Exploring Efl Students’ Descriptive Paragraph Writing Ability Through Critical Assessment Process

The present study examines the effect of group work and collaborative writing on EFL learners' writing ability at elementary level.Convenience sampling is used in this research.64 learners in two groups (treatment & control) participated in the study.The Learners in treatment group wrote their writings collaboratively while the other group wrote them individually.The writing samples were rated based on the TOEFL iBT task 2 writing scoring rubric (ETS, 2006).The results showed that both the treatment group and the control group improved significantly from the beginning to the end of the instruction as assessed through the use of two paired samples t tests (Treatment Group t(30) = -26.42,p = .000;Control Group t(32) = -15.70,p = .000).However, the two groups showed a significant difference in their posttest (t (62) = 2.64, p = .01).

This writing aims at investigating Muhammadiyah University EFL learners’ grammar errors in writing descriptive paragraphs and the causes of the errors. This employed a qualitative research in descriptive design by using error analysis. investigating four aspects of grammar errors including addition, omission, misformation and misordering which is called surface strategy taxonomy, they thenwere analyzed by employing grammar units of analysis. These units were applied to identify errors of sentence elements. From the investigation, it is found that EFL learners’ tendency of making grammar errors in writing descriptive paragraphs was sourced from Bahasa Indonesia interference. They adopted a set of rule in Bahasa Indonesia into target language. Key Terms: Errors, Descriptive paragraphs, and Surface strategy taxonomy.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between behavioral and emotional engagement of Iranian EFL learners and their attachment to their teachers. Both teachers’ and students’ perceptions of their relationships and students’ engagement have been taken into account. Questionnaire data provided by 311 EFL students and 70 EFL teachers was used to investigate the relation between (a) teacher-student attachment and EFL learners’ engagement, (b) teacher-student secure attachment and EFL learners’ engagement, (c) teacher-student insecure attachment and EFL learners’ engagement, (d) teacher-student secure attachment and EFL learners’ behavioral engagement, (e) teacher-student insecure attachment and EFL learners’ behavioral engagement, (f) teacher-student secure attachment and EFL learners’ emotional engagement, and (g) teacher-student insecure attachment and EFL learners’ emotional engagement. The analysis of teachers and students’ questionnaire data showed that teacher-student attachment was correlated with learners’ engagement. The student participants reported that secure attachment positively affected behavioral and emotional engagement while insecure attachment had a negative effect. The teacher participants reported that attachment with students had weak and non-significant relationship with their students’ behavioral and emotional engagement. These findings and their major pedagogical implications are discussed.

This study aimed to explore the applicability of VR-based language learning in an EFL context. An online survey was conducted to understand the structural relationship between EFL learners' cognitive absorption, behavioral intention to use VR for English learning, and perceptions regarding the sense of immersion created by VR. The hedonic motivation system adoption model (HMSAM) was adopted, and 230 valid responses were retrieved for statistical analyses. The results showed that most constructs of HMSAM, namely, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, curiosity, joy, control, behavioral intention to use, and immersion, were significantly associated with other constructs. VR's immersion had a positive significant influence on the behavioral intention of EFL learners to engage in VR-based language learning. It was revealed that curiosity was not a significant predictor for immersion. Moreover, a within-subject neurophysiological experiment was conducted with 33 EFL learners who experienced both VR-based and non-VR-based settings to examine the influence of VR technologies on their cognitive absorption and learning outcomes. Results demonstrated that VR did increase the participants' cognitive absorption; furthermore, participants had better retention about the learned contents in VR-based setting. The findings have practical and theoretical implications based on the findings of the survey and experiment.

