Academic literature on the topic 'Out-of-class English use'

Research in Second/Foreign language learning indicates that using English outside of the classroom is an essential part of the language learning process. However, certain studies have been cared out on university-level EFL students indicate that students use English minimally when outside of the classroom. This study furthers the research on English use outside of the classroom to more fully understand out-of-d all types of language learners and the link between language proficiency and out-of-class English language use. For methodology, three private universities in Erbil are concerned. The tools that are used in this study is a questionnaire and also interview. Validity and reliabilities are regarded here. The aims are to investigate the use of of-out-of class activity type that promotes using English and even their attitudes toward the benefits of using English outside of class. Research explores some recommendations to English language departments in the three universities which are helpful for the students’ language proficiency, the research also provides some suggestions for further studies.

SummaryThis article discusses a small scale research project that investigated how students learn and use English outside the classroom. It was conducted during the 2019–2020 academic year and completed by administering a questionnaire to 47 students enrolled in the B2-level English language course offered at Vytautas Magnus University in the fall semester of 2019. The data were collected through an online survey. The participants were asked to choose the ways which helped them to learn English outside of the classroom and to comment on them based on how useful they were in terms of learning English. The students were also asked to indicate the frequency of such out-of-classroom (OOC) activities, in other words, how often they engage in the chosen OOCs. The results showed that most of the activities that the research participants engaged in outside the classroom were related to popular culture and their free time activities that were fun and entertaining rather than consciously chosen activities with the purpose of learning English. These activities helped to expand vocabulary and listening, but they did not help to practice speaking and writing (productive skills).

This paper reports on changes in the motivation and out-of-class time allocation to English by students at one university in Western Japan following curricular revision. Changes to the English curriculum made beginning in the 2012 academic year included a redistribution and increase in writing class hours, a shift to ebooks for first-year content-based materials, an introduction of an online extensive reading program for first-year students, and the implementation of receptive and productive vocabulary testing in first- through third-year courses. Data from a motivational survey in Japanese and time use diaries were collected from participants in 2018 and compared to previous data from 2011. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the participants’ motivational profiles or amount of out-of-class time allocation to English. Some important differences were found in how time was allocated, yet total study hours outside-of-class fall short of program and governmental expectations. 本稿は、西日本の大学に在学する学生の教室外での英語学習の時間配分と英語学習動機の関係についての研究報告である。対象大学では英語カリキュラムの改訂が2012年から実施された。改訂内容は、ライティングの時間の増加と再配分、初年度の学生へのコンテントベースクラスの読解教材の電子書籍化とオンラインでの多読プログラムの導入、1〜3年次を通した受容語彙と産出語彙のテストの導入等であった。日本語による英語学習動機付けの調査と日記のデータを収集し英語カリキュラム改定後の2018年と改訂前の2011年で比較した。その結果、参加者の教室外での英語学習動機プロファイルおよび英語学習時間数において有意差は見られなかった。一方、学習時間の配分に関しては重要な差が見られたが、教室外の総学習時間量は、大学および文部科学省の期待値に及ばない結果となった。

This study aims at improving students’ comprehension on English vocabulary using computer and finding out the effectiveness, efficiency and the attractiveness of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in English learning. It was carried out at SMP Sunan Giri Gresik by using proactive action research method and intervention action model. The participants belonged to 3 different class groups. Thirty of them were from 7th grade (Amanah class) and thirty-two of them from (Hidayah class). The other 30 participants from (Inayah class). The data were collected and analyzed by using mixed method approach. Instruments used for collecting data in this study are questionnaires, documents, observation check list, interview, and achievement tests. The results showed that the treatments give affect positively for students especially treatment on cycle 2. It also can be seen by the students’ involvement actively during learning process. Computer assisted learning especially using software gave students chance to explore their English skill especially the vocabulary through interacting directly with computer by doing exercises given individually in pair or group. From the explanation above it can be concluded that English learning in junior high school can be improved with the help of computer assistance in this matter called Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) mainly to improve English vocabulary. Keywords: Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), English vocabulary, Students’ comprehension

The purpose of research was to find whether the learning model of the CIRC based on student learning was effective in improving reading ability in English learner. This activity aims to get experience in learning process and education activities that is used as a provision to become a candidate for educator. Researcher need to be able to have values, attitudes, knowledge and the skills needed as an english teacher. Research activities starts from observation to implementation in learning process in class and activity carried out after doing consultation with the teacher supervisor first and also guidance with the Lecturer Field Advisor. In teaching process the writer found in class that students need to improve their reading ability. That's why the writer use the titte in this journal is The Use Of Circ To Improve Student's Reading Ability. CIRC is Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition. Implementation of this research was carried out in the class XI Manajemen Pemasaran SMK YPKKP Bandung.

