Search results

Universiti Brunei Darussalam has been fostering the study of foreign languages in Brunei to expand their undergraduates’ accessibility in the job market and overall give them equal opportunities to have a quality foreign language learning experience. This paper is a critical analysis of past studies by Ainol and Isarji’s (2009) on foreign language learners at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and Farhana’s (2019) study on Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s (UBD) foreign language learners’ motivation. A focused investigation at how different motivation types, namely intrinsic, extrinsic, instrumental, and integrative, affect foreign language learners at the university level in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. A pattern observed in Brunei and Malaysian universities is that intrinsic motivation is the foundation of foreign language learning. Bruneian undergraduates are learning out of interest, and their Malaysian counterparts are learning because they enjoy the experience. While the university's language policy determines the number of students learning a foreign language each semester, the outcome is still highly dependent on the student's motivation to learn the foreign language.

This study attempts to assess the readiness of Saudi students for independent/autonomous learning, with a focus on learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The study used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to gain insights from a population of 319 students (aged 15-24) about their perceptions of responsibilities, decision-making abilities, motivation, involvement in autonomy-related activities, and capacity to take charge of their own learning. The findings of the study confirmed the relatively low readiness of Saudi EFL learners for independent learning (M = 3.06 on a scale of 1 to 5, SD =.31). Learners demonstrated low responsibility levels, since only 17.27% of them perceived that they accept sole responsibility for their EFL learning. Respondents reported a moderate level of ability (M = 3.63) and motivation (M = 3.70) to learn English. A considerable percentage of participants (27.29%) reported that they are rarely involved in self-directed activities; they demonstrated high levels of teacher dependency and low levels of learner independence. Despite the participants’ reasonable level of awareness of the nature of learner autonomy and its demands, their responses identified them as EFL learners with low autonomy. This study informs EFL learning stakeholders in Saudi Arabia that learners’ readiness for such conditions must be developed before interventions aimed at promoting autonomy are implemented in this context.

.هيتاذ ةروصب ةيزيلجنلإا ةغللا ملعتل نييدوعسلا بلاطلا ةيزهاج ىدم ميقت نأ ةساردلا هذه لواحت تفظونايبتسا ةساردلا ا تلاباقمو رظن ةهجو ىلع لوصحلل319 لوح ابلاط يتاذ لكشب ملعتلل ةيلوئسملا مهلمحت ىدمةيعفادلا ،رارقلا ذاختا ىلع مهتردق ، ةغللا ملعتلةيبنجلاا ةغللا ملعتل نييدوعسلا بلاطلا ةيزهاج فعض ةساردلا جئاتن تتبثا .يتاذ لكشب ملعتلا ىلع ةردقلاو ،ةيتاذلا ةطشنلأا يف ةكراشملا ،يلجنلإا = طسوتم( يتاذ لكشب ةيز3.06 = يرايعم فارحنا ،31. ثيح يتاذ لكشب ملعتلل ةيلوئسملل مهلمحت فعض نوكراشملا تبثا .)تبسن ام ىعداه طقف(17.27 ملعتلا ىلع ةردقلل ةطسوتم تايوتسم نوكراشملا سكع نيح يف كلذل مهلمحت نيكراشملا يلامجا نم )%3.63ةيعفادلاو ) لجنلإا ةغللا ملعتل( ةيزي3.70( نيكراشملا نم ةريبك ةبسن سكعت .)27.83يف مهتكراشم مدع )% يتاذلا ملعتلا ةطشنأ ريبك لكشب دامتعلااولوح نوكراشملا اهادبا يتلا ةطسوتملا تايوتسملا نم مغرلا ىلع .سفنلا ىلع دامتعلاا فعضو ملعملا ىلع فارتعلاا بمهتاباجا نا لاا هتابلطتمو يتاذلا ملعتلا ةيمهأ هذه يصوت .يتاذلا ملعتلل مهتيزهاج مدع تتبثا ةلباقملا ةلئساو نايبتسلاا ىلعلا جمد ةلواحم لبق يتاذلا ملعتلل ةبسانملا ةئيبلا ريفوتب ةيدوعسلا ةيبرعلا ةكلمملا يف ةيزيلجنلإا ةغللا ملعت نع نيلوئسملا ةساردلا يف بلاط .ملعتلا نم عونلا اذه