Due to a rapid development and expansion of technology and, as a result, Web 2.0 technologies are providing both teachers and learners with new solutions to the limitations of traditional method in the field of language teaching and learning. The research compared students’ writing ability before and after they were taught through blog, a new medium or tool for written communication and interaction in many different languages around the world. The research design is a kind of one group pretest posttest. Participants were 35 first-year students. They were divided into eight groups. Four or five students in each group created a blog, www.blogger.com, and they worked together for twelve weeks to produce six pieces of writing assignments. Each member in the group worked through providing comments, editing and revising on the blog until the group got a final writing and submitted that to the teacher for grading. The instruments used in this study were: O two writing tests O a questionnaire surveying students’ attitude toward learning through blogs, and O postings on blogs to reflect their learning experiences. The results revealed that after the students worked together on weblogs, their English writing mean score of the posttest was higher than that of the pretest, and they had positive attitudes towards using weblogs in learning. Regarding cooperative learning experiences through using weblogs, most students thought that it was interesting, a new experience to work with their friends on the weblogs.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between foreign language causal attributions, metacognitive self-regulation and speaking performance of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 202 intermediate EFL students, studying English at private language teaching institutes in three provinces of Hamedan, Golestan, and Khuzestan were selected based on the convenience sampling procedure. To collect data, Causal Dimension Scale II (CDS II) (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992) and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie, 1991) were employed. Moreover, the interview section of IELTS Exam was also used to measure speaking ability of the learners. The results of the study showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the participants’ L2 speaking ability and the locus of causality and the internal control dimensions of attribution theory. But, there was significant negative correlation between L2 speaking ability and the external control and the stability dimensions. There was also positive significant correlation between L2 speaking ability and metacognitive self-regulation. Moreover, it was found out that successful and unsuccessful EFL learners attributed their success and failure in L2 speaking performance mainly to internal factors. It was also found that among the independent variables of the study, meta-cognitive self-regulation was the stronger predictor of the participants' L2 speaking performance. The findings of this study are hoped to suggest a number of implications for EFL teachers, learners, syllabus designers, and parents.

This study was to investigate the impact of language experience and academic level on the perceived needs of Iranian undergraduate EFL learners. Two groups of Iranian TEFL female students (freshmen and senior) were compared regarding their preferences, perceived needs and perceptions of different activity types about language learning. To collect data, Sihong's (2007) needs analysis questionnaire for English language needs was utilized. Thirty two freshman and twenty nine senior MA students with the age range of 25-35 were considered as the subject of this study. They were asked to fill out the questionnaire through email and they were given the confidence that the collected data would remain anonymous. Results revealed that there was a significant difference between freshman and senior EFL learners in their preferences, needs and opinions about various types of activities, and various aspects of language education. The findings also revealed that freshmen students required more practice in grammar and pronunciation than vocabulary for them. The most difficult components of language were pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar respectively; however, the senior students reported that vocabulary and grammar were the most difficult component of language skill and pronunciation was the least one.

This preliminary study is motivated by the role of pragmatic markers in both spoken and written communication, which reflects speaking fluency. It employs Beeching’s (2016) matched-guise methodology, utilizing online forms to engage participants from two different locations. The primary aim of this study is to investigate EFL learners’ preferences for using pragmatic markers in their utterances. To gather data, Google Forms were distributed to universities students in two different locations. A total of 39 participants completed the questionnaire, among them were 17 respondents from Central Java, 1 from Bali, 1 from West Java, and 20 from West Kalimantan. Notably, 21 participants identified English as their second language, while 18 reported it as their third language. Upon analysis, the data indicated that participants perceived utterances containing the pragmatic markers "well," "I mean," and "sort of" as embodying polite, direct, and friendly attitudes. While “like” tends to contribute to a sense of indirectness in communication, the utterances featuring "you know" and "just" had no significant impact on the directness of the statements. Future researchers should investigate the broader categories and contextual variations of these markers that were potentially overlooked in the current study.

This study focused on the relationships among language learners' communication-related variables including willingness to start a communication (WTC), self-perceived communication competence (SPCC), communication apprehension (CA) and different subcomponents of emotional intelligence (EI). To this end a battery of questionnaires (WTC=20 items, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA=24), SelfPerceived Communication Competence (SPCC =12), Emotional quotient inventory (EQI=133)) were distributed among 340 randomly selected Iranian EFL learners in Yasuj, Iran. Correlation and regression analyses showed that EFL student' EI dimensions were correlated with their WTC, SPCC, and CA. All five EI dimensions were found to be positively and significantly correlated with WTC (at p<0.01). On the contrary, the correlation among EI constructs and CA were all negatively significant. Moreover, EFL learners' EI dimensions could significantly predict their WTC and other communication related variables. Findings of the study would have implications for both practicing and prospective teachers.