Teachers are always seen as the role model of the classroom. Students tend to imitate what the teachers speak and do, including in English classroom. It has been popular that in English classroom teachers impose the students to use English (L2) only. However, the practice showed that teachers still use L1 in their teaching. Regarding that fact, this study aims to investigate how teachers use first language (L1) in English classroom. The study involves experienced teachers from two private schools in Bekasi, a junior high school and a senior high school. Observations, video and audio recording, and interview were conducted to collect the data. From the data, it is obtained the teacher talk (TT) where the teachers mostly used English. Although the teachers used English and encouraged students to use English, it turned out that in some situation L1 is unavoidable. The teachers used L1 during the class learning. This teachers’ L1 was then analyzed from the perspective of initiation, response, feedback (IRF) exchange. The result shows that teachers performed typical acts and functions in the class interaction. Moreover, teachers’ L1 was not necessarily showing incompetence or reluctance to use L2. Rather, L1 use performed functions in the classroom that it helped teachers build students’ knowledge and manage the class more efficiently.

Abstract This article presents a study which aimed to explore in what ways Armenian EFL students use their English language knowledge outside the classroom. The study involved 38 EFL learners of different English proficiency levels, ages, and genders. Data were collected using surveys and in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that most of the Armenian EFL learners use English out of the class very often, especially with social media, listening to songs, watching movies and clips, as well as travelling and searching on the Internet. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are offered to bring the students’ interests into the classroom.

The purpose of conducting this study is to find out the kinds of code mixing and code switching used by teacher and students in English class and some factors that make the teacher and students use code mixing and code switching in English class. This research used qualitative method. The researcher use basic technique in analyzing the data which are recording the entire content, transcribing the utterances, classifying and organizing the data, grouping data and the last is analyzing data. Based on the data found by the researcher, the result of the research shows 4 types of code mixing and code switching namely outer code mixing (English with Indonesia and Indonesian with English) and external code switching (English into Indonesian and Indonesian into English). There are 51 utterances total of code mixing and switching in English class. And some factors that make they use code mixing and switching because the teacher often found out that the students confused or did not understand, the students lack of vocabulary and English knowledge, feel afraid of being wrong in using English and they are not used to talking only in English.

The issue of the use of code switching as instructional languages in the class has already become a worldwide concern. Some experts may say that it is beneficial while others believe that it is not since it may become the interference for the learning. Through this paper, the researchers want to investigate the use of code switching in General English Classes for non-English Department of Sanata Dharma University. Employing a quantitative approach, specifically observation method by recording the class activity, this study tries to find out the types and analyse code switching employed by lecturers in the classes. The data analyses revealed that tag switching, intra-sentential and inter-sentential code switching are employed by lecturers and the code switching itself functions as the topic switch, repetitive and affective function. The inter-sentential code switching was mostly used by the lecturer and it mostly served as a repetitive function to explain and show their affection to students

Bullying is an issue that is difficult to be eliminated even in high education level. Bullying in high education may interfere the learning processes. Some of the students think that bullying is common. However, some others think that it is a bad situation for them. The study was conducted in University of Muhammadiyah Banjarmasin. The subject of this study is students of Intensive English Class. Case study is implemented to collect in-depth information about bullying factors in Intensive English Class. From indepth interviews that were conducted, the researcher found out that bullying factors included aspects of humiliation and mocking, intimidating, Ignoring, and Criticizing one’s appearance or background. The impacts found are considered safe and not severe since bullying in language use only caused shyness and not affecting the development of English learning.

This project explored aspects of English-related out-of-class time use by Japanese university students. The aim was to identify the salient temporal and motivational features of the episodes.

