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Background: Although problem based learning has a great potential to promote learning outcomes as well as cognitive abilities, the number of previous studies investigating this potential on critical thinking, reading comprehension abilities and attitudes in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context is scarce. Also, the number of studies comparing the effectiveness of online and face‐to‐face problem based learning on these variables is scarcer and this limited research has yielded contradictory results. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of online and face‐to‐face problem based learning on critical thinking skills, dispositions, reading comprehension abilities, and attitudes of EFL students. Method: Pretest‐posttest control group quasi‐experimental design was employed in this study that has two experimental groups and one control group. There were 23 (13 females and 10 males), 23 (14 females and 9 males), and 22 (12 females and 10 males) EFL students in online problem based learning group, face‐to‐face problem based learning group, and control group, respectively. In the first experimental group, problem based learning activities were conducted online while the same activities were conducted face‐to‐face in the classroom in the second experimental group. In the control group, no experimental procedures were followed and the students continued their regular instructor‐led reading activities. Watson‐Glaser Critical Thinking Test, Sosu Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale, Reading Comprehension Test, and Attitudes Towards English Scale were used to collect the data. The data were analysed using paired‐samples t‐test and ANCOVA with pretest scores as the covariate variable. Results and Conclusions: It was found that problem based learning, either online or face‐to‐face, significantly enhanced EFL learners' reading comprehension abilities and attitudes towards English as well as their critical thinking skills and dispositions. It was also concluded that online problem based learning is more effective to enhance reading comprehension abilities and attitudes than face‐to‐face problem based learning while they are equally effective in promoting critical thinking skills and dispositions in EFL classroom. Implications: This study has significant implications for educators and researchers. As this study showed that online problem based learning is a promising alternative to face‐to‐face problem based learning, universities, educators, administrators, and researchers can organize their problem based learning activities online to promote learning outcomes and cognitive abilities in language classrooms. Also, future studies employing qualitative or mixed methods can be conducted with sample groups from different educational levels to provide an in‐depth examination of the advantages and disadvantages of online and face‐to‐face problem based learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Although the positive effect of problem based learning on critical thinking was proven in other disciplines, especially in medical education, it is a relatively new concept for EFL context.Problem based learning can enhance learning outcomes.Problem based learning is effective to promote critical thinking skills and dispositions.Online problem based learning has important potential to enhance learning outcomes as well as critical thinking.The capacity of online problem based learning to enhance learning outcomes in EFL classroom as well as critical thinking is still worth exploring, especially in higher education. What this paper adds: Problem based learning, either online or face‐to‐face, significantly enhanced EFL learners' reading comprehension abilities and attitudes towards English as well as their critical thinking skills and dispositions.Online problem based learning is more effective to enhance reading comprehension abilities and attitudes than face‐to‐face problem based learning.Online and face‐to‐face problem based learning are equally effective in promoting critical thinking skills and dispositions in EFL classroom. Implications for practice and/or policy: As online problem based learning is a promising alternative to face‐to‐face problem based learning, universities, educators, administrators, and researchers can organize their problem based learning activities online to promote learning outcomes and cognitive abilities in language classrooms.Online problem based learning activities can be conducted online because online environments are also beneficial to overcome the problems of traditional classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of digital infographics in language classrooms has developed into an innovative approach to promote academic discourse and student engagement. However, given the limitations of traditional teaching methods, there is a need to improve student engagement and information transfer in language classrooms. This study explores the potential use of digital infographics as an information-transfer model for academic discourse. It aims to answer two primary research questions: 1) What are the features of digital infographics used by students to organise and deliver information during language classroom discourse? and 2) How can teachers help students use digital infographics in classroom discourse? A qualitative research design was employed. 44 students reviewed selected documentaries, created digital infographics, and presented their reviews to small groups of students. The digital infographics were then collected and analysed by two experienced raters. Coding was used to systematically categorise the data. The thematic areas emerged from the data were then explored. The findings indicated that information organisation, as well as the aesthetics and functionality of the digital infographics, are features that should be included when considering digital infographics as an information-transfer model for language classrooms. This study then identified teaching strategies to help students use digital infographics in classroom discourse. The study proposes Digital Infographics Information-Transfer Model (DITRAM) to facilitate the effective integration of digital infographics in the language classroom. In conclusion, the study provides a better understanding of how digital infographics can be structured and used to convey information in academic discourse in the language classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue brings together a set of papers which look to the future of translation in higher education. It is a direct response to the flurry of publications which over the last two decades have highlighted and explored the value of translation as a pedagogical tool in modern language learning. In a now oft-cited early example, Cook (2007, p. 396) decried the marginality of translation in “mainstream applied linguistic and English language teaching theory” and called for a return to translation both in the language classroom and as a “major topic for applied linguistic research”. This call echoes through subsequent publications and now, at the start of the third decade of the millennium, there certainly is an ample body of scholarship, theory, and methodology that centers on translation in the language classroom. The changes are so dramatic and the signs so positive that some have gone so far as to speak of a “translation turn” in language teaching (Carreres, Muñoz-Calvo, and Noriega-Sánchez, 2017b, p. 99, our translation). On the ground, however, things are not always so rosy and we are still very far today from a situation in which translation is systematically used in language instruction, especially in the Anglophone countries where translation was long overlooked. Rather than adding to the now numerous calls for the use of translation in the language classroom, the papers in this special issue seek to move the debate forward by exploring what we refer to as the implementation problem and the question of impact. The papers exploring the implementation problem address the gap that can exist between scholarly literature where translation is now valorized and classroom practice where it can often remain marginal. The papers exploring the question of impact, on the other hand, draw attention to the wider effects that the (re-)introduction of translation into the language classroom will have in order to reimagine translation right across higher education.