This study examined the attitudes toward online learning of EFL students by applying technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs along with the characteristics of the online learning system and the experience of online learning as external independent variables. The study used a quantitative approach. The researchers collected data by administering a questionnaire using Microsoft’s online form to the tertiary students who were studying for their Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) in the English Language and Literature Department at Al-Balqa Applied University – Jordan. . One hundred eighty-five students out of 602 responded to the questionnaire. The researchers used SPSS and Structural Equational Modeling (SEM – Smart PLS) to analyze the data. Among the findings, the characteristics of an online learning system significantly affected perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitudes, and the behavioral intentions (BIs) of EFL learners. In contrast, EFL learners’ PEOU negatively affected their attitudes towards online learning and BIs. Finally, the attitudes of students who studied online for four semesters or more were negative compared to those who took less than four semesters online. These findings could be attributed to the supposedly temporary and rapid shift to online learning due to Covid-19 lockdown measures. This study is significant because it develops an understanding of tertiary EFL attitudes towards online learning. It also reflects on their behavioral intentions to utilize online learning after the pandemic. The researchers believe that this is the first study to examine EFL learners’ attitudes and BIs on using online learning during/after the pandemic in Jordan using TAM.

Indonesian EFL learners (IELs) have been familiar with the practice of English Honorifics/EHs (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Sir and Ma�am) for decades. Mr, Mrs, Miss are followed by family name as the clan identity and Sir and Ma�am are for respectful address for adult man and woman. However, in Indonesia, it�s been the phenomenon because there seem to be a collision between how EFL learners practice EHs with what EHs are supposed to be used in English culture. The purpose of this study is to clarify and verify how Indonesian EFL learners perceive on EHs that have been interpreted and practiced for decades in Indonesia. This study applies double approaches. First, cross cultural study which employs content analysis by means of analyzing how EHs are interpreted and practiced under the setting of Indonesian culture. The sources to be analyzed are obtained from English handouts, chats and texts in social media among EFL students, as well as script deriving from teacher-EFL students� classroom interaction. Second, case study which employs triangulation technique to examine some aforementioned sources. The result reveals that Indonesian EFL learners perceive that the practice of EHs (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Sir, Ma�am) have no difference with the ones applied in Indonesian culture. It means that there is no more difference in function between Mrs and Miss, Ma�am, Mr and Sir. Those have been considered the same in practice with Indonesian Honorifics (IHs) like ibu (Ma�am), bapak (Mr), nyonya (Mrs), dan nona (Miss) even though they have different function. �These have been conducted beyond EFL learners� culture awareness of how native speaker of English uses EHs because there is an assumption that learning English doesn�t include learning its culture. For most Indonesian EFL learners, learning English as a foreign language is a matter of learning basic skills and linguistic features. So, if there are any further cultural encounters during learning English, they will be switched automatically to Indonesian culture. This study recommends English teachers to keep teaching English culture during teaching English in order to avoid learners� misunderstanding in communication with English speaking people.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL Learners’ Cultural intelligence (CQ) and their performance on the IELTS Listening Module. Sixty advanced EFL students majoring in English translation at University of Zanjan were matched for the study through the Oxford Quick Placement Test. Cultural Intelligence Scale developed and validated by Ang et al. (2007) was used to assess the participants' cultural intelligence. The IELTS Listening Module and the Cultural Intelligence Scale were administered to the participants who were willing to take part in this study. The correlational analysis of the results revealed that there exists a statistically significant relationship between EFL learners’ CQ and their performance on IELTS Listening Module. Furthermore, running multiple regression analysis indicated that of the four components of CQ (i.e. metacognitive, cognitive, behavioral, and motivational CQs), motivational CQ is the best predictor forthe listening ability of EFL learners. The findings of the study highlight the importance of incorporating programs for teaching culture in the EFL classroom, as enhancing cultural intelligence related skills at schools and universities can promote better communicational skills. Keywords : Culture, cultural intelligence (CQ), teaching culture, listening comprehension, EFL learners