Two sets of time use and interview data were collected longitudinally (one semester per dataset) through Longitudinal Study 1 (n_initial = 66, n_final = 15), which included participants from three universities in Western Japan, followed by Longitudinal Study 2 (n_initial = 59, n_final = 25), which included participants from two universities in Western Japan. Interviews were with participants from these studies. Participants maintained a record of their out-of-class English-related time use during the semester. These data provide an overview of the out-of-class time use of Japanese university students during a full Japanese academic year. Longitudinal Study 1 data were collected during the fall semester, the second term at Japanese universities. Longitudinal Study 2 data were collected during the spring term, the initial term. Longitudinal Study 1 participants reported 2,529 episodes and Longitudinal Study 2 participants reported 3,322 episodes of out-of-class English access during the study period. One interview was held with the Longitudinal Study 1 participants (n = 15), at the end of fall semester. Two interviews were held with Longitudinal Study 2 participants (n = 25), one during the term and one following summer holiday. Data were examined for their temporal patterns and the contextual and affective features of the time use episodes. The cross-sectional component collected data from participants (n = 1,399) at 11 universities in Western Japan. These participants provided data for the motivational survey (n = 1,399) and at least one week of out-of-class English time use (n = 642) data. The participants in the cross-sectional study reported 2,987 out-of-class English access episodes.

Episode data for all three components (K = 8,838) and the motivational survey data (n = 1,399) were analyzed at the person, group, and amalgamated episode levels for the patterns of participants' time use using ANOVA and nonparametric procedures. The data were also examined using nonparametric procedures to exam the affective variables by the contextual variables of that time use. The episode data regarding participants' ( n = 1,399) time use and motivational survey data were analyzed using ANOVA, factor, Rasch, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation modeling. The analyses of the time use data considered the temporal features of the episodes, the contextual features of the episodes, and the affective features of the time use. The analyses of the motivational data considered two models of the L2 motivational self system, an intention to learn model (ILM) and a time use model (TUM).

Time use results from all three components of this study indicated most out-of-class episodes occur when the participant is alone at home either studying or listening to English music. The most typical episode was listening to music, either alone at home or while commuting. A similar pattern of out-of-class English access was found for participants in all three components of this study. Study-related episodes were not considered enjoyable but also were not seen as causing anxiety. The amount of out-of-class time varied widely between participants, with one longitudinal study participant devoting 40 hours per week to English outside of class.

For longitudinal study participants, the time use episode data, along with interviews, indicated that habit was a primary driver of out-of-class English access, with participants showing stable patterns of time use, whether for enjoyment or study, during the term. For the most part, once participants in the longitudinal components for this project had established a routine it remained fairly consistent during the term.

Moreover, results from the three components showed that none of the participants met the time requirements of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Technology and Culture (MEXT, 2002, 2009b) for out-of-class time allocated to study for their English courses, a 2:1 ration, for every week that they participated in the study. Only a few of the participants met this requirement for out-of-class English access during any week of the study and only if all purposes, including enjoyment, were considered.

This study also addresses the call that Dörnyei (2000) made for research examining the links between motivation and behavior in L2 learning. One unique aspect of this study is the use of a behavioral variable, Time Use, in addition to the survey-assessed latent trait, Intention to Learn, to explore the links between motivational profile and actual behavior.

