Search

Development of tailor-made indigenous teaching content, after assessing the target learners’ needs and proficiency, is necessary to address to specific needs of specific learners, ensure optimum learning and motivation. This quantitative investigation attempted to determine the communicative competence of SSETH in English language skills to develop indigenous teaching content. A Likert-scale questionnaire was developed and administered to 289 participants to record their perceived proficiency in English language skills and sub-skills. Independent-samples T-test was run to generate descriptive statistics and determine whether any significant differences exited in their perceived proficiency level. The results revealed medium low English language proficiency by the participants. SSETH reported comparatively higher proficiency in the productive skills of writing and speaking as compared to the receptive skills of listening and writing. The cohort form College of Tourism and Hospitality, Taif (CTHT) reported slightly higher competence as compared to their counterparts from College of Tourism and Hospitality, Madinah (CTHM). Comparative results generated by Independent-samples T-test rejected the null hypotheses as no statistically significant differences were found in the perceived communicative competence of both groups. It is recommended that various stake holders should work in close coordination to develop and implement indigenous teaching content which should be periodically assessed and modified to suit the changing ESP needs of SSETH. This procedure may be followed as a model for other disciplines to develop indigenous teaching material.

Communication skills are extremely important for the tourism industry; they form an integral part of most tourism activities. Using English, as the international lingua franca, is an essential part of these skills, especially for international tourism. Saudi Vision 2030 places a high importance on international tourism as a driving force for economic growth. Since the inception of the Saudi Vision 2030, the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia, along with its workforce, has been growing substantially. Therefore, designing English language teaching materials for the tourism industry workforce in Saudi Arabia is a necessity. The current study firstly aimed to analyze the English language communicative needs of the Saudi tourism workforce, and then propose an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) model for teaching English based on their needs. A nation-wide survey was designed and distributed to sixty-two male and fifteen female workers serving in the Saudi tourism industry to determine their English language communicative needs. Listening and speaking were found to be highly important to their profession, in particular understanding instructions and requirements and providing details about touristic attractions. Reading and vocabulary were found more important than writing and grammatical accuracy. The study concludes with a proposal of an ESP teaching model to meet the English language communicative needs of the tourism workforce in Saudi Arabia.

High scale integration of renewable energies has led power system towards a new set of challenges that have increased the complexity of cost optimization problem. Moreover, forecast errors in the prediction of wind, PV and load affect the accuracy of optimization. Therefore, cumulants and Gram–Charlier method have been proposed for solving probabilistic load flow (PLF)-based optimal transmission switching (OTS) for large-scale integration of renewable energy. The cumulants method has been used for forecast error evaluation in order to improve the accuracy of the proposed method. Moreover, Gram–Charlier method has been utilized for PLF-based OTS evaluation due to its fast convergence. In this paper, the simultaneous optimization of generation dispatch and network topology for PLF-based OTS has been investigated. Wind farm along with PV has been considered for large-scale integration. The proposed approach has been applied on IEEE 118 bus system with renewable integration. The results depict that the proposed approach is quite useful for large-scale power systems.

This exploratory qualitative study problematises how Pakistan’s public-school education shapes female identities, employing compulsory school textbooks. Drawing on Foucault’s Discourse Analysis and...

The steady-state performance of modular multilevel converter (MMC) can be optimized by the following methods: circulating current injection, third-harmonic signal injection, and average capacitor voltage control. However, most of the papers, due to the deficiencies of their MMC models, are limited to the study of adopting just one method and only optimizing a single-aspect of the performance. Thus, this article proposes a general MMC model for the comprehensive study of the steady-state performance optimization. The general model is built based on an equilibrium equation between the internal quantities and the external quantities of the MMC. This general model is capable of analyzing the optimization where the optimizing methods are combined and used to improve the multiaspect performance of the MMC. In addition, more influence factors are taken into account; hence, the calculation error can be smaller than 1% and even the minor effect of each optimizing method can be reflected. The proposed model is compared with traditional models; and it is found that both dc and fundamental components in modulation signals will be affected by the injected circulating current, rather than the constant values in the traditional models. Finally, the proposed MMC model is verified by both simulation and experiment.

