleasurable, vocabulary memorisation more successful, communication and cooperation easier to be practiced and others. It is hoped that this paper will add to the literature on the applications of gamification in ELT and lead to the betterment of ELT in second language setting particularly in Malaysia.

Educational psychology has recently reflected a policy shift from focusing on “what goes wrong” in schools, including psychological, physical, and educational disabilities, to recognizing and promoting strengths and positive aspects of students and their environments. Within this scope, some lines of research have examined the extent to which setting personal high standards influences such positive outcomes as educational achievement and high level of motivation. The present study was motivated by the concern that Iranian English language teachers' setting high standards, i.e. perfectionism, may predict English language learners’ motivation and language achievement. Through cluster random sampling, a total of 30 English language teachers with more than one year of experience and 300 elementary English language learners were selected from English Language Institutes in Fars province, Iran. Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism scale and Motivations Underlying English Language Learning questionnaire were used to measure teachers' perfectionism and learners’ language learning motivation, respectively. The learners' final scores in the English courses were collected as a measure of their language learning achievement. The result of simple regression analysis revealed that the teachers' perfectionism did not predict English language learners’ motivation and language achievement. In other words, Iranian English language teachers' perfectionism did not account for any variance in these two variables of interest. Keywords: Perfectionism, Motivation, Language Learning Achievement

The continuous claim about the unsatisfactory performance of Malaysian graduates during interviews and at workplace in relation to their communication skills in English is alarming. This raises questions about the extent to which future workforce is prepared for this globalised world which requires them to interact and collaborate with individuals not only from their own country but also from other countries. At higher learning institutions, many English language educators face challenges in creating language learning environment that supports intercultural communication. In preparing future workforce for international communication, English language teaching and learning needs to go beyond the four walls of a classroom, over to other regions. An alternative to provide such language learning environment is by designing e-collaborative learning that provides opportunities for language learners to learn the language with students from other countries in a meaningful way. This paper showcases the impacts of e-collaborative English language learning conducted between engineering students of one technical university in Malaysia and one higher learning institution in Bordeaux, France for about one semester. At the end of the semester, the students from both countries wrote a reflection of their experience. The data from the reflective writing were analysed using thematic analysis to highlight the impacts of the e-collaborative learning on students' intercultural communicative competence. This study highlights key considerations to structure e-collaborative language teaching and learning among students of different regions.

Technology advancement has allowed our education to make innovations, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) has become one of the promising programs that facilitate fruitful learning outcomes for many fields of study especially English language learning. This reflective study evaluated the first iteration of Indonesian Massive Open Online Course (IMOOC), in 2017, perceived from both facilitator and participant point of view, taking the IMOOC IAIN Salatiga camp as the sample subject of the study. Our reflections started with vignettes on challenges and opportunities for online learning and some attributes generally referred to as the basic requirements of successful open online course, such as, curiosity and richness in ways of the learning materials, preferences in learning and flexibility for the aspects of learning style and facilitation, and user-friendliness for the aspects of information and communication technology. Finally, our reflections as a facilitator and a participant to the first IMOOC discovered assorted technical and module-related issues faced by facilitator and participants respectively but both assured of opportunities prospective to develop professionalism in English language teaching in the future. In a more serious note, this study has formulated 3 attributes for the basic requirements of successful open online course namely providing multimodal contents in accordance with participant critical thinking level, accommodating different learning styles with stimulating facilitation, and utilizing current and user-friendly digital tools applicable and integrative in Indonesian teaching context.

