Speaking is considered as a challenging skill to improve as it is a productive one which requires the learners to be unique and creative in the way they express themselves. Therefore, teaching speaking takes the attention of the researchers in the field of English language teaching. Therefore, the way “speaking” was integrated into the curriculum of a School of Foreign Languages in one of the state universities in Istanbul was investigated by the researcher to find out whether the speaking component of the program helped students improve their oral language proficiency and to learn both efficiency and sufficiency of it from the perspectives of the students as well as the instructors in that institution. For this purpose, eight students within the program were taken into five different speaking tests in five different weeks sequentially and were interviewed by the researcher afterwards. Additionally, six students who had taken this program of the school previously and were taking their departmental courses at the time of the study were also interviewed to give them the chance to reflect back on their past experiences as learners who applied the knowledge they had acquired from this school. Six different instructors working in this institution were also interviewed. One of them was also observed in her real class environment. Results showed that the program was found “efficient” in some aspects such as the importance given to “speaking” but there were some points that needed consolidation just like the materials.

Contemporary studies related to teacher autonomy mostly deal with research into how autonomy is perceived by teachers and which variables it is associated with. On the other hand, there are very few studies dealing with how teachers’ instructional autonomy over the curriculum is reflected in the education process. The aim of this study is to reveal in depth the practices carried out in the context of instructional autonomy by science teachers who have different levels of autonomy. The study is based on data gathered from eight teachers employed at different schools in the province of Izmir in Turkey. Interviews, observations and documents were used for collecting the data. The results reveal that while teachers with high instructional autonomy successfully apply contemporary teaching methods, alternative evaluation techniques, high-order thinking skills and effective classroom management, teachers with low instructional autonomy fall short in all of these areas.

The purpose of the study is to examine pre-service teachers' impromptu speaking skills on the basis of the evaluations of the instructor, peers and their own. The study employed a descriptive case study design, one of the qualitative research methods. A total of 23 pre-service math teachers taking the course of Art of Effective Speech in a state university in Turkey in the 2016-2017 academic year participated in the study. The data of the study were collected through the observations of the researcher and pre-service teachers. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the study, it was found that in most of the observation items, the pre-service teachers found themselves inadequate in terms of impromptu speaking skills while they were found to be adequate by their peers and instructor. In addition, it was revealed that the pre-service teachers found themselves inadequate in some items related to the use of voice while they found themselves adequate in most of the items related to articulation/diction and body language and in all of the items related to communication. However, while the instructor observed that the pre-service teachers were generally competent in all the sub-dimensions, she determined that they needed improvement in the sub-dimensions of eye contact, pausing at the appropriate place and speaking without repeating words.  

The aim of this study is to obtain classroom teachers' views on the problems experienced in the literacy process by foreign students in the first grade of primary school, which constitutes an important part of language acquisition. A qualitative research approach has been adopted in the research. The data were obtained using a semi-structured interview form. With the semi-structured interview form created by the researchers, the opinions of the teachers working in the city center of Malatya in Turkey in the 2017-2018 academic year and having foreign students in their class were received. The data collected in line with the opinions of the teachers were analyzed with content analysis. As a result of the data analyzed, the opinions of the teachers were collected under 5 titles; "The problems experienced by foreign students in the process of adaptation to the school", "The problems experienced by foreign students in the stages of the literacy process", "Teacher’s problems in the education of foreign students", "Teacher’s solutions regarding the problems experienced by foreign students in education", and "System suggestions of teachers for the education of foreign students". Teachers mostly experienced problems in writing during the preparation stage, language-related problems in the perception of the sound, pronunciation problems in reading letters, and comprehension problems in syllable-word-sentence-text creation when starting independent literacy.

The teaching and learning of mathematics in South Africa are conducted through the authorised Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). South Africa has eleven official languages, and English is a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) from the Intermediate and Further Education and Training (FET) Phase. This study explores teachers' views on code-switching as a communicative technique to enhance teaching mathematics in Grade 4 in selected primary schools in South Africa. This qualitative single case study employed the interpretivist paradigm and social constructivism theory. A convenient purposive sampling technique was used to sample six grade 4 mathematics teachers from three primary schools in the Alexandra township in South Africa. Researchers collected data through the use of semi-structured interviews, which were later analysed and discussed using themes. Findings indicate that teachers often code-switch from LoLT (English First Additional Language) into Home Language (H.L.) to enhance learners' understanding of the mathematics concepts. Researchers suggested the integration of code-switching into the curriculum policy and followed by in-service training for Grade 4 mathematics teachers in code-switching.