This survey reports results and findings related to the perceptions of English language teachers from Gulf universities pertaining to the impact of effective online strategies practiced during corona pandemic. A validated self-developed 5-point survey instrument has been used to collect data for this comparative investigation. The instrument was pilot tested after determining its content validity and reliability. Cronbach alpha (α) reliability test was run to determine reliability. The final version of the questionnaire consisting of 51 items was generalized and uploaded on Google forms to record the participants' responses. One hundred forty-four responses were recorded including 94 (n = 94) from Saudi universities and fifty (n = 50) from other Gulf countries including UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. The participants of the study have seen eye to eye with each other in majority of questionnaire items and ranked 'asking comprehension questions', teacher-student interaction' and 'teachers' oral feedback' as the most preferred teaching strategies in enhancing content understanding, students' motivation, mutual interaction, teacher-student rapport and active engagement in learning. The findings have also revealed that lecturing, written assignments, individual projects have been perceived least effective teaching strategies in producing positive results during online teaching. Among the most important pedagogical skills needed to deliver successful online courses, 'communication skills' and 'patience' have been perceived most effective. The remaining skills have also been assigned high mean values indicating their positive role in online teaching. Results generated by independent-samples T-test have accepted 6 null hypotheses and rejected one hypothesis. Findings and recommendations have been presented based on the results of this survey.

The capacitance of sub-module capacitor has a great impact on the cost, size, and operation of the modular multi-level converter (MMC). However, the capacitance selected by the existing methods does not always meet the requirement in practice. To find out the reasons for this improper selection, the existing selection methods are analyzed in this paper. Based on the analysis, a new capacitance-selection method is proposed. In the new method, the problems of the existing methods are solved, and the calculation of capacitor voltage is based on a proposed capacitor-voltage model whose calculation error can be smaller than 0.1%. Furthermore, the Secant Method is used in the capacitance selection to quickly calculate the required capacitance. The new capacitance-selection method can be applicable to the MMC not having a circular operating region. In addition, this paper found that the capacitor voltage and the capacitor-voltage ripple reach their maximum values when the power-factor angles of the MMC are –π/2 and π/2, respectively, and the dc component in the capacitor voltage changes according to the operating condition of the MMC. Finally, the proposed selection method and theoretical analyses are verified by both simulation and experiment.

Peer collaboration in small groups has increasingly been recognized as an instructional technique that promotes interactive skills, socialization, learning and achievement across a range of subjects and disciplines. The study aims to measure Saudi female EFL learners’ attitudes toward the effectiveness of cooperative learning (CL) and its impact on their social and academic skills. In the present study, the researchers utilized a quantitative research tool to collect data from the participants. A 25-item Likert-scale opinionnaire was designed with closed-ended statements to measure five variables laid down by Johnson et al. tabulated into five sections. The survey was administered to 100 Saudi female EFL learners at undergraduate level to measure their attitudes toward the effectiveness of CL. The findings of the study indicate that CL enhances EFL learners’ social skills, maximizes inter-group relations, mastery of the course content and academic achievement. It further develops EFL learners’ individual and group accountability, leadership qualities and decision-making power. It is assumed that EFL learners’ cognitive faculties can be activated and optimum results can be obtained if this interactive strategy is implemented in a structured pattern with a properly designed rubric focusing on the five essential components of CL.

This paper presents static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) integration into a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind park (WP), analyses the impact of STATCOM on the WP high voltage ride-through (HVRT) capability, and proposes a transient function for the STATCOM to improve the WP HVRT capability. An actual WP is adopted as a test system. The STATCOM size is selected considering the grid code requirement for power factor control, and various wind turbine (WT) and medium voltage (MV) feeder outage scenarios. The WP HVRT capability is assessed with electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations by analyzing the responses to a parametric voltage waveform. The external system is represented by a Thevenin equivalent. The pre-described voltage waveforms are applied to the Thevenin source in order to assess the conformity of the HVRT capability to Hydro-Quebec specifications. The WP simulation model includes all details regarding collector grid and overvoltage protection. The simulation results demonstrate that, STATCOM usage provides a noticeable improvement in HVRT capability of the WP, especially with the proposed transient function.