The paper intends to discuss English Language teachers' and students' perceptions and preferences toward English Language Teaching and Learning through online or virtual classes. The COVID 19 outbreak and the nationwide lockdown created a new set of environments for all. All educational institutions were closed down to prevent the widespread of the virus as a result the teaching and learning activities were disrupted extensively. All sorts of activities, including teaching and learning, were being carried out through online mode. Traditional classroom teachings shifted to online classroom teaching in order to continue with teaching and learning practices. The online mode of teaching became an effective strategy to continue the teaching and learning process without any interruption. The closure of educational institutions affected a large number of students. The abrupt change in teaching and learning methods impacted both the teachers as well as students. The main purpose of the study was to examine the perception and preferences of learners and teachers towards online learning and teaching. The study adopted the questionnaire method, and the data were collected from undergraduate students (Currently in B.A Third Semester) of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Madhya Pradesh by sending a questionnaire to participants' email ids. The English language teachers and students were selected for the present study. English language course is taught at this university as a compulsory subject for first-semester undergraduate students. Two questionnaires, one for the teachers' group and another for the students' group, were prepared to know the opinion of both the participant groups. The study reveals that students are more satisfied with face-to-face teaching than the online mode. All learners believe that learning and speaking English is an advantage, but they prefer classroom teaching over online. Similarly, the teachers’ group also showed their preferences for offline teaching over online teaching. The present paper elaborates on the findings of the present study.

This paper aims to make a critical discussion of Dogme ELT, an innovative pedagogy in English language teaching first developed by Thornbury (2000). This paper first provides a comprehensive review of second language acquisition and pedagogical theories as well as post-methods era perspectives in English language teaching. After that, the authors discuss different aspects of Dogme ELT and figure out the room for Dogme ELT in English language teaching in the post-methods era. Dogme ELT is rooted in a conglomerate of compatible theories in second language learning and teaching. The most noticeable perspective may be that the language teachers should not rely mainly on prescribed coursebooks, but teach design tasks based on learners’ problems and interests. There should be more studies on various aspects of Dogme ELT, although it satisfies most, if not all, basic principles in English language teaching theoretically. The authors also figure out gaps in research and recommendations for English language teachers and learners.

One of the objectives of communicative approach is language learners are able to reach communicative competence. The term was first introduced by Dell Hymes in terms of the “appropriateness of sociocultural significance of utterance”. It was later on developed by Canale and Swain (1980, 1983) into four areas of competence: grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence. In general, the emphasis of communicative competence is language learners can use the language they learn appropriately. Appropriately in this context refers to all aspects of language, including its culture. Thus, not only should English language learners be knowledgeable of how to speak and write English accurately, but they should also be able to understand its culture so that there will not be understanding when communicating with native speakers of English. Taking this concept into account, the primary objective of this research is to examine the implementation of communicative competence in English classes, particularly the one dealing with cultural competence. The subjects of the research are English teachers who teach General English and English Conversation classes. Their responses to the questions regarding the inclusion and the implementation of cultural competence or components in their classes and in the materials used in teaching-learning sessions are discussed in this study. Keywords : communicative competence and cultural competence

This meta-analysis reviews the collection of articles on technology and its impacts on English language learning and teaching. Effective technology in education can enhance learning experiences and provide access to a wide range of resources for students and educators. It can revolutionize how we teach and learn, making education more engaging, interactive, and inclusive. This article gives ten significant research articles published between 2013 and 2019. These articles are selected from 40 similar articles on technology and its impacts on English language learning and teaching. These articles were analyzed to explore the various ways in which technology has influenced the acquisition and instruction of the English language. The data were analysed in a systematic design. The findings indicate that technology has significantly converted the outmoded methods of language education and teaching, providing new opportunities for interactive and immersive educational skills. Such as online platforms, mobile applications, and multimedia resources, have been shown to enhance language proficiency, motivation, and engagement among learners. Overall, this meta-analysis highlights the need for further research and the development of effective educational strategies to maximize the benefits of skills in English language education and instruction.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various fields. Artificial Intelligence (AI) also has become a prominent technology in various fields, including education. One area where Artificial Intelligent (AI) has shown great potential is in English Language Teaching (ELT). With the rapid development of technology, Artificial Intelligent (AI) tools and applications have been integrated into language learning platforms, classrooms, and online resources, transforming the way English is taught and learned. In the realm of language teaching, Artificial Intelligent offers significant potential for enhancing the learning process and improving outcomes. English language teaching is no exception, as educators are exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligent (AI) to enhance language learning experiences. English language teaching is no exception, as Artificial Intelligent (AI) can enhance the learning experience for English language learners by providing personalized instruction, immediate feedback, and immersive language practice. This research addresses the extent to use artificial intelligence in English language teaching. Researcher used descriptive qualitative approach with questionnaire as technique of data collection. The results of this research are the Artificial Intelligence is needed in English language teaching. Artificial Intelligence also has negative and positive impact in English language teaching depend on utilized correctly and at the appropriate timing. Besides that, Artificial Intelligence also help students in improving their English skill like speaking, writing, and reading using product of Artificial Intelligence like Chat GPT, Quillbot, Grammarly, Plagiarism Checker, Paraphrasingtool.com. So, the use of Artificial Intelligent in English language teaching is very important or useful and also reducing the burden of teachers and improving teaching quality.

