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PurposeResearch advocates for the use of good teaching practices and approaches while integrating technology in digitally enhanced learning. This is on the premise that previous studies on mobile learning have neglected this aspect of technology integration resulting in numerous challenges. Moreover, there is evidence in the literature showing a scarcity of studies on the use of mobile learning in teaching productive skills. On the other hand, linguists recommend the use of responsive lesson design frameworks in language teaching, claiming effectiveness in teaching all language skills. However, responsive lesson design frameworks are yet to be implemented in a classroom setting. To bridge these gaps in scientific literature, our study decides to utilize the CAPE framework as a good teaching method for improving the productive skills of students in mobile-based instruction.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a mixed-methods research design with an experimental approach. Post-tests and interviews were employed to elicit information from the student-participants on the objective of the study.FindingsFollowing the analysis of the collected data, notable findings were obtained. While there was evidence to show that the students perceived m-learning as boring and ineffective when incorporated with a traditional lesson framework, our study unveiled that students showed a different perception when incorporated with the CAPE framework.Practical implicationsOur study unveils that integrating responsive lesson frameworks with m-learning improves the speaking and writing skills of students.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence to show the role of good teaching practices like integrating responsive LDFs and mobile learning in improving the productive skills of students. This study is the first to investigate the integration of CAPE and mobile learning in enhancing expressive skills.

Purpose This paper asserts that while educational resources are times effective in teaching students how to write, the format in which they are delivered can influence results. With this in mind, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of using educational resources in a blended format. Design/methodology/approach This study used a mixed-method research design to elicit information from 70 participants recruited for this study. The researcher divided the participants into experimental and control groups where the researcher taught the control group writing skills in a hybrid learning environment without using educational resources while the experimental group used blended interactive educational resources. The researcher analyzed and interpreted the participants’ post-test scores and transcripts of the interviewees. Findings This study finds that blended interactive educational resources contribute significantly toward improving the students' writing skills; however, improvements were not found in all aspects of their writing. Originality/value This study unpacks the positive contributions of blended interactive educational resources in writing instruction. This study contributes to educational literature in showing that these resources may be effective in improving some aspects of writing text. This study adds to other corpora of studies that emphasize the importance of using educational resources for learning.

PurposeThis study intends to examine these misconceptions in a bid to reaching a valid conclusion. More importantly, this study intends to elicit information from instructors and preservice teachers on their experiences, successes and challenges on the sudden switch from flipped classroom to emergency remote online teaching.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative research design and the main focus of this research design which was is a form of exploratory research design was to understand the reasons opinions and viewpoints of a particular group of people concerning a situation. This paper deems this research design fit for eliciting relevant information from instructors and preservice teachers on their opinions and perceptions on the sudden shift from flipped classrooms to emergency remote online teaching during the previous semester. Data collection for this study was carried out through the use of focus group discussions where participants were asked questions based on the objective of the study.FindingsThe present findings confirm that the mode of instruction delivery was not online teaching rather emergency remote online teaching. Another conclusion that was drawn was with regards to training, use of resources and issues of measurement and evaluation. The study summarized that there was little or no training for the teaching staff before the switch to EROT as instructors were only given guidelines on what to do to implement their lesson plans.Originality/valueEmergency remote online teaching is a newly emerging approach to lesson delivery, especially in an emergency situation. This study elaborates more on this new dimension of teaching and future prospects as well.

The switch from traditional teaching methods to emergency remote online learning as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 necessitated a change in approaches to measurement and evaluation in our educational system. A lot of methods were adopted yet the need for credible, properly monitored, valid and reliable assessment continues to be an issue of debate. E-proctoring as a popular strategy for monitoring and administering online-based examinations has witnessed tremendous success over the years yet ethical issues and many more are yet to be extensively examined. While a teacher may embrace the use of this software for monitoring examination, the perception of preservice teachers has not been explored adequately, much more the opinions of the instructors and preservice teachers on the level of efficacy with regards to the use of e-proctoring strategy for monitoring online-based examinations in a hybrid/emergency remote online educational model has not been investigated. It is in this light that this study intends to examine the perceptions of instructors and preservice teachers on the use of e-proctoring devices during online-based assessments, two research questions were investigated through a quantitative research design. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 40 participants comprising of 36 students and 4 teachers on their perceptions of the effectiveness and efficacy of the e-proctored software while administering and monitoring examinations. Findings from the study will be beneficial in drawing valid conclusions on the use of e-proctored devices in monitoring emergency remote online-based assessment. The conclusions will prepare school administrators and equip them with the possible approaches to adopt in ensuring that a credible valid and reliable evaluation process is conducted during the post-COVID 19 semesters.