Role of Renewable Energy Resources (RES) is increasing day by day due to continuously depleting fossil fuels. Moreover, to make environment-friendly power generation, RES is one of the best options. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the number of countries which aim their grids synchronized with RES has reached 180. This increasing trend of RES integration is causing new vulnerabilities in power system. This paper studies the impact of an increase in load under the different percentage levels of wind generation. Six cases are discussed, each with 10% increase in wind penetration along with 5% increase in load at every step. Modified IEEE-14 bus system is analyzed under various scenarios to evaluate the minimum voltage level, minimum angle, active and reactive power loss in the power system. Mat-Power and MATLAB are used to evaluate the power system. Results show that 20-30% wind generation penetration has a good impact on power system's performance. However, further increase in wind generation results in more power losses.

Industrial sector is of great significance for economic growth of every country, but industries are polluting our environment day by day. Most of the customers at industrial and commercial level use Diesel Generator (DiG) as a reliable alternative source of electrical power when grid supply is unavailable. The use of DiG during loading shedding hours would increase Cost of Energy (COE) per KWh and also enhance the environmental emissions. With the distinct emphasis on the implementation of an industrial microgrid in Faisalabad, Pakistan has been specified in this paper. The prospective benefits of the microgrid fall into three major kinds: cost reduction, fuel saving, and improved environmental emissions. The optimization objective of this work is to maximize these benefits. This study contributes to the on-going studies about hybrid microgrid system for industrial loads and draws the attention towards clean form of energy to reduce the environmental emissions and energy saving. Different cases are studied; microgrid sizing, techno-economic exploration and environmental effects are addressed using (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) HOMER. The results show that COE and environmental emissions have been significantly reduced for the proposed system.

There is an increasing interest in low voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution grids due to advancements in power electronics enabling efficient and economical electrical networks in the DC paradigm. Power flow equations in LVDC grids are non-linear and non-convex due to the presence of constant power nodes. Depending on the implementation, power flow equations may lead to more than one solution and unrealistic solutions; therefore, the uniqueness of the solution should not be taken for granted. This paper proposes a new power flow solver based on a graph theory for LVDC grids having radial or meshed configurations. The solver provides a unique solution. Two test feeders composed of 33 nodes and 69 nodes are considered to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method is compared with a fixed-point methodology called direct load flow (DLF) having a mathematical formulation equivalent to a backward forward sweep (BFS) class of solvers in the case of radial distribution networks but that can handle meshed networks more easily thanks to the use of connectivity matrices. In addition, the convergence and uniqueness of the solution is demonstrated using a Banach fixed-point theorem. The performance of the proposed method is tested for different loading conditions. The results show that the proposed method is robust and has fast convergence characteristics even with high loading conditions. All simulations are carried out in MATLAB 2020b software.

This paper presents a decentralized technique based protection and control scheme for the active radial distribution network. A partitioning method for radial distribution network with multi-distributed energy resources is developed considering island operation possibility of DER, hence, the active distribution network is partitioned into zones with DER and zones without DER. Directional node configuring method is proposed to identify the positional relation of circuit breakers (CBs) on boundaries of zones. After configuring each intelligent feeder terminal units (IFTUs) with the directional node relationship information, the connection relationship between zones can be obtained automatically. So that only by communicating with its neighbors, the IFTU can decide which CBs should be opened when a fault occurs. Peer to peer communication technique is established for interacting fault measurement information among the adjacent IFTUs, fast and accurate faulted zone location and isolation can be achieved. Meanwhile, seamless islanding of the zone integrating DERs can be realized to keep supplying power to the islanded feeder continuously after distribution network splitting. Moreover, power balance control for intentional islanding is discussed to ensure the islanding stable. Finally, results of case studies demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

With the increasing penetration of renewable energies, the seamless integration and related energy management problems present challenges to the traditional power grid. Voltage source converter based multi-terminal HVDC (VSC-MTDC) has been regarded as a prospective emerging technology for the above mentioned issues. With its flexible control characteristics, it is expected that VSC-MTDC systems will play important role in the future power grid. Furthermore, a multi-voltage level VSC-MTDC systems will have the potential to enhance the flexibility and redundancy of the power system. This paper presents control algorithms for a multi-voltage-level DC network to improve the utilization rate of renewable energies and mitigate the coordinated and interconnected problems of distributed renewable energies and urban power load. The operating of auto-power-balancing mode and the power cooperation mode and their corresponding control strategies are analyzed in this paper. For the auto-power-balancing mode, the centralized DC power control is proposed to mitigate the disturbance caused by power fluctuation. For the power cooperation mode, the unbalanced power redistribution control is proposed to eliminate the unbalanced power when the master station encounters problems. The simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC for a twelve VSC-MTDC system demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed operation modes and corresponding control strategies.

