Through this paper I critically assess the value and limitations of interviewing as a research instrument. Therefore, my discussion, which would be based on methodological issues allied with the use of interviews in qualitative social science research, is twofold. Firstly, I briefly review the literature concerning the use of interviews, discuss interviews' types and illustrate the differences between these types. Then, issues regarding interviewing in practice will be discussed, ending this part with a brief review of the notion of interviewing in linguistic research. Secondly, a critical evaluation of the method will be presented, including a consideration of its usefulness and pitfalls, followed by discussing issues of validity and reliability of using interviews as a research instrument. To end with, ethical issues concerning the use of interviews will be discussed before drawing on our conclusion.
English plays a crucial role in determining a student’s academic success and career path in Saudi Arabia. This is one of the reasons why all Saudi Arabian universities offer mandatory foundation year programs to university entrants. The assumption is that if a student has high proficiency levels in the English language, the student will be able to meet the challenges and demands of other science courses that are taught in the English language in the first-year program as well as the subsequent bachelor's programs. In order to prepare students for academic success, the trend at Saudi Arabian universities is to use