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This study, an 18-week comparative experiment, examined the effects of instruction in test-taking strategy in English as a foreign language reading class. It involved an experimental group (68 students) taught test-taking strategies and a control group (66 students) that did not receive the instruction. Various means were used to investigate the pedagogical efficacy of the instruction of test-taking strategies. First, standardized reading tests revealed both groups' reading comprehension performance for comparison before and after the experiment. Second, the effects of test-taking strategies on the experimental group were surveyed before and after the intervention. Third, the experimental group discussed perceptions regarding the intervention. Results show that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the reading tests, had significantly better test-taking strategies, and strongly endorsed the usefulness of the instruction in test-taking strategy. This paper concludes with recommendations for teaching test-taking strategies to empower students to tackle reading tests.

This article examines the test-taking strategies of high- and low-scoring Chinese-speaking participants when they answer English multiple-choice reading comprehension questions. Thirty-two participants took a TOEIC reading test, provided think-aloud protocols, and joined a post-task interview. The data come primarily from qualitative analysis and were compared with those from quantitative analysis. Strategies of four kinds emerged in the results: word/lexical-based, sentence-based, reading comprehension strategies, and overall technical approaches. The discussion provides insights into the employment of test-taking strategies and the relationship between strategy use and reading performance.

This study has the aim of improving the English speaking ability of Taiwanese college freshmen by a video featuring connected speech instruction. Forty-eight students from a private university in northern Taiwan participated in the study, which lasted for 7 weeks. Pre- and post-tests were used to assess their speaking performance in terms of connected speech before and after the experimental treatment. Entry and exit questionnaires were also used to investigate students' learning attitudes. The results show that such instruction was significantly effective for improving the English language learners' connected speech skills. Positive results were also observed in the outcomes of the questionnaires, showing significantly enhanced learning attitudes to English speaking. It is hoped that the study results may offer language teachers some insights into the practice of video-aided learning in English speech classes, particularly its efficacy for connected speech.

This study compares the language learner and test-taking strategies used by Chinese-speaking graduate students when confronted with familiar versus unfamiliar topics in an English multiple-choice format reading comprehension test. Thirty-six participants at a large mid-western university performed three tasks: A content knowledge vocabulary assessment, two practice reading comprehension passages from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT), and a post task interview. Two stages of analysis, qualitative and quantitative, were undertaken in this study. From the qualitative results, six broad categories of strategies emerged. For the quantitative analysis, ANOVA with repeated measures was completed, and the results showed that the types of test-taking strategies adopted by Chinese-speaking students remained similar when they read passages with familiar versus unfamiliar topics. Discussions and implications related to test-taking and reading pedagogy are provided in the conclusion.

This study of 52 undergraduates of English as a foreign language (EFL) involves an empirical assessment of the pedagogical suitability of data-driven learning (DDL) in three Taiwanese grammar classes. One class (16 students) was taught using a traditional deductive approach (TDA), and the others (one of 17 and one of 19 students) were taught using blends of DDL and TDA. The participants' performance in grammar and their judgments of the teaching effects of DDL were both collected for analysis. Using a covariance analysis, the study results indicate no significant differences between the three classes in grammar proficiency, although paired-sample t-tests reveal significant gains for each class. However, the results of quantifying participants' perceptions of the treatments over time show clear changes as the experiment proceeded; there was a growing preference for DDL-integrated treatments but a disinclination towards the TDA. Although it seems premature to claim DDL's pedagogical suitability here, the overall results lend support to the legitimacy of practicing DDL in different educational areas. This is particularly notable for Taiwan's EFL context, given that most of its grammar classrooms are still employing conventional approaches, including the Grammar Translation method, even if they are not inclined towards them. The article concludes with a discussion of DDL's effects on future EFL grammar classes and possible avenues for further studies.