With the increasing integration of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) generation and plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) into the households at user level, household consumers become prosumers. The coordination between the household prosumers and distribution network (DN) becomes essential to the energy management and optimal operation for both entities. In this paper, the residential prosumer cluster is considered as a residential microgrid (RMG) and a hierarchical DN integration method for the multi-RMGs is presented. A two-level hierarchical distributed optimization model is established based on the analytical target cascading to coordinate the RMGs and DNs. At the RMGs level, each RMG is required to individually optimize the energy consumption scheduling in every household by taking into account the effect of time-of-use electricity price on the demand response of EVs and flexible loads. At the DN level, the optimally coordinated operation problem is formulated as a relaxed optimal power flow model based on the second order cone programming by considering the power flow balance constraints. Case studies on the modified IEEE 33-bus system demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method by achieving coordinated economic optimality as well as coordinated operating points for all entities.

The study in hand intends to investigate the comparative analyses of the perceptions of Saudi EFL learners with high grade point average (HGPA) and low-grade point average (LGPA) towards cognitive, metacognitive and socio-affective listening comprehension strategies employed by them to comprehend listening texts. A modified 5-point strongly agree to strongly disagree Likert-scale questionnaire has been administered to Saudi EFL learners with HGPA and LGPA to generate data for this empirical study. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire has been determined. The instrument was translated into Arabic which was administered to the cohort from both levels to identify their responses towards the various questionnaire items. Independent-samples T-test was run to determine descriptive statistics as well as to identify whether any statistically significant difference exist along GPA. The data generated through this comparative analysis were used to test three null hypotheses set for this study. The results have reported that by and large no significant differences exist in the perceptions of the HGPA and LGPA participants of this study and null hypotheses were accepted. It was found that Saudi EFL learners represented by the participants of this study resort to cognitive strategies the most followed by the metacognitive ones to comprehend listening texts. As far socio-affective strategies are concerned, the results indicate their least use by the participants of this study. The findings of this empirical study suggest that Saudi EFL learners like to exploit bottom-up strategies more than the top-down ones. Recommendations have been forwarded at the end based on the findings of this empirical study.

This empirical survey investigates the perceptions of English language teachers towards the role of content schemata in reading comprehension among Saudi EFL learners. Furthermore, it also attempts to explore the use of appropriate classroom strategies employed by English language teachers to activate content schemata to enhance learners’ reading comprehension. A modified Likert-scale strongly-agree to strongly-disagree questionnaire was administered to 61 male and female EFL faculty from English Language Center (ELC), Taif University to generate data. The findings have reinforced that background knowledge of Saudi EFL learners help them significantly in reading faster with better understanding. It has also been reported that pre-reading strategies of brainstorming, classroom discussions about the topic and questioning are the most favored ones to activate Saudi EFL learners’ background knowledge. It has also been learnt that while-reading strategies of directing the students’ attention to signal words, main idea, important phrases, titles, subtitles and effectively linking the target text to their students’ cultural and social experiences also contribute towards reading comprehension. The findings have also revealed that English language teachers consider low English language proficiency and poor reading skills of Saudi ELF leaners as well as the lack of appropriate teaching aids as the major obstacles in activating the content schemata. Several recommendations have been forwarded which have significant pedagogical implications in materializing much sought-after goal of effective ELT in the KSA by ensuring better reading skills among Saudi EFL learners.