During the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), English as a foreign language (EFL) students have to study and submit their assignments and quizzes through online systems using electronic files instead of hardcopies. This has created an opportunity for teachers to use computer tools to conduct preliminary assessment of the students’ writing performance and then give advice to them timely. Hence, this paper proposed some indicators which were essay readability scored by Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), length of essays, errors in writing and a method to assist the teachers in providing writing feedback to the students. The results showed a large difference in FRE, the number of words, sentences, paragraphs and errors. The K-means clustering findings were applied to classify groups of students based on writing proficiency indicators. The findings also revealed that the number of words and sentences in the essays indicated some deficiencies. The concept of paragraph should be reinforced while some specific errors such as misspelling, grammatical and typographical errors found need to be eliminated. This study showcased that the computer tools should be integrated to process the students’ essays so that the teachers can pinpoint the problems and make suggestions to their students in appropriate time. Lastly, the results can be served as the guidelines for the teachers to develop and adjust teaching materials pertinent to writing to enhance the writing performance of EFL learners.

This study aims to determine the expectations of university students on the part of the Higher Education System and to what extent these expectations are met. Phenomenological approach, which is counted among qualitative research models, was utilized as the research model. The data obtained from student interviews were analyzed by content analysis. Findings were presented as themes and categories. The research participants consist of 21 students studying at different universities and programs in the 2020-2021 academic year. This study ascertained that the opinions of participating students in terms of themes, categories and codes and their satisfaction levels vary depending on the university they attend. Students expect from the Higher Education System that it enables them to get to their dream job, curricula and materials based on their needs, qualified lecturers, a foreign language education, academic freedom, a democratic environment, equal opportunities in education, an substructure, socio-cultural and physical-material opportunities, international interaction, practice-oriented opportunities for training/internship and participation in administration. The faculty or program choice is highly determined by the condition of a country, the gained scores in the central examination system, surroundings, offered orientation assistances in secondary education, the quality-perceptions of students related to universities, acquisition of employment and the sufficiency of universities to acquire a profession. Findings of this research made clear, that the level of The Higher Education System responding to the expectations of the students differs according to the possibilities of universities.

Evaluation of the K-13 curriculum (2013 Curriculum) on the value of the national mathematics examination “Nilai Ebtanas Murni” (NEM) in every State Junior High School needs to be carried out thoroughly in order to improve the quality of education. This study uses spatial analysis to evaluate the curriculum and determine the development of NEM scores in the school year. Furthermore, the kriging interpolation method via surfer software was used to generate scores. The results showed that the 2015 K-13 mathematics curriculum did not give good results based on the 36-68 NEM score interval for the entire Pekanbaru area. In addition, the curriculum only gives good results for a small area in the north and south. In 2016, the curriculum which was accompanied by the entry of the new education unit level curriculum “Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan” (KTSP) showed a significant change in the NEM value. Although most of these areas experienced an increase in scores, the intervals still ranged from 36-68. The total revision of the K-13 curriculum carried out and used in 2017 showed a significant increase in scores for all regions with an interval of 68-84 scores. In conclusion, this study shows that the revision of the K-13 curriculum is the right step to produce quality mathematics learning.

This study explores international graduate students' experiences of content-language integrated learning (CLIL) at a university in Korea. This study focuses on a course that allows international students to simultaneously learn the Korean language and content knowledge. Korean as a medium of instruction (KMI) was applied to 16 international graduate students in two graduate courses during the 2021 Fall semester. The survey examines the perception and satisfaction of students' experiences in the KMI classes. Among survey participants, interview applicants were selected for in-depth interviews. Study results showed that international graduate students developed content knowledge through KMI classes. They also improved their Korean language ability. Overall, international students were generally satisfied with KMI classes. However, it is difficult for international students to dramatically enhance their Korean academic proficiency within one semester. Recommendations are provided on effectively conducting CLIL classes, such as KMI for international students in higher education.

The purpose of the study was to identify how the designed instructional model moderated the vocabulary-related anxieties in students when they communicated in the media internationally. The methodological approach used in the study was aimed at controlling and manipulating variables which were as follows: The level of vocabulary anxiety related to communication in the media, cultural intelligence, and English vocabulary level. The study relied on quantitative and qualitative methods to gather the experimental data and answer the research questions. Insufficient vocabulary was found to be one of the key factors of anxieties in students when they communicated in the media internationally. The major sub-factors of the vocabulary-related anxieties in the students when they communicated in the media internationally (as perceived by the respondents) were spontaneous interaction with the native speakers, guessing the meaning of the words from the context, and paraphrasing ideas using synonyms. The instructional-purpose use of the predesigned vocabulary lists, learning them using the Telegram bot, talking to the foreign speakers in the media, self-analysis, and analysis by peers were proven to be capable to moderate the vocabulary-related anxieties in students when they communicate in the media with the foreign speakers.