Participants who rated highly on their Ideal L2 Self rated highly on the Intention to Learn, but not nearly as highly on actual time use on English. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Teaching & Learning
Ed.D.
This project explored aspects of English-related out-of-class time use by Japanese university students. The aim was to identify the salient temporal and motivational features of the episodes. The study had three parts, two longitudinal components and one cross-sectional component. Data from these three components consisted of out-of-class English time use information collected through a time diary (8,838 episodes). The episode data was collected from longitudinal study participants (n = 125) and cross-sectional study participants (n = 642) who maintained the time diary for at least one week. Data also include interviews with longitudinal participants (n = 40) about their time use and motivation and motivational information collected through an L2 motivational self system survey administered to cross-sectional study participants (n = 1,399) that was modeled after the survey developed by Taguchi, Magid, and Papi (2009). Two sets of time use and interview data were collected longitudinally (one semester per dataset) through Longitudinal Study 1 (ninitial = 66, nfinal = 15), which included participants from three universities in Western Japan, followed by Longitudinal Study 2 (ninitial = 59, nfinal = 25), which included participants from two universities in Western Japan. Interviews were with participants from these studies. Participants maintained a record of their out-of-class English-related time use during the semester. These data provide an overview of the out-of-class time use of Japanese university students during a full Japanese academic year. Longitudinal Study 1 data were collected during the fall semester, the second term at Japanese universities. Longitudinal Study 2 data were collected during the spring term, the initial term. Longitudinal Study 1 participants reported 2,529 episodes and Longitudinal Study 2 participants reported 3,322 episodes of out-of-class English access during the study period. One interview was held with the Longitudinal Study 1 participants (n = 15), at the end of fall semester. Two interviews were held with Longitudinal Study 2 participants (n = 25), one during the term and one following summer holiday. Data were examined for their temporal patterns and the contextual and affective features of the time use episodes. The cross-sectional component collected data from participants (n = 1,399) at 11 universities in Western Japan. These participants provided data for the motivational survey (n = 1,399) and at least one week of out-of-class English time use (n = 642) data. The participants in the cross-sectional study reported 2,987 out-of-class English access episodes. Episode data for all three components (K = 8,838) and the motivational survey data (n = 1,399) were analyzed at the person, group, and amalgamated episode levels for the patterns of participants' time use using ANOVA and nonparametric procedures. The data were also examined using nonparametric procedures (Kruskal-Wallis) to exam the affective variables (anxiety, enjoyment) by the contextual variables (purpose, location, persons present) of that time use. The episode data regarding participants' (n = 1,399) time use and motivational survey data were analyzed using ANOVA, factor, Rasch, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation modeling. The analyses of the time use data considered the temporal features of the episodes (time of day, day of week, hebdomadal pattern), the contextual features of the episodes (purpose, location, persons with), and the affective features of the time use (enjoyment, anxiety). The analyses of the motivational data considered two models of the L2 motivational self system, an intention to learn model (ILM) and a time use model (TUM). The ILM replicates the model found in the final solution proposed by Taguchi et al. (2009) for their model of the L2 motivational self system. In this model, the outcome factor is Intention to Learn, a factor labeled Criterion Measures by Taguchi et al. In the TUM, the outcome factor of Intention to Learn is replaced by actual time use on out-of-class English access. Time use results from all three components of this study indicated most out-of-class episodes occur when the participant is alone at home either studying or listening to English music. The most typical episode was listening to music, either alone at home or while commuting. A similar pattern of out-of-class English access was found for participants in all three components of this study. Study-related episodes were not considered enjoyable but also were not seen as causing anxiety. The amount of out-of-class time varied widely between participants, with one longitudinal study participant devoting 40 hours per week to English outside of class. For longitudinal study participants, the time use episode data, along with interviews, indicated that habit was a primary driver of out-of-class English access, with participants showing stable patterns of time use, whether for enjoyment or study, during the term. For the most part, once participants in the longitudinal components for this project had established a routine it remained fairly consistent during the term. The interviews clarified the initial motivators and drivers of the participants' English-related out-of-class time use. Interviews also confirmed the importance of habit in out-of-class time use patterns. Moreover, the interviews also indicated that the participants' L2 motivation was set in junior high school, though initial interest may have begun much earlier. Moreover, results from the three components showed that none of the participants met the time requirements of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Technology and Culture (MEXT, 2002, 2009b) for out-of-class time allocated to study for their English courses, a 2:1 ration, for every week that they participated in the study. Only a few of the participants met this requirement for out-of-class English access during any week of the study and only if all purposes, including enjoyment, were considered. This study also addresses the call that Dörnyei (2000) made for research examining the links between motivation and behavior in L2 learning. One unique aspect of this study is the use of a behavioral variable, Time Use, in addition to the survey-assessed latent trait, Intention to Learn, to explore the links between motivational profile and actual behavior. Motivational results show limited support for Taguchi et al.'s (2009) structural model following the same paths that they used in their model of the L2 motivational self system. More informative is the difference in the loading of the motivational profile factors on the outcome variable, Intention to Learn, which was the Criterion variable in Taguchi et al.'s final model, and the loading of the motivational profile factors on the measure of actual out-of-class time accessing English. Results show that Ideal L2 Self loaded strongly (.94) on the criterion, Intention to Learn, but much less strongly (.35) on actual out-of-class time use. However, the confirmatory factor analysis also indicated only a marginal fit to the model. Of importance, however, is that participants who rated highly on their Ideal L2 Self rated highly on the Intention to Learn, but not nearly as highly on actual time use on English. This suggests that responses on surveys of motivation to learn a second language are measures of intention and should not be used to predict or explain actual language learning behaviors. Like the results found by M. P. Eccles et al. (2012), who looked at intention and behavior in medical intervention studies and concluded that surveys targeting intention did not indicate actual behavior, language researchers might need to take a more critical approach to any interpretation of survey-based results as explaining actual learner behavior. This study set out to begin the process of understanding language learners' out-of-class time to language learning and exploring the links between out-of-class behavior and the learners' motivations. Through the longitudinal and the cross-sectional components, the study clarified the ways in which language learners use their out-of-class time allocated to second language access, the amount of time that they allocate, and the characteristics of this time use. It examined the connections between motivation and behavior and began the process of linking motivational studies with actual behaviors called for by Dörnyei (2000). If, as this study has suggested, there is little connection between the level of motivation and the type of motivated behavior that is being targeted, then researchers need to reconsider the current construction of such instruments and search for alternative ways to include actual measures of behavior in L2 motivational surveys. Given the large body of research on motivation in language learning, the results of this study indicate that researchers might want to consider ways include a measure of actual behavior or interpret results of surveys more conservatively when making claims of links between motivation and actual intention.
Temple University--Theses