The present study focuses on the link between foreign language anxiety (FLA), self-perceived proficiency, and multilingualism in the under-explored English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context of Saudi Arabia. Ninety-six Arabic undergraduate college-level EFL students (56 males, 40 females) answered the Arabic version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS – Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). The analyses revealed that Saudi multilinguals suffered from low to moderate levels of FLA with female participants experiencing more anxiety than their male counterparts. Multiple regression analyses revealed that gender and self-perceived proficiency explained over a quarter of variance in FLA. Furthermore, the study did not find any role of experience abroad in predicting FLA.

Acquiring a foreign language may be a lifelong endeavor, and this requires one to approach it from a lifelong learning perspective. However, learners may not always be ready for such an approach. It is important to know where learners stand in their orientations toward learning and consider this when planning educational activities. Therefore, it is necessary to determine language learners’ readiness for lifelong learning (LLL) in order to support their language development. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to identify the LLL propensities of some Turkish and Emirati university students learning English as a foreign language in their local contexts. The study included 61 Emirati and 47 Turkish students, with a mean age of 19. Data were collected using a research tool with three sections: Demographics, the Lifelong Learning Tendency Scale (LLLTS – developed by Coskun & Demirel (2012)), and a survey with six open-ended questions. Student’s t-test, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare the quantitative data in terms of the participants’ nationalities, gender and length of study. The results showed that both Turkish and Emirati students had a moderate level of propensity for LLL. However, the Turkish students’ overall LLLTS scores as well as certain sub-skills were found to be higher than those of the Emirati students. Gender was not found to make a significant difference in the students’ LLL orientations, while motivation was found to be lower at a statistically significant level for those learning English for more than a year. Suggestions are offered for the development of language learners’ LLL skills.

Grounded in second-language acquisition (SLA) field, with a particular focus on the positive psychology (PP) theoretical perspective, this study examined the potential interplay between learning engagement (LE) and language learning strategies (LLSs), and their impact on language learning achievement of Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) learners.

This quantitative study adopted a cross-sectional design using an online questionnaire distributed to 168 Saudi EFL college-level students in Saudi Arabia. Various statistical analyses (descriptive analyses, correlations and simple linear regression) were used.

The findings revealed that the most frequently LLSs used were metacognitive, followed by compensation, cognitive, affective, social and memory strategies. High levels of behavioral, followed by cognitive, emotional and agentic, engagement were reported. There was a significant and positive correlation between LLS and LE. LLS use and LE were significant predictors of language learning achievement.

The findings contribute to the domain of second language (L2) educational research and SLA field by emphasizing the importance of researching positive psychological factors such as engagement in relation to individual learners' learning strategies and styles to enhance learners' language learning achievement. A number of pedagogical implications for policymakers, educational stakeholders and foreign language teachers were provided.

An examination of the research literature suggests that no attempt has been made to examine learner autonomy development within female university-level English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Given that English has become the world’s predominant lingua franca for academia, business, and politics, the purpose of this paper, therefore, is to fill this gap in the literature.

This is a qualitative case study that aims to explore learner autonomy in vocabulary development.

The results showed that teachers are cognizant of the concept of learner autonomy. However, they are not all certain of the benefits of autonomous vocabulary learning. This study reveals how six adult learners’ levels of autonomy are highly influenced by their teachers’ practices. This study draws out suggestions for English language teachers who promote learner autonomy theory and practice. It also offers specific guidance, models, and adapted learning approaches of how to promote autonomy inside the classroom.

This study encountered several limitations. The first is time: the study took place over the course of two months in the Summer of 2016, when students were fully encumbered with schoolwork and social duties. The recruitment of participants during that time was a challenge. Some of the students who agreed to participate in the study were not fully engaged in the research. Additionally, the study faced difficulties with faculty commitment – one of the professors delayed the interview session multiple times and perceived some of the interview questions negatively. In addition, Dickinson’s (1993) characteristics of learner autonomy are largely related to the opportunities that are presented to the students by the teacher. It appears that Dickinson’s scale was meant to be used to identify students’ level of autonomy, particularly inside the classroom. However, because of some of the examples of activities pertaining to how they learned vocabulary outside the classroom, they were not related to classroom teaching. Also, the number of the participants is limited in this study.