A transition from pre-service training programs to teaching is a dramatic and somehow painful experience for novice teachers. The question is what difficulties novice teachers face and how they negotiate their professional identity to cope with difficulties and find joys in their career. This study is aimed to investigate novice teachers’ professional identity reconstruction, from their imaged-identities to their practiced identities. The use of semi-structured interviews collected data from four Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) novice teachers. According to the data, cue-based was the most common type of novice teachers’ imagined identity. Regarding the practiced identities, the interviewees reported different professional identity reconstructions in the first five years of teaching practice. The participants’ excerpts enlisted some challenges that the novices faced such as students’ learning attitudes, working environments, or unorganized colleagues. Based on the research findings, some solutions were proposed in order to help novice teachers get through their difficult times at the very beginning of their career.

The teaching method is one of the main aspects to make a huge contribution to the success of any education system, and project-based teaching (PBL) is an important aspect to contribute to the success of education also. This research was conducted through a review of project-based teaching that has been used in the education system of Vietnam, including a sample, and setting that included imperial and theoretical literature selected from the fields of education. Findings show that this method has been applied to various sectors of education, from kindergarten education to higher education, in many disciplines and subjects, in schools and educational settings, and has become more widely popular than ever. This method, however, has its drawbacks because it takes time to master and teachers need more skills to manage the learning atmosphere. This method has been commonly accepted as one that can help teachers and learners understand more and get more benefits in the learning and teaching process.

The purpose of the study was to identify and categorise the criteria-specified instructional approaches to fostering undergraduates’ cross-cultural skills involving training them in foreign languages and to evaluate their effectiveness and feasibility. It was a systemic review of the effectiveness type. The descriptive content analysis was used as a methodology within the study to analyse the relevant short-listed sources. The triangular assessment method (TAM) was applied by instructors from Ukraine to rate each approach’s/programme/course’s potential effectiveness and/or feasibility for the context of higher education in Ukraine. This review identified potentially effective and feasible approaches/programmes/courses that can be converged to produce more efficient instructional models for fostering undergraduates’ cross-cultural skills. The selected approaches or courses or programmes could be categorised as technology-driven approaches, approaches based on classroom activities or using specific instruction models, psychological effect-driven approaches, and combined or converged approaches. The use of technology-driven approaches seems to be the emerging instructional trend specifically in training students’ cross-cultural skills.

Tests are an integral part of most formal language learning processes, exerting far-reaching effects on many aspects of language learning. Among other things, tests affect language learning motivation (LLM), an element that is fundamental to many learning contexts. However, little attention has been paid to how tests affect LLM and what the pedagogical implications may be. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews with 20 adolescent Arab learners, this study attempts to explore how and when tests can motivate or demotivate language learners. It also examines the main strategies learners deploy to cope with the demotivating experiences associated with test taking. The data suggest that tests have the potential to both motivate and demotivate learners before, during, and after taking a test. Additionally, the results reveal several strategies that learners employ to cope with demotivation. This leads to a discussion regarding pedagogical implications on how to effectively employ tests to increase learners’ motivation and decrease their demotivation.   

This study explores Korean pre-service teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and satisfaction with flipped learning courses in a teacher education program. A mixed research method was used to collect the end-of-semester survey (n=62) and individual interview data (n=4). Guided by the four pillars of flipped learning (FL), study results are followed. First, Korean pre-service teachers believed that flipped learning format provided a flexible learning environment where pre-service teachers (PSTs) learn course materials in their own space. This result indicated that their learning happened without the limits of time and space. Second, pre-service teachers showed that their self-directed learning could be enhanced while watching pre-recorded videos before attending the class. Most PSTs agreed that their self-directed learning could be enhanced after participating in the flipped learning courses. Third, pre-service teachers evaluated that the FL course instructor was a professional educator who conveyed the intentional content effectively. Fourth, pre-service teachers were generally satisfied with the FL courses and were willing to take the FL courses again in the future.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of game-based learning (GBL) through the use of Genially in English as a foreign language (EFL) online instruction. The participants were 61 EFL undergraduate students, who were distributed into an experimental group (32 students), and a control group (29 students). Their ages ranged from 22 to 56 years old, and their English proficiency level was B1, according to the Common European Framework of References (CEFR). The students were enrolled in two pre-intermediate courses that are part of an EFL Teaching program at a private university in southern Ecuador. The courses were delivered in an online remote learning environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study followed a quasi-experimental approach and it took place over a sixteen-week period. The instruments included a diagnostic survey, a pre-test, a post-test, a students’ perceptions survey, and a semi-structured interview. The main findings revealed that Genially games have the potential to enhance EFL learners’ academic performance in online instruction, particularly in aspects related to students’ knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in context. Besides, it was found that according to students’ perceptions, the implementation of games based on their real learning needs increases their motivation, especially when feedback is effectively provided.  