Research in Second Language Acquisition indicates that using English outside of the classroom is an important part of the language learning process. However, studies done on university level ESL and EFL students indicate that students use English minimally when outside of the classroom. This thesis furthers the research on English use outside of the classroom in order to more fully understand all types of language learners and the link between language proficiency and out-of-class English use.

This chapter analyzes the novels of the British writer Barbara Pym, which are often read as cozy tales of English middle-class postwar life but which, I argue, are profoundly influenced by the work Pym carried out as an editor of the journal Africa at the International African Institute in London, where she worked for decades. She used ethnographic techniques to represent social change in a postwar, decolonizing, non-normative Britain of female-headed households, gay and lesbian relationships, and networks of female friendship and civic engagement. Pym’s novels of the 1950s implicitly criticize the synchronic, functionalist anthropology of kinship tables that dominated the discipline in Britain, substituting an interest in a new anthropology that could investigate social change. Specific anthropological work on West African social changes underpins Pym’s English fiction, including several journal articles that Pym was editing while she worked on her novels.

This book charts the social historical development of the English public house from the period of the Restoration to the twenty-first century, culminating in the contemporary gastropub. Continuities and differences between taverns, inns, and (gastro)pubs are highlighted, with a focus on issues around food, drink, and sociality. The analysis of food and eating out encompasses their material, as well as their symbolic properties, both historically and at the present time. One recurring theme is the constant contest between English and French cuisine for diners’ allegiance. The book studies the gastropub in the context of large-scale pub closing since the 1990s and views it both as reaction to the end of the traditional drinking pub and as a promising alternative to it. The subordinate relation of the pub to both breweries/pub companies and to the regulatory and taxing state is presented as contributory to pubs’ decline. The book uses the theoretical lenses of class, gender, and national identification to explore issues of social and organizational identity. The gastropub’s organizational identity is viewed as unsettled. The author relies on historical diaries, memoirs, industry reports, and scholarly secondary sources, as well as utilizing original data, gained in forty in-depth interviews of publicans in different parts of England.