Languages have played a significant role in the shaping of theological and religious leaders. Historically consisting mostly of biblical and ancient languages, contemporary theological education includes the study of modern foreign languages for research and ministerial purposes. If written and spoken communication in a variety of languages is a foundational aspect of the theological classroom, why is it, then, that seminaries and theological institutions give little attention to theories and pedagogies of second language acquisition? This article seeks to expose theological educators to the most significant theory in the study of language pedagogy and provides a case study of a course taught to students in a seminary setting. In addition to scholarly studies, it relies on the influence of autodidactic polyglots, an indispensable source of experience and wisdom in the world of language acquisition. By improving practices around language instruction, the future of theological education can better engage with a multi‐cultural and global society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, assessment design and implementation issues have been a severe concern in teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Language assessment, which is inextricably linked to EFL teachers' conceptions and education, influences students and their learning. This case study investigates teachers' underlying beliefs concerning EFL assessment as well as their practices in the classrooms of Indonesian Islamic universities. The study engaged ten university EFL teachers who work in an Indonesian Islamic Higher Education institution. The participants were recruited using the purposive sampling technique. Semi-structured interviews were used to determine teachers' beliefs about language assessment. Thematic analysis was used to transcribe, code and segment data to establish themes, categories, and subcategories that depict participants' beliefs regarding EFL assessment. The findings revealed that the participants used various terms to describe assessment, providing an exciting background to their practices. They also believed in language assessment's varied purposes, including administrative and pedagogical purposes. Most participants conceived assessment as an extension of EFL classroom teaching and learning, thus significantly impacting student learning and approaches to learning. Therefore, considering how assessments enhance student learning would influence teachers' decision-making. This paper also describes the implications of these findings for better governance of institutional systems for assessing English as a Foreign Language

Engaging students to participate in productive learning is a prerequisite for successful instruction. Teachers as instructional leaders should be creative and proactive in finding the best ways to enable effective learning to take place. One of the most well-known strategies is the use of appropriate ‘questioning’ during the instructional process. Teachers’ questioning strategies can encourage learning, but at the same time, they can also discourage learning when they are not carried out effectively. As teachers’ ways of posing questions are paramount for effective learning, it is timely to research this issue, teachers’ ways of asking questions during classroom instruction, and their students’ responses. The participants were two English teachers and their students at a secondary school in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The data were collected through classroom observations, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires. The study found that teachers used various questioning strategies, such as designing icebreaking activities and giving simple quizzes as attention grabbers. In addition, some types of questioning strategies, such as repetition, simplification, decomposition, structuring the questions, reacting to the students’ answers (giving a reward, complimenting, and motivating the students), using native language, and giving students some wait time to think about the answers were among the many strategies applied in the classroom. These questioning strategies were considered effective by the teachers and students in the study to promote productive language learning.