The purpose of the study was to identify the - interventions that can be adopted for teaching chemistry disciplines to the graduates majoring in Pharmacy (Mpharm) in Ukraine. The study employed a systematic review methodology and a qualitative approach to synthesising the sources. The triangular assessment method was used to rate the short-listed instructional interventions for feasibility, transferability, and duplicability in the settings of teaching chemistry disciplines to pharmacy graduates in Ukraine. The review found seven eligible publications for the analysis. It was identified that the shortlisted instructional models were technology-mediated and positively affected students’ skills and occupational knowledge. Three out of seven instructional models used chatbots and AI to automate the process of management of students learning activity which suggested that automation of the process of educational content delivery was becoming an emerging trend in instructional design. Having performed the triangular assessment method (TAM) analysis, three instructional models were given preference in terms of their use in medical education settings in Ukraine. These models were as follows: a) PhET simulations-based model, b) the model based on automated delivery of the course using the Smart Sender platform and c) the model based on automation of the Moodle-driven e-course using Dialogflow chatbot.

This study aims to evaluate the English language teacher training program which was put into practice in 2006, according to the views of lecturers and English teachers. This study aims to contribute to the studies on foreign language teaching by presenting an evaluation of teacher education, which is an important dimension of English as a foreign language teaching. The qualitative method was used in the study, which was designed in a descriptive survey model. The population of the research consists of 35 lecturers working at the English Language Teaching Department of different Education Faculties in the 2016-2017 academic year and 11 English teachers working in public schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education and who have not completed 5 years in the profession. NVIVO-11 program was used in the analysis of the data. The results of the study were compared with the 2018 English teacher education program renewed by the Council of Higher Education. English teachers and lecturers think that the content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and general culture courses in the teacher training program are insufficient. According to English teachers and lecturers the content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and general culture courses in the English language teacher education program are insufficient. Furthermore, English teachers stated that they could not apply what they learned during their training to real-life conditions. Therefore, they propose that the English language teacher training program should be revised considering the current conditions.

This study examines how visual thinking may affect Jordanian female ninth-graders reading abilities. The design had an experimental feel about it. The study included 66 ninth-grade female students who were studying English as a foreign language (EFL). An instructional program was created and put into place, and a pre-post reading exam was created to help the study reach its objective. The results were examined using SPSS. The findings show that there are statistically significant changes in the steps of the visual thinking strategy (VTS) modality between the two groups, with the experimental group benefiting more. VTS has been proven to be a successful strategy for greatly enhancing student attainment of good marks and having an impact on student achievement of course learning outcomes. This study triggered the following reading sub-skills: vocabulary acquisition, imaging, building and activating schema, identifying the main idea and details, questioning, inferring, communicating through oral language, and comprehension. VTS has a real impact on teaching reading sub-skills, which is important for both teachers and curriculum designers. Longitudinal research data is required to further analyze and refine this teaching strategy.

This study investigated college students’ career maturity as a mediator of the effect of professional identity on academic achievement. The researchers developed a structural equation model and a research hypothesis using the Chinese college students’ professional identity scale, career maturity scale, and academic achievement scale. After experts’ revision and confirmatory analysis, the 3 scales had sufficient reliability, validity, and fit. The researchers distributed electronic questionnaires to students in 4 universities in Jilin Province, China, and participants responded using 5-point Likert-type scales. The researchers collected 1,104 valid questionnaires. According to the analysis, college students’ professional identity is a positive predictor of their academic achievement, and career maturity partially mediates the influence of professional identity on academic achievement. Therefore, improving Chinese college students’ professional identity may improve their academic achievement, and professional identity can have a positive effect on academic achievement through career maturity. University administrators and teachers should enhance the career maturity of college students and promote their professional development.