Nowadays the widespread use of information and communication technologies in every field, especially in education, brings forward the idea of use of them by teachers and students intensively. Although teachers and students are far from each other physically, they communicate thanks to information and communication technologies, learn new information about their lessons, repeat this information, and reinforce what they learn in class. When taking learning and teaching into consideration, learning and teaching do not happen without communication and interaction. The importance of social media tools in information and communication technologies has been increasing in terms of education. Social media tools are generally called as social networking sites. Facebook is the most used and known tool among them. Facebook is a social network that provides communication and information exchange. People who have Internet connection in every part of the world communicate and interact among themselves via this social tool. In other words, people compose virtual social lives for themselves. People in these virtual lives identify themselves, communicate and get along with people who have the same cultural level via the facilities that the Internet provides. This case tries to find out the use of Facebook by language instructors via a questionnaire which was given to 160 English, French, and German language instructors at the School of Foreign Languages, Basic Languages Department of Anadolu University. Findings emerged related to every aim of the study. Some conclusions were drawn from the findings gained in the study. The results of the study revealed that Facebook has been used widely by instructors. There were some differences in the use of Facebook among English, French and German instructors. It was found that English instructors made extensive use of Facebook. Moreover, some instructors were found to create class pages and have some activities like communication, sharing class events, giving homework and sharing videos. Based on the results, the study was concluded by some implications to use Facebook in foreign language learning.

Self-regulated learning is one of the essential skills learners need to possess in times of rapid technological advancements to comply with the requirements of the modern world. Indeed, today's youth are assumed to be able to set their own goals, seek opportunities to attain these goals, and manage their learning environments to control their own learning owing to the omnipresence of information and communication technology (ICT) tools in every area of their lives including and especially in their educational lives. In this respect, this study aims to find out whether first-year English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers really make use of ICT tools to regulate their formal learning experiences in out-of-class settings. Results reveal that pre-service teachers most often fail in bridging in-class and out-of-class learning, and they generally engage in low-level self-regulated learning experiences. Implications arising from these findings are highlighted, and some future research possibilities are discussed.

This chapter takes a close look at how digital tools were integrated into a professional development experience for writing teachers and the ways in which digital tools were then integrated into the literacy practices of a seventh-grade English class. The authors, Roxanne and Shannon, are director and co-director respectively, of the San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP), a chapter of the National Writing Project (NWP). Following NWP's teachers-teaching-teachers model, the site provides opportunities for teachers to share their expertise and teaching practices with other teachers in the area. Over a handful of years, Roxanne and Shannon observed a major shift in technology use by teachers during the summer institute. Among other affordances, digital tools became more collaborative and user-friendly. Not only were teacher participants using these tools for their daily learning experiences, but they also modeled effective instructional practices that integrated technology. Shannon and Roxanne set out to see how Shannon's middle school students could use these tools in her English class and later reflected on other SAWP teachers' experiences as they explored various digital tools with their students.

This chapter takes a close look at how digital tools were integrated into a professional development experience for writing teachers and the ways in which digital tools were then integrated into the literacy practices of a seventh-grade English class. The authors, Roxanne and Shannon, are director and co-director respectively, of the San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP), a chapter of the National Writing Project (NWP). Following NWP's teachers-teaching-teachers model, the site provides opportunities for teachers to share their expertise and teaching practices with other teachers in the area. Over a handful of years, Roxanne and Shannon observed a major shift in technology use by teachers during the summer institute. Among other affordances, digital tools became more collaborative and user-friendly. Not only were teacher participants using these tools for their daily learning experiences, but they also modeled effective instructional practices that integrated technology. Shannon and Roxanne set out to see how Shannon's middle school students could use these tools in her English class and later reflected on other SAWP teachers' experiences as they explored various digital tools with their students.

This chapter explores the use of a flipped learning approach through the application Instagram in an English as Foreign Language (EFL) class. A case study involving 53 participants at a high school is presented. A mixed methods approach using quantitative and qualitative information is carried out where 4 different data collection instruments collected information about students' perceptions of the flipped learning model as well as the use of Instagram. Findings emphasized the app and the flipped learning methodology as motivational and useful elements to develop language learning processes. However, learner feedback indicated that the flipped learning model used in this research was not viewed as superior to traditional lecture-based instruction. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of implementing flipped learning models that utilize mobile devices in EFL education.

Guided by the conceptual framework for next generation designs for mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in informal setting, our study investigates how mobile devices impact the learning practices and habits amongst adult distant learners of English at a higher education institution in China. Data sources include quantitative data of 148 completed responses to an online survey and qualitative data from follow-up email interviews. The study demonstrates that students' main motivation for engaging in mobile assisted English learning is to fill in the gaps in their daily schedule in order to maximize available time, and the majority use mobile devices to support formal course learning. The skills and knowledge areas practiced with mobile devices are listening, followed by speaking and pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, and translation. Our study also reveals that teachers play a very limited role as perceived by students, while students expect more support from teachers for their out-of-class hour mobile assisted language learning. The research findings bear significant pedagogical implications in terms of integrating MALL into language learning curriculum, learner support and the need for continuous teacher training.