Recent studies have suggested that teacher and learner beliefs about second language instruction have a significant influence on language teaching and learning process and, consequently, on students’ achievements. However, in the Mozambican context, we still do not have studies focusing on learner and teacher beliefs about students and language proficiency, about teaching materials, about individual and cultural variations and beliefs about the learning process itself. Using ques- tionnaires and a focus group report, we look at the Mozambican linguistic profile, the learner and teacher beliefs and their influence in tertiary English Language Teaching (ELT) and learning. The results show that there is a need for creating an environment in which teachers’ and learners’ cultural background, beliefs and needs are considered so as to enable teachers to teach effectively, as well as enabling learners to achieve positive learning outcomes. Key words: beliefs, expectations, English Language Teaching, Mozambican students, Mozambique, second language learning

Metacognitive reading strategies play a significant role in reading comprehension and educational success. Being noticeably absent from many Iranian classrooms and largely unaware of by many language learners and teachers, metacognitive reading strategies have fallen into oblivion in English language teaching, research, learning, and assessment. The present study was an attempt to measure the metacognitive reading strategy (MRS) awareness among Iranian university students majoring in English Translation Studies. It also aimed at determining whether gender and learners’ different academic levels would make any difference in using various types of MRS. Furthermore, it investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ awareness of MRS and their reading comprehension performance. A sample of 45 EFL university students majoring in English Translation at Chabahar Maritime University participated in this study. They were asked to complete the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) questionnaire adapted from Tavakoli (2014) and to take a TOEFL Junior Standard Reading Comprehension Test. The results revealed that although the overall strategy use among these students was low (M=2.42), support reading strategies were used the most and problem-solving strategies were the least frequently used ones. Additionally, no significant difference was found between males and females as well as different academic levels in the use of MRS. No significant relationship was found between students’ overall use of metacognitive reading strategies and their reading comprehension achievement. The study concludes with a number of pedagogical implications and lists several guidelines for future research.

This contribution aims at presenting the underlying construct and the research design of a study carried out by the Roma Tre University unit of a 3-year national research project (PRIN), as well as the findings about English language (EL) teachers’ attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) as they emerge from the study and from the in-service teacher education course designed and implemented during the project. The study investigated native and non-native teachers’ understandings, beliefs and attitudes towards ELF and the challenges brought about by the notion of ELF awareness in English Language Teaching (ELT). This investigation was carried out through the online administration of two questionnaires, one for Italian non-native teachers of English teaching in the Italian school system, and one for native English language assistants working at university level. The survey findings informed the design of a post-graduate blended EL teacher education course, with a special focus on developing English language teachers’ awareness of the emerging realities of English, while providing an ELF-aware reflective approach to revisit the EL teachers’ syllabus design, lesson planning and implementation. Course participants’ feedback is presented and pedagogical implications for EL teacher education are illustrated and discussed.