The Challenge: U.S. university students enroll in 2 years of language courses before advancing to linguistics, literature, and culture courses. However, do students have the basic vocabulary needed to transition to advanced courses? This article answers this question by examining 943 L2 Spanish students' knowledge of high‐frequency words at different proficiency levels. This study examined the receptive vocabulary knowledge and lexical developmental patterns of the 3000 most frequent words among 953 university L2 learners of Spanish at different stages in their language studies, taking into consideration the effect of high school instruction on high‐frequency vocabulary knowledge. Results confirm that even students who are enrolled in the most advanced courses in their program lack considerable knowledge of the 3000 most frequent words in their L2. Most vocabulary gains take place during the first semesters of instruction, and the learning of these words decreases substantially in intermediate and upper‐division courses. Furthermore, high school instruction plays an essential role in developing a solid high‐frequency vocabulary baseline but falls short in providing lexical learning beyond the first 1300 most frequent words. These results corroborate the need to implement a more lexically driven syllabus in the L2 Spanish language classroom to foster the learning of high‐frequency words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With reference to John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, this article explores the importance of destigmatizing the topic of mental illness among young people, and the potential that lies in working with young adult literature to meaningfully contribute towards such destigmatization efforts in our language classrooms.

Copyright of Djoussour El-maarefa is the property of Association of Arab Universities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current study explores the effectiveness of code-switching (CS) in language classroom, a case of second language (L2) teachers' perspectives. Code-switching (CS) refers to a usage of the two languages in conversation and it also relates to a 'language mixing'. CS may occur between sentences, known as 'inter-sentential code-switching'; and it may also occur within a sentence, known as 'intra-sentential code-switching'. Code-switching is a linguistic feature of multi-lingual societies, as they are gifted with more privileges to use various languages. The current study points out the perceptions of language teachers towards code-switching in the classroom in the process of teaching and the purposes of code-switching in teaching. The data for the study includes the responses of the attitudinal test questions designed on a Likert Scale of 20 teacher- respondents from the two government schools of Delhi-NCR. The outcome of the study illustrates that the predominance of code-switching in the classrooms is used to interpret complex ideas, translate questions, seek confirmation, check students understanding, also to build solidarity and code-switching is most prevalent in primary education. Hence, code-switching is a distinctive linguistic requirement in education but there is a negative towards the use of CS in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of realia as an additional teaching material incorporated in the language classroom has long been documented. It is used in classroom instruction to enhance students’ real-life experiences. However, there often exists a gap between the content taught in the classroom and its association with the real-life given the dynamic and complexity of each discipline that could restrict demonstration of real-life examples in the class. Although realia are easily obtainable, not all classrooms are supposed to employ additional materials as such due to the stipulated syllabus or content appropriateness. Various types of educational and illustrative realia like virtual realia, magazines, pictures, and songs are employed in the classroom practices and they are proven effective and yielded encouraging implications. Given the importance and longstanding usage of realia in classroom practices, this review aimed to review the types, implications, and limitations of realia in the recent educational context, specifically in the language classroom. It was concluded that the extensive use of realia may enrich students’ learning experiences in various levels of language classroom as supported by the literature. The current review also provides practical implications to students, educators and stakeholders to gauge a more in-depth understanding about the use of realia in classroom practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since little is known about how EFL learners experience and understand effective English language classroom, this study was an attempt to find out about the Iranian EFL learners’ experiences of an effective English language classroom at the tertiary level. The design of the current research drew on a phenomenological study in which the lived experiences of EFL learners concerning the effective English language classroom were explored. The primary data collection method was in-depth interviewing with seven Ph.D. candidates (two males and five females) who had been studying English for years and were selected through purposive sampling. The data were coded and explicitated using Colaizzi’s seven-step coding strategy. The three major resulting themes were a) Teacher characteristics, b) Classroom interaction, and c) Class performance. In addition, key findings from the study suggest that two elements of personal experiences and personal beliefs constitute effective English language classroom from the Iranian EFL learners’ perspectives. Recommendations are provided for EFL researchers as the current study reveals.