This chapter is a contribution to teacher education and teacher development studies in the field of plurilingualism and intercultural development through critical reflection. It presents a teaching proposal based on the use of a multimodal literary text for the promotion of intercultural awareness and translanguaging practices at its heart. The teaching proposal, which was implemented in a primary education class from a multilingual school in Catalonia in 2015, was designed ad hoc on the basis of relevant research works on TLA, plurilingualism, and intercultural awareness, and in the light of the interviews conducted before and after the implementation in the workfield. The study was carried out in an English as an additive language class to look into the teaching opportunities of storytelling and picture books to foster interculturality and effective language learning practices with a communicative approach.

The class of words most likely to be overlooked in a title is the preposition. While this chapter briefly touches on of, as well as to and for, as examples of the mighty unsung and inversely proportional work that prepositions do in language, the focus in this chapter is on the cognitive contribution of the little word in. The chapter posits that an English language convention arose, and now has largely fallen out of use, for dealing with the formidable, yet beautiful, complexity of the meaning of property. The burden of the argument is to show that while this convention lasted for only 500 years, less than 1% of the time our modern species has roamed the planet, it provides an insight into how humans universally and uniquely cognize property. And the argument is this: Humans locate the meaning of property within a thing. Property is contained within the thing.

Assessing student presentations can be made more reliable with video-recording and post-performance rating. Further, self assessment and peer assessment can aid in the learning process by students when using specific, easy-to-understand rubrics. A ten-year action research study involved video-recorded performance assessment tasks using a free, open-source Moodle module developed by Sapporo Gakuin University. The Video Assessment Module (VAM) allowed teachers to video record English presentations and upload them to the module for students for self and peer assessment on specific rubrics using qualitative and quantitative criteria. When compared to paper rubrics, the VAM reduced teacher management time and students could use out-of-class time to assess asynchronously without time pressure. Results showed that there was a higher difference in teacher variance for self assessment when compared to teacher variance with peer assessment. Qualitative and quantitative results reported value in using the tool by both students and teachers. This study also showed that students can be trained to use online rubrics to score presentations efficiently, giving further validity for using and developing online modules for video assessment.

1. Read your work out loud. You will be able to hear rhythm and flow of language this way, and you really cannot hear it when reading silently. 2. Don't be shy. Ask other writers to read a draft for you. Everyone gets too close to the story to see the glitches, and a dispassionate reader is a writer's best friend. Good writers gather readers around them for everything from newspaper stories to whole books (which require really good friends). 3. Think of your lead as seduction. How are you going to get this wary, perhaps uninterested reader, upstairs to see your etchings? You need to begin your story in a way that pulls the reader in. My favorite basic approach goes seductive lead, so-what section (why am I reading this), map section (here are the main points that will follow in this story). That approach leads me to my next tip, which is 4. Have a dear sense of your story and its structure before you begin writing. If you think of a story as an arc, in the shape of a rainbow, then it's helpful to know where it will begin and where it will end so that you know in advance how to build that arc. 5. Use transitions. A story has to flow. Leaping from place to place like a waterstrider on a pond will not make your prose easy to follow. 6. Use analogies. They are a beautiful way to make science vivid and real—as long as you don't overuse them. 7. In fact, don't overwrite at all. And never, never, never use clichés. If you want to write in your voice, generic language will not do. In my class, there are no silver linings, no cats let out of bags, no nights as black as pitch. A student who uses three clichés in a story gets an automatic C from me. 8. Write in English. This applies not only to science writing but to all beats in which a good story can easily sink in a sea of jargon.