A growing mass of research has reported that each human being is different like a signature and particular characteristics based on their specific personalities have a strong effect on their language learning possibilities. Research posits that identification of EFL learners’ beliefs about language learning positively affects language learning process as it helps the teachers to address to their students’ learning effectively and also bears positive overbearing in case they bear some less positive beliefs. The study in hand is an attempt to investigate the beliefs of Saudi undergraduates along gender lines by using Horwitz’s (1987) BALLI. The comparative analyses generated by Independent-sample T-test reveal that male participants have assigned comparatively higher values to the majority of the questionnaire items as compared to their female counterparts. The participants of this survey have exhibited the greatest gender-based differences in their beliefs about “motivation and expectations”. Beliefs about “learning and communication strategies” and “the nature of language learning” have shown medium gender-based differences whereas male and female participants have seen eye to eye to each other in their perceived beliefs related to “foreign language aptitude” and difficulty of language learning. The findings of this empirical study have several pedagogical implications to revisit and modify teaching/learning practices of English language in Saudi Arabia in particular and Arab world in general. The findings will help English language teachers teaching in the KSA to understand the gender-based dimensionality of the language learning beliefs which will help them align their teaching methods to their learners’ beliefs; thus, maximizing the possibilities of much sought after goal of effective and efficient ELT in the KSA.

It is inevitable that learners make mistakes in the process of learning a foreign language. Despite this fact, what is questioned by language teachers is why students go on making the same mistakes even when such mistakes have been repeatedly pointed out to them. Yet, not all mistakes are the same and sometimes they seem deeply ingrained, but at other time students correct themselves with ease. Thus, researchers and teachers of foreign language delineate the fact that students’ errors, while being in the process of constructing a new system of language, should be carefully understood in the process of second language acquisition. This study intends to identify whether any significant differences exist between traditional method of feedback and constructive feedback process to endorse this critical process of rectification as a part of the teachers’ job. The researchers highlight this phenomenon at a juncture of time when there is a growing concern about the deplorable conditions of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Pakistan. Regardless of the fact that EFL teachers in Pakistan have an extensive experience of teaching English, the high failure percentage along with the sub-standard feedback processes are annoying everyone concerned. In this study, causes of poor writing are explored while targeting upon the constructive feedback (hereinafter CFB) through the error analysis system (EAS). For this specified purpose, the researchers used experimental research design to find out the reasons of poor writing of participants at Secondary School Level. This article determined the significance of CFB through EAS and proved that writing errors of the students could be minimized by the proper employment of CFB. Henceforth, in the light of the research findings, emphasis is given on recommendations for all the stakeholders.

It is reported that language learning is a creative and dynamic process and the learners are active partners in this process. This trend in language teaching motivated the researchers to investigate the learners' individual differences and the identification of language learning strategies (LLS) has become a major area of interest in this regard because it is suggested that language learners consciously or unconsciously employ different LLS. This research study investigated LLS used by Saudi English-major undergraduates by using SILL version7. Paired Samples t-test was applied to see if significant differences exist as a result of their GPA differences. The informants of this study were 240 English-major undergraduates (low GPA, 106 & high GPA, 134) enrolled at foreign languages department Taif university. Results reported that the participants with high English language proficiency use language learning strategies more frequently. The participants ranked the metacognitive strategies the highest as compared to other LLS followed by social and cognitive LLS respectively. Among the remaining three categories of LLS, compensation and affective strategies showed mixed preferences but memory strategies were assigned the least mean values by both sample groups. Considering the fact that frequency of LLS usage and English language proficiency are positively linked to each other, it is concluded that it seems necessary to teach language learning strategies explicitly so that even the weaker students should be able to enhance English language proficiency by exploiting a wide range of suitable strategies that are appropriate to different classroom activities and learners' L2 experience.

Technology-based initiatives have transformed the process of teaching and learning activities at formal institutions generally and distance education institutions particularly. Distance education is at the heart of the digital age making maximum use of the emerging technologies. Researchers have favoured computer mediated communications (CMC) for improving the quality of teacher education in developing countries by providing access to more and better educational resources. The researchers designed a CMC-ELT blended model and offered online English language teacher education courses at post-graduate level. A group of students enrolled in MA TEFL programme of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Islamabad Pakistan, was selected randomly and was guided through CMC-ELT blended model. The results of the study showed that the online support in distance education enhanced students’ performance in terms of access, interaction and cost. The effective use of online support in distance education can improve the quality of English language teaching programmes in Pakistan.