Over the years, there has been an ongoing debate on the relevance of certain terms like ESL, EFL. Several linguists have argued that these terms do not represent a wide range of language users under varying circumstances, given their various proficient language competence levels. In a bid to unveil the extent to which this presupposition applies to the use of ESL and EFL terms. A group of 36 participants from a school in North Cyprus was purposively chosen for this quantitative study. Four research questions were to be investigated. Questionnaires were used to collect vital data from the participants on their perceptions on terms like ESL and EFL. After analysis, results were collected, analysed and used to make cases for redefining the concepts of ESL and EFL terms, especially within the Turkish-Cypriot setting. A notable finding of this study was that the participants believed that terms like EFL ESL do not adequately define their language status. They further suggested that more appropriate terms should be used. The study suggested using English as an international and intranational language instead of the former terms, among other suggestions. This study adds to the corpus of research showing that while acronyms like EFL and ESL are relevant in English language education, more emphasis should focus on improving learner's four language skills which directly impacts their performance and production of the target language.

A lot has been written with regards to anxiety in education and how it affects academic performance of students though little is known on the impact of test anxiety or examinations on pre-service language teachers. This study decided to examine the role of examinations in inducing anxiety among EFL learners and the extent to which this affects academic performance of students. In order to achieve this, a quantitative research design was used for this study. A questionnaire was used to elicit information from the participants and the instrument was distributed to 55 EFL learners to elicit information on their opinions regarding the influence of test anxiety on the students. The instruments were face validated as well checked for reliability. After collecting the data and carrying out analysis, findings derived from the study were used to make valid pedagogical conclusions on the impact of test anxiety on EFL learners

This study is carried out to examine EFL program managers’ working conditions, eliciting information on their views on EFL program management within the Turkish Cypriot context. This study also upholds that an understanding of their perceptions as EFL program managers will help create a better working condition and improve EFL programs and instruction, characterized by excessive proliferation of language centers that put profit-making as their utmost priority. Two research questions were utilized to investigate EFL program managers’ challenges and barriers while managing foreign language institutes and centers. The study adopted a qualitative research design approach; 45 EFL program managers and coordinators with international qualifications with over ten years of experience were purposefully sampled and recruited as participants for this study. A semi-structured interview was the instrument for data collection, which experts validated to ensure it measures what it purports to measure. Data collected were transcribed and analyzed through thematic analysis to uncover themes used to define and interpret findings. This study’s findings indicate that the absence of professional expertise, training/retraining programs, resource availability, and competition from other universities were the significant challenges EFL program managers face while carrying out their duties. It was also unveiled that over monetization of EFL programs within institutions brings about challenges in program management. Recommendations were given to bridge these gaps.

Teaching English language to young learners in an English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language context could be challenging especially for African immigrants, as they face varying arrays of challenges ranging from low wages, staff abuse, and other racial discriminations. A lot has been written about racially related issues in our school system yet there are limited works of literature that focus on the challenges of African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers with regards to racial discrimination. To investigate this, a mixed-method research design was used to elicit information from 68 African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers, teaching young English as a Foreign Language learners in 3 countries. The participants were purposively chosen after obtaining written and oral consent from them. A structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions were instruments for data collection. Reliability and validity checks were carried out before administering the questionnaire. After analysis, a notable finding was that African immigrant teachers felt unaccepted by the host communities and this made it difficult for the English as a Second Language learners to listen to classroom instructions given by these immigrant teachers. Again, the parents of these learners find it difficult to accept African immigrant teachers teaching their children as they deemed them incompetent to teach them. Other findings of the study were vital in making pedagogical conclusions on racial discrimination issues encountered by African immigrant English as a Second Language teachers. The ways forward for an all-inclusive educational system devoid of ethnic, religious, sexuality and racial issues were suggested.