A future study could be undertaken to measure and quantitatively analyze learners’ vocabulary development on a larger scale. Research could also be conducted using a pretest, an intervention, and a posttest to measure the effectiveness of learning vocabulary autonomously. In addition, other pedagogical approaches could be utilized to measure EFL students’ intrinsic motivation and autonomy, which play critical roles in learning. Allowing learners to self-select their preferred method of learning can help them to develop their vocabulary knowledge. The findings from this study reveal that learner autonomy plays a significant role in enhancing EFL students’ vocabulary development.

When students learn vocabulary autonomously, they are better able to source the lingua franca’s core pronunciation of a word and its spelling without the influence of the teacher’s cultural background. Given the magnitude of teachers’ workloads, they may lack the time for designing lessons that adequately meet the needs of diverse learners. Therefore, the practical way to ameliorate the problem of inadequate time is to provide them with methods (e.g. using strategies such as inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and project-based learning) that they can use to more readily foster learner autonomy.

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of Language Enhancement Program (LEP) activities in enhancing the oral communication skills of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at King Khalid University.

A mixed-method study design was used. Simple random sampling techniques were adopted to recruit the study participants. For the survey, a total of 58 male students were recruited and for interviews, 20 male students were selected. The 58 participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The traditional method was adopted to teach the control group, while LEP activities were conducted to teach the experimental group.

A post-test was conducted to examine the oral communication skills of the participants of the experimental group. The scores of both groups were analyzed using a t-test value at a significant level of 0.05. The content analysis method was adopted to assess the enhancement of the oral communication of the students enrolled in the LEP. The questionnaires and interview results showed that the LEP program has a central focus on improving students' oral communication skills.

It is limited to the EFL students at King Khalid University.

LEP is a good program and can be implemented in Saudi Universities.

Students can interact with one another through the LEP activities that promote their English proficiency as well as their personality characteristics.

The paper spells out the role of LEP activities in improving students' oral communication in English and students' opinions about LEP activities in enhancing their English language in different types of communicative contexts. Further, it suggests some pedagogical implications for overcoming the difficulties faced by EFL students in various communicative contexts.

This research shows how social media has affected learning at present during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has become the largest and most convenient area of communication. In the current scenario, it seems that social networking sites not only had a profound impact on our social structure and intra-social interaction, but also affected education in general and learning English language in particular. It has been proven that these various social media platforms have created a realm of digital environment in today's new-age learning. Social media platforms are social networking sites through which people interact and communicate with each other easily and conveniently. Undoubtedly and unquestionably, social networking has been proven to be a global phenomenon that has caused a vast paradigm shift in the world of Learning and education during the current pandemic. Therefore, the present study aims to reach the extent of the impact of the various social media platforms on learning English language during the COVID-19 pandemic from the students' point of view.

The study was conducted at the undergraduate level for English language learners. The sample comprised 166 undergraduate students at Najran University. A survey questionnaire was administered to find out the impact of various social media platforms and social networking sites on learning English language in the academic year of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to highlight possible suggestions for improving future virtual language learning.

The findings of the study contributed to the area of online learning of English language during the COVID-19 pandemic. Final results confirmed that the utilization of social media has been significantly perceived to have positively impacted learning English language in terms of writing style, reading skills, listening and lexical variation, communication skills and grammar usage.

The findings of the study can serve as fundamental indicators to implement prompt pedagogical reformations, for which a number of pedagogical implications can be proposed. Another equally important pedagogical implication is to design and provide professional development and training sessions to both students and educators on the ultimate utilization of social media as instructional technologies in the context of English language teaching and learning.

This research provides insights in developing policies to assist with the integration and utilization of social media platforms as instructional technologies in the context of English language teaching and learning and how institutions can respond to the advent of advancing technology, especially during and after the COVID-19 era. A model to improve online English language learning process is recommended as a guideline for all educators offering online learning.

Based on an experimental study on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students, at the Business Department at the University of Bisha, the purpose of the study is to examine the effect of chatbot use on learning ESP in online classrooms during COVID-19 and find out how Dialogflow chabot can be a useful and interactive online platform to help ESP learners in learning vocabulary well.