English acquired by EFL learners is categorized as interlanguage, which means that their English is developing towards native like competence. In Indonesian context, the EFL learners’ vocabulary and sentence structure mastery is insufficient. Comprehending main propositions or sentence meanings require cognitive process of both semantic and structural construction. Within such insufficient mastery of English, the researchers intend to uncover the cognitive process EFL learners applied to comprehend main propositions of complex sentences. For this purpose of the study, the researches obtained the main propositions that the learners comprehended from three complex sentences assigned to them to read. Soon after completing the comprehension, the learners were assigned to write their retrospective introspection (mental process they were experiencing during the comprehension). The two types of data were analyzed qualitatively. The research findings show that 65.24% of the EFL learners applied semantic construction, 25.24% used discourse analysis, and 9.52% applied syntactical construction. This indicated that in comprehending sentence meaning, 90.48% EFL learners relied more on words and discourse meanings rather than on sentence structure or on their combination.

This paper examined the relationship between upper intermediate female and male EFL learners’ learning styles and their performances on reading journalistic texts. Moreover, the study checked whether the gender of the participants has any impact on their performances on reading journalistic text styles. To this end, 30 female and 30 male homogeneous participants aged 22 to 45 years old, were selected based on their performance on Oxford Placement Test (OPT). To identify the participants’ learning styles, a questionnaire was distributed among the participants. The participants also sat for a test of reading journalistic texts designed by the researchers. The results indicated that learning style as a composite variable could predict the female learners’ reading of journalistic materials, and that group learning style was significantly correlated with reading journalistic texts. The data analysis, furthermore, revealed that learning style could not significantly predict male EFL learner’s performance on journalistic reading texts. Moreover, the differences between the learning styles of male and females EFL learners could not bring about significant changes in their reading journalistic texts. The results have some implications for EFL teachers and students, material developers, and curriculum designers.

This study investigates the impact of ChatGPT on the writing abilities of undergraduate English students, focusing on its effects on grammar, vocabulary, coherence, and structural organization. This research investigates how ChatGPT affects educational writing among students as well as their tool opinions and usage difficulties within Pakistani educational contexts. Undergraduate English students who total 371 in number participated in the research by completing this study's structured questionnaire through purposive sampling. A study using SPSS produced descriptive results which included frequency data distributions combined with percentages alongside mean scores. The research instrument solicited students' knowledge regarding ChatGPT together with its effects on writing abilities and their confidence in its accuracy and potential difficulties. The data shows that students benefit substantially from ChatGPT in their writing tasks by developing stronger skills for grammar usage as well as vocabulary control and improved essay organization. Most students who used ChatGPT noticed its positive effects on their writing capabilities while noticing a decrease in their errors in assignments. Students expressed worries regarding their heavy use of the tool and authenticity issues and imperfect suggestions it sometimes provided. Students recognized how ChatGPT provided efficient assistance by saving their time while generating suitable ideas for their academic assignments. The research puts restrictions on its results because of studying English undergraduate students in Pakistan yet this limit external application of findings. The use of self-reported data in the research might produce flawed results because of possible respondent bias. Future researchers should study the long-term consequences of ChatGPT for writing skills together with ethics and the precision of academic content generation. The research indicates ChatGPT delivers a beneficial writing skills improvement system that functions alongside standard educational approaches. Academic institutions must create regulations which help teachers exploit AI resources properly while keeping intellectual authenticity intact in student artworks. Institutional leaders should welcome ChatGPT into educational programs through curriculum integration accompanied by discussion of its restrictions. The results of this study enhance current academic research about the implementation of AI in education by documenting how ChatGPT influences undergraduate composition abilities. This paper examines the benefits alongside difficulties of AI-driven tools in academic environments while presenting guidelines for educational institutions and the government. More investigation is required to evaluate both the moral implications and extended outcomes that emerge when students employ AI for educational assistance.