İn line with the objective of this special issue to unveil the challenges, opportunities, experiences, and perspectives of learners while they engage with technology during the global pandemic especially in a broader context, this study decides to examine their perceptions on the use of technology-based learning environments during the post covid semesters. This is on the premise that understanding the learners perceptions on using technology for learning after the pandemic unpacks numerous success and challenges which is essential in making propositions that would enhance learners' digital experience and while steering educational policy to the appropriate direction.To achieve this, a mixed-method research design was adopted for this study and 36 participants were purposively selected. Semi-structured interview questions and a 5 point Likert-type questionnaire were used to collect information from the participants on their perceptions on using technology-based instruction during the post-pandemic semesters.Based on the data that was collected and analyzed, the study unveiled that though technology was perceived to enhance learning among the learners, it significantly creates boredom when used for educational purposes. Other novel findings of this study were instrumental in making valid empirical conclusions on this topic.This study adds to the corpus of studies showing learners' experiences and perspectives on the use of technology for learning during the post-pandemic semester. The study is a starting point for more discussions on the need for developing learner-friendly technologies for better learning experiences among learners.

This study investigates the use of principled eclecticism in enhancing communicative competence of EFL learners. The study assumes that the issues with regards to poor use of language especially language production and performance was connected with language teaching methodologies used. The study thus applied an experimental approach towards investigating the use of PE in language teaching.

This study examined the impact of test anxiety on academic performance of EFL students. The study was used to ascertain the extent at which test anxiety affects test taking among preservice teachers. Results obtained were used to make pedagogical conclusions that was valid in theory and practice

This study investigated the use of spoken-reflection instruction to improve the communicative competence level of English as Foreign Language learners in a second language acquisition classroom. A listening and speaking test was administered before and after the study to determine the participants’ level of speaking competence. A quantitative research design was adopted for the study. A 3-credit unit language course was designed and implemented for the study. The course was built on the core principles of reflective practice. Participants were taught using the normal language teaching method and spoken-based reflection instruction. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 65 English as Foreign Language learners who willingly participated in the study. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was used to obtain information from the participants about their perceptions of using spoken-based reflection instruction to improve their speaking skills. In addition, participants were administered a Reflection-Listening, and Speaking Skills Test before and after each experimental phase to determine whether their listening and speaking skills had improved. Most learners found the use of spoken reflections to be a fun way to learn. However, they expressed anxiety about doing teacher-student reflection because they felt intimidated by the presence of their language teacher, although sending recordings of their reflections to their teachers was more convenient than interacting with them on a one-to-one basis.

PurposeThere are currently no studies concerning the use of Google Hangout in North Cyprus. Thus, this study examines the perceptions of preservice teacher and language instructors on the use of Google Meet (GM) as a synchronous language learning tool for a distant online program in Cyprus.Design/methodology/approachTo elicit information on the perception of preservice teachers and language instructors on this issue, a quantitative research design was used for this study.FindingsThough the language instructors deemed GM effective and efficient as a language learning tool, the preservice teachers thought otherwise.Research limitations/implicationsIt was difficult to collect data during this pandemic outbreak. Obtaining ethical consent from the participants was difficult as well and so the sample size was small.Practical implicationsThe study was able to demonstrate that the use of GM was somewhat effective as a language learning tool for the online distant program, though the level of efficiency and effectiveness varies from preservice teachers to the language instructors. Also, the study was able to highlight the use of GM could be very effective if it is well managed by the teachers to stimulate student engagement during lessons. The study showcased that the unavailability of Internet data, poor Internet connection are possible constraints to the efficiency of GM. Recently, a university in Northern Cyprus has decided to partner with a telecommunication network (Turkcell) toward providing free Internet access for all registered students within a particular period of learning. This is a welcomed approach that can be emulated by other educational facilities in bridging the gap created by poor Internet connection in a remote online learning setting.Originality/valueThere are no studies within the context of North Cyprus on the use of GM as a synchronous language learning tool for online distant programs. Though the use of GM is adjured effective and efficient, this contextual overview of GM is a new insight into academia.