The research paper is based on an experimental study of two groups, an experiential group and a controlled group. Two tests were carried out. Pre-tests and post-test of vocabulary knowledge were conducted for both groups to explore the usefulness of using the Dialogflow chatbot in learning ESP vocabulary. A designed chatbot content was prepared and included all the vocabulary details related to words' synonyms and a brief explanation of words’ meanings. An informal interview is another tool used in the study. The purpose of using the interview with the participants was to elicit more data from the participants about using the chatbot and about how and in what aspects chatbot using the conversational program was useful and productive.

The findings of the study explored that the use of chatbots plays a major role in enhancing and learning ESP vocabulary. That was clear as the results showed that the students who used the chatbot Dialogflow in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group.

The study displays an important pedagogical implication as the use of chatbots could be applied in several settings to improve language learning in general or learning ESP courses in particular. Chatbot creates an interesting environment to foster build good interactions where negotiation of meaning takes place clearly seems to be of great benefit to help learners advance in their L2 lexical development.

Examining and exploring whether the use of chatbots plays a major role in enhancing and learning ESP vocabulary in English as Foreign Language setting.

This study explores whether metacognitive strategy training can influence the lexical knowledge of L2 learners of the present study, and what they think about the use of metacognitive strategies in language learning classes. To do so, a 50-item multiple-choice vocabulary test, developed by the researchers based upon Nation’s (1990) levels of language proficiency, was employed to measure the learners’ vocabulary knowledge progress during the period of instruction. The instruction received by the experimental group was based on the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) Model, developed and validated by Chamot and O’Malley (1994). The findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in their endeavors for comprehending and producing vocabulary. This may be attributed to the fact that after this intervention, participants have developed their metacognitive awareness and their thinking skills. The study concludes with pedagogical implications and highlights avenues for future research.