The purpose of the study was to find out how enhanced learner autonomy techniques can influence students' professional communication skills, subject-specific knowledge, levels of motivation in studying the language and general satisfaction from the studies. The problem under investigation is if students should be allowed to choose materials for language input and if the teacher will be able to work out an appropriate didactic approach in developing students' grammar accuracy, vocabulary range, speaking, listening and writing skills. the expermental course was designed for students of economics. Students' responsibility, the use of online resources and students' freedom in selection of teaching materials are viewed as key elements of the approach. the methodology of the course is worked out on the basis of close teacher-student interactin in and out of class. The results indicate that despite the fact that the course was time-consuming for both teachers and students, there are some positive results in respect of increased proffessional vocabulary range, levels of motivation and cognition.

The escape room, also known as escape game, is a gamification tool that aims to promote increased motivation and improved teamwork (Wood & Reiners, 2012). Recently, escape rooms have achieved prominence in the classroom as pedagogical instruments valid for any type of discipline. In the educational field in particular, the escape room can be defined as an action game in real time where the players, in teams, solve a series of puzzles or problems and carry out tasks related to the curricular contents worked on throughout the course, in one or more rooms with a specific objective and at a specific time (Nicholson, 2015). To do this, learners must put into practice the knowledge acquired about a particular subject, as well as their creative and intellectual abilities, and deductive reasoning. Despite being a pedagogical tool that has emerged as an innovative element in the last five years or so, the use of escape rooms for teaching-learning the English language at different educational levels has been studied qualitatively and quantitatively (Dorado Escribano, 2019; López Secanell & Ortega Torres, 2020). However, there is no study on the applicability of the escape room in the English literature classroom at the tertiary educational level. This paper aims to demonstrate how the inclusion of this innovative pedagogical tool can serve not only for teaching the language, but also for working on theoretical-practical contents of subjects focused on literary studies of the Degree in English Studies. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, the study will focus on the identification of types of exercises to implement as part of the educational escape room aimed at a sample of students; the preparation of tests/ exercises based on the established objectives; the design of a pre- and a post- questionnaire based on the established objectives; the implementation of the escape room in the literature class and the evaluation of the impact of this educational tool to foster students’ motivation.

In the last twenty-five years many changes have taken place in the Spanish University system and, as a consequence, the university lecturer’s role has evolved and a new teaching style prevails. The present paper focuses on University teachers of Economics and Business. It explores the teachers’ perception about the new methodologies that they have implemented, the extent to which the process of change has modified their way of working and, finally, the benefits and drawbacks encountered. Moreover, we examine whether differences of opinion arise depending on the distinct personal and professional characteristics of each teacher. The results reveal that most of the methodological changes undergone by the teachers stem more from the new profile of their students than by regulatory obligations. There is a unanimous opinion that the time and effort dedicated to teaching is now notably greater and that it is necessary to develop a rigorous system of teaching evaluation. In addition, two clear aspects can be observed: on the one hand, staff with a wider experience has carried out more changes and uses new technologies to a greater extent, and, on the other hand, the use and promotion of English in class is still a crucial issue.

The topicality of the article is determined by the widespread use of blended learning approaches in higher education, especially in studying foreign languages. With the limited number of classroom hours proposed for teaching foreign languages at technical universities, it became very relevant to introduce various alternative out-of-class monitoring methods. The aim of the research is to investigate the effectiveness of introducing video sketches as the way to improve the process of foreign language studying at technical universities. The authors assume that recording video monologues could facilitate students’ speaking abilities, reduce the level of their anxiety compared to delivering monologues in class and could stimulate the effective use of classroom hours for teaching foreign languages. To prove this hypothesis the authors of the study conducted an experiment in Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University during the autumn term of 2019-2020 academic year with the total number of 232 participants randomly chosen from 1-course students of technical specialties with different levels of English language proficiency. The possibility to record a monologue instead of delivering it face-to-face was considered as the IV (independent variable) of the experiment. Such research method as an open-close questionnaire was used afterwards to identify the students’ satisfaction with the proposed alternative as well as the analysis of the exam results at the end of the course. These results as the part of the students’ academic performance represented the DV (dependent variable) of the experiment. The obtained data showed that students of the experimental group passed their exam significantly better than the students of the control group. Thus, the present survey proved that students of the experimental group would prefer to record video sketches instead of delivering monologues face to face and that making video monologues improved their fluency and helped overcome some psychological barriers. On the basis of the research and the results obtained during the experiment, the authors conclude that the application of video monologues in the process of teaching foreign languages is highly promising.