This study aimed to investigate the amount and type of teacher-talk, frequently asked questions and feedback provided by the teacher on learners’ performance in a language classroom. For this purpose, a lecture was recorded from a secondary level English language classroom of a public sector school and interpreted in the light of teacher-student interaction and classroom management model by David Nunan. Results revealed that the maximum amount of time (i.e. 80.1%) was consumed by the teacher which was appropriate. However, certain deviations from classroom management principles were also observed regarding frequently asked questions (i.e. 50% of the total questions were elicitation questions) and the feedback (it was ‘romantic’ in nature). Moreover, wait-time was sufficient but it was of no use to the learners. The study concluded that classroom practices did not conform to the principles therefore, it proposed to ask questions and provide feedback appropriately.

Technology has shifted teacher-centered approach to a more student-centered learning, where students construct their own understanding and acquire new language while also building networks and socializing with their peers in a meaningful communication. This mixed-method research aimed to explore students’ perspectives in using Instagram as a platform to learn English. The findings of the research showed that most students felt more motivated in learning English in classrooms where Instagram is integrated as a learning tool. More importantly, students also felt more engaged in meaningful communication during the learning process, which is in accordance with the previously conducted studies. Students also revealed that Instagram can promote meaningful interaction as well as learner autonomy which are essential for their life outside the classroom.

Students’ motivation contributes to the successful teaching learning process as it determines self-engagement and participations in the classroom. Encouraging students’ motivation, then, becomes important for the teacher to achieve the teaching goal and to provide a meaningful learning process for the students. This research is aimed to discuss responsive pedagogy in encouraging students’ motivation to learn and participate in classroom learning process. One English speaking class becomes the object of the observation. The interviews with the teacher and some students were also part of data collection in order to obtain information about the students’ motivation in learning English speaking, teacher’s teaching strategy, and classroom interactions. The findings indicate that classroom activities are crucial in motivating students’ responsive learning. In addition, the teacher’s competency in creating a conducive environment and leading an interactive communication are the ways of the teacher influence students’ motivation in learning process.

Research conducted by The Other Foundation has indicated that South Africans view the lives of queer individuals as lifestyle choice (34%), illness (12%), sin (5.10%), results of these individuals’ upbringing (3.80%) and/or resulting from the influence of ancestral spirits (3.70%). Advocacy and information about sexual orientation and sexual diversity through literary as characters may be instrumental in possibly changing negative perceptions of queer individuals. This article aims to show how a selected young adult queer novel, and the social messaging that emerges from the text, may be a potentially influential location for creating an awareness and better understanding of queer individuals. The aim of the investigation on which the article is based was to examine the possibility or viability of implementing critical literacy in secondary education systems in the language classroom as an opportunity to address social issues in heteronormative environments. The social messages found in queer texts may be used as entry points to fruitful discourse in language classroom environments. The study followed a qualitative approach with the use of critical hermeneutics as a strategy of inquiry and social constructivism as philosophical worldview. The queer text utilised was Openly Straight (2013) by Bill Konigsberg with the method of data generation being document analysis. The main findings were that queer texts should form part of the language classroom (as learners may read these texts critically and emphatically) and that Bill Konigsberg’s Openly Straight contained social messages that can contribute to positive influences on queer- and heterosexual readers.

Copyright of Lebende Sprachen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Empathy, as an essential personality trait of human beings, has been studied rigorously in the field of nursing and medical sciences. Nowadays, universities are also endeavoring to develop empathy with particular courses or tailored content among the students. The English language classroom acts as a dynamic platform to impart education for empathy. Yet there is a paucity of research related to the outcomes of such initiatives. The current study revolved around an English language course that is primarily designed to improve students' proficiency in English required for them to be empowered with the compatibility of tertiary education. The secondary focus of the course concerned the cultivation of empathy that is inevitable not only for the academic journey but also for social wellbeing. The present study was designed to investigate the contents, based on theoretical grounds, of the English language classroom and to trace the outcomes of such an empathy-teaching. A phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct the study, in which document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 10 participants shaped the instrumentation of data collection. The current study adopted thematic analysis to analyze the semi-structured interview data. The findings projected that the contents harnessed to cultivate empathy corresponded to the theoretical aspects of empathy development. The semi-structured interview data was a testimony of the nature of empathy practice inculcated among undergraduate students.