This research was a quasi-experiment that examined the effects of CLIL in an educational context in Taiwan's higher education. Two groups of first-year undergraduate students were involved. One (65 students) was taught with CLIL; the other (59), the conventional approach. Their knowledge of the content and learning attitudes (self-efficacy and motivation) were quantitatively compared through achievement tests and a questionnaire. A qualitative semi-structured survey asked both groups for their perspectives on and perceptions of the treatments. The quantitative results show that both approaches were significantly effective for improving students' knowledge of the content of the target subject (literary text), but the EG outperformed the CG. Likewise, both groups had positive learning attitudes to their treatments, but the EG also outweighed the CG. Furthermore, the qualitative accounts generated diverse results, reflecting the underlying difference between the approaches but showing that both approaches were welcomed. However, the conventional method was more favored than CLIL, mostly because of the participants' learning preferences or because of the learning patterns which they had formed over years of studying in the specific cultural-education system (i.e., that of Taiwan) chosen for the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, learning English has become a national movement. This article examines the national K-12 English curriculum in Taiwan, with specific criticism offered against some the prevailing practices that occur in Taiwanese classrooms. Influenced by the philosophy of essentialism and by an institutional regard for college and high school entrance requirements, many Taiwanese teachers spend their time teaching to the tests. But the tests only assess a partial range of skills and knowledge that successful language learners need. Teaching is not neutral. So if we examine the implicit curriculum, we could begin to appreciate some of the latent messages sent by schools in Taiwan, including important ones about reading and writing skills and the attitudes toward learning. Even the register of speech varieties and the sociolinguistics aspects of language play some role in the implicit curriculum. At last, the implications of ACTFL standards for language teaching and learning are discussed to further guide the English curriculum in Taiwan.

Little research has been done to investigate the influence of cultural differences on students' second/foreign language learning styles, with a focus on comparing between East and West classroom cultures. This study investigates the differences that East Asian students may encounter when studying in the English-medium academic environment. By interviewing 20 graduate students pursuing degree in the US, some differences between East and West classroom cultures are revealed and the pedagogical implications for both teachers and researchers are provided.

This study aims to investigate the experience of six early-career teachers who team-taught grammar to EFL college students using data-driven learning (DDL) for the first time. The results show that the teachers found DDL an innovative and interesting approach to teaching grammar, approved of DDL's capacity to provide more incentives for students to engage in discussion, and endorsed its effectiveness in transforming relatively passive students into active learners. The results also indicate some challenges that DDL entailed and possible ways for the teachers to meet them. The challenges included increased workload and technical difficulties in designing DDL materials and conducting DDL-centred activities, but the teachers still eventually improved their DDL teaching by following three key practices: reducing the number of corpus entries used, deploying complete concordance lines whenever possible, and asking the students focused guiding questions. This article concludes with suggestions for future DDL practice in EFL grammar classrooms.

Aim: To compare the efficacy and safety of dinoprostone vaginal insert (DVI) alone versus DVI with adjunctive sweeping of membranes (ASM) for induction of labor (IOL). Methods: Single‐center, prospective, randomized controlled trial; women with singleton term pregnancies, cervical dilation ≥1 and <3 cm, intact membranes allocated to either DVI or DVI with ASM. The primary outcome was vaginal delivery within 24 h of insertion. Secondary outcomes included mean time from insertion to delivery, tachysystole, operative delivery for non‐reassuring fetal status (NRFS), tocolytics, fetal outcomes, pain information, and subject satisfaction. Results: One hundred and four received DVI (Group 1) alone and 104 DVI with ASM (Group 2). The rate of vaginal delivery within 24 h was 53% versus 56%, cesarean rate 8.7% versus 10.6% in Groups 1 and 2 respectively. Although the duration of labor was similar in both groups, about 6% of women required additional ripening with dinoprostone vaginal tablets in Group 2 compared to 11.5% in Group 1 (p‐value = 0.2). The frequency of hyperstimulation syndrome, failed induction, analgesic requirements, and fetal outcomes were comparable. The majority (83%–86%) in either cohort were satisfied with their labor experience. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated a slightly better chance for vaginal delivery within 24 h (odds ratio [OR] 1.22 [95% confidence interval, CI 0.65–2.29]; p‐value 0.53] for DVI with ASM, although statistically insignificant. Younger maternal age and multiparity (OR 10.36 [95% CI 4.88–23.67]; p‐value <0.0001) contributed to successful IOL. Conclusion: DVI with ASM is at least as efficacious as DVI for cervical ripening with no increase in morbidity. Although DVI with ASM group less often needed additional dinoprostone tablets to complete the process of IOL (p‐value = 0.2), adjunctive sweeping has not been shown to have a significant impact on the duration of labor or mode of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]