ﺗ مّ د ﻣ ﺞ ا ﺳ ﺗ ر ا ﺗ ﯾ ﺟ ﯾ ﺎ ت ﻣ ﺎ و ر ا ء ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﯾ ﺔ (MS) ، ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻲ ﺗ ﻌ ﺗ ﺑ ر ا ﻟ ﻔ ﺋ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻔ ر ﻋ ﯾ ﺔ ا ﻟ ر ﺋ ﯾ ﺳ ﯾ ﺔ ﻻ ﺳ ﺗ ر ا ﺗ ﯾ ﺟ ﯾ ﺎ ت ﺗ ﻌ ﻠّ م ا ﻟ ﻠّ ﻐ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣ ﻧ ﺎ ھ ﺞ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠّ م ا ﻟ ﻠّ ﻐ ﺔ ا ﻷ ﺟ ﻧ ﺑ ﯾ ﺔ ﻟ ﺗ ﺳ ﮭ ﯾ ل ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻔ ﻛ ﯾ ر ا ﻟ ﻌ ﺎ ﻟ ﻲ و ا ﻟ ﺗ ﺧ ط ﯾ ط ا ﻟ ذ ا ﺗ ﻲ و ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠّ م ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺳ ﺗ ﻘِّل و ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ م ا ﻷ ﻓ ﺿ ل ﻓ ﻲ ﻧ ﮭ ﺎ ﯾ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻣ ط ﺎ ف . و ﻓ ﻘًﺎ ﻟ ذ ﻟ ك ، ﺗ ﻌ دّ ھ ذ ه ا ﻟ دّر ا ﺳ ﺔ ﻣ ﺣ ﺎ و ﻟ ﺔً ﻟ ﻺ ﺟ ﺎ ﺑ ﺔ ﻋ ﻣ ﺎ إ ذ ا ﻛ ﺎ ن ا ﻟ ﺗ د ر ﯾ ب ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ا ﺳ ﺗ ر ا ﺗ ﯾ ﺟ ﯾ ﺔ ﻣ ﺎ و ر ا ء ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﻲ ﯾ ﻣ ﻛ ن أ ن ﯾ ؤ ﺛّ ر ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻣُﻌ ﺟ ﻣ ﯾ ﺔ ﻟ ﻠ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن و ﻣ ﺎ ذ ا ﯾ ﻔ ﻛّر ﻓ ﯾ ﮫ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠّ ﻣ و ن ﺣ ول ﺗ د ر ﯾ س ا ﺳ ﺗ ر ا ﺗ ﯾ ﺟ ﯾ ﺎ ت ﻣ ﺎ و ر ا ء ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﯾ ﺔ . و ﻟ ﻠ ﻘ ﯾ ﺎ م ﺑ ذ ﻟ ك ، ﺗ مّ ا ﺳ ﺗ ﺧ د ا م ا ﺧ ﺗ ﺑ ﺎ ر ﻣ ﻛ و ن ﻣ ن 50 ﻋ ﻧ ﺻ ر اً ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ د د ا ﻻ ﺧ ﺗ ﯾ ﺎ ر ا ت ا ﻟّ ذ ي ﺗ مّ ﺗ ط و ﯾ ر ه ﺑ و ا ﺳ ط ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺑ ﺎ ﺣ ﺛ ﯾ ن ا ﺳ ﺗ ﻧ ﺎ دًا إ ﻟ ﻰ ﻣ ﺳ ﺗ و ﯾ ﺎ ت ا ﻟ ﻛ ﻔ ﺎ ء ة ا ﻟ ﻠ ﻐ و ﯾ ﺔ ﻟ د ى ا ﻟ ﺷ ﻌ ب (Nation) (1990 م ( ، ﻟ ﻘ ﯾ ﺎ س ﺗ ط وّ ر ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻔ ر د ا ت أ ﺛ ﻧ ﺎ ء ﻓ ﺗ ر ة اﻟ ﺗد ر ﯾ س . ا ﺳ ﺗ ﻧ د ت ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﯾ ﻣ ﺎ ت ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻲ ﺗ ﻠ ﻘّﺗ ﮭ ﺎ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺟ ﻣ و ﻋ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺗ ﺟ ر ﯾ ﺑ ﯾ ﺔ إ ﻟ ﻰ ﻧ ﻣ و ذ ج ﻣ ﻧ ﮭ ﺞ ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ م ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﻲ ا ﻷ ﻛ ﺎ د ﯾ ﻣ ﻲ ) CALLA ( ا ﻟ ذّي أ ﻋ دّه و و ا ﻓ ق ﻋﻠ ﯾ ﮫ ﺷﺎ ﻣو ت وأ وﻣﺎﻟ ﻲ ) 1994 ( . ﻛ ﺷ ﻔ ت ا ﻟ ﻧ ﺗ ﺎ ﺋ ﺞ أ نّ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺟ ﻣ و ﻋ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺗ ﺟ ر ﯾ ﺑ ﯾ ﺔ ﺗ ﻔ و ﻗ ت ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺟ ﻣ و ﻋ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺗ ﺣ ﻛ ﻣ ﯾ ﺔ ﺑ ﺎ ﻟ ﻧّﺳ ﺑ ﺔ ﻟ ﻔ ﮭ م و إ ﻧ ﺗ ﺎ ج ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻔ ر د ا ت . ﻣن اﻟ ﻣﻣﮑن أ ن ﯾﻌود ذ ﻟ ك إ ﻟ ﻰ ﺣ ﻘ ﯾ ﻘ ﺔ أ نّ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن ﺑ ﻌ د ھ ذ ا ا ﻟ ﻌ ﻼ ج ﯾ ﻣ ﻛ ﻧ ﮭ م ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻔ ﻛ ﯾ ر أ ﻛ ﺛ ر و ر ا ء ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻌ ر ﻓ ﯾ ﺔ و ﺗ ط و ﯾ ر ﺗ ﻘ دّم ﺗ ﻔ ﻛ ﯾ ر ھ م . ﺗ ﺧ ﺗ ﺗ م ا ﻟ دّر ا ﺳ ﺔ ﺑ ذ ﮐ ر ﺑ ﻌ ض ا ﻵ ﻓ ﺎ ق ا ﻟ ﺗ ر ﺑ و ﯾّﺔ و ﺗ ﺳ ﻠ ﯾ ط ا ﻟ ﺿّو ء ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺑ ﻌ ض ا ﻟ ﺳّﺑ ل ﻟ ﻠ ﺑ ﺣ ث ﻓ ﻲ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺳ ﺗ ﻘ ﺑ ل .