Proper Teacher Talk (TT) used in the EFL classroom contributes to the effective communication in TEFL. Teachers who are expected to implement proper and effective teacher talk are apparently seeing this as one of the most complicated elements to be appropriately integrated in EFL class due to the different context between target language and first language and also the excessive target language exposure that is given by English teacher to the students as one of authentic learning process in the classroom. Many research focus on researching effective TT strategy in general EFL classroom, however, there is ony limited number of them that focuses on researching this concept in Islamic classroom with its Islamic culture, Islamic learners and Islamic situations. This descriptive qualitative study discussed and proposed the effective teacher talks in supporting the success of teaching english as a foreign language classroom in Islamic context. This article had anaysed the interview result from 7 English-Islamic lecturers in Islamic Broadcasting and Communication Learners (KPI) major and used TT features which later focussed on its ammount, diction and questioning type under SLA theory. This article aims to explain why and what types of language of the proper communication style and strategies should be applied by the English lecturers in Islamic higher education for having the effective teacher talk to English-Islamic learners, specifically to Islamic Broadcasting and Communication Learners, that could contribute to a professional development in English Language Teaching.

Dynamic shifts of language learners' willingness to communicate (WtC) have been investigated in a number of studies with a view to establishing the impact of various cognitive, affective, social and contextual factors. Looking into such influences in the context of a language classroom gives an opportunity to identify variables that might remain within the control of the teacher, thus contributing to creating optimal conditions for language development. The present study is an attempt to explore WtC fluctuations in the course of six lessons spanning the period of one semester of a single student who outperformed all other group members on a number of measures, but most importantly, on an oral test. The following data collection tools were used: (1) self-report WtC grids for every class, (2) detailed lesson plans, (3) an in-class WtC survey and (4) an interview. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data disclosed a network of personal and group-related factors that are capable of shaping communicative behaviour in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research conducted by The Other Foundation has indicated that South Africans view the lives of queer individuals as lifestyle choice (34%), illness (12%), sin (5.10%), results of these individuals' upbringing (3.80%) and/or resulting from the influence of ancestral spirits (3.70%). Advocacy and information about sexual orientation and sexual diversity through literary as characters may be instrumental in possibly changing negative perceptions of queer individuals. This article aims to show how a selected young adult queer novel, and the social messaging that emerges from the text, may be a potentially influential location for creating an awareness and better understanding of queer individuals. The aim of the investigation on which the article is based was to examine the possibility or viability of implementing critical literacy in secondary education systems in the language classroom as an opportunity to address social issues in heteronormative environments. The social messages found in queer texts may be used as entry points to fruitful discourse in language classroom environments. The study followed a qualitative approach with the use of critical hermeneutics as a strategy of inquiry and social constructivism as philosophical worldview. The queer text utilised was Openly Straight (2013) by Bill Konigsberg with the method of data generation being document analysis. The main findings were that queer texts should form part of the language classroom (as learners may read these texts critically and emphatically) and that Bill Konigsberg's Openly Straight contained social messages that can contribute to positive influences on queer- and heterosexual readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes aspirations and contributions that grew out of a developmental cycle of design-based research (DBR) implementation conducted over a three-year project. DBR engineers new learning environments and improves learning in context whilst communicating usable knowledge for learning and teaching in complex settings. This project employed constructionism as an overarching framework, a theory of learning, teaching, and design, which supports that learning occurs more effectively when learners understand the world around them by creating meaningful artifacts that can be probed and shared. In an attempt to infuse elements of constructionism in the use of social technologies, groups of learners were assigned to construct an artifact within social technologies. The main data collection tools employed were students' and instructor's reflections, a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observation of groups' activity within social technologies. Such an inquiry revealed both strengths and challenges with regard to implementing DBR and reporting how designs function in real-life settings. This paper brings forward considerations related to reporting intentionally designed interventions, potentials and limitations of DBR and implications for future DBR implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been integrated into face-to-face language modules to enhance the educational experience of students. MOOCs appear to offer language learning opportunities as well as challenging the self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviour of students. This paper presents a work in progress with regards to the literature review of my PhD, which investigates SRL in face-to-face language modules using MOOCs. It discusses SRL as a requirement for engaging with these courses and analyses the way studies have integrated MOOCs into instructional language modules. This paper concludes by highlighting the need for understanding students’ SRL behaviour when engaging with MOOCs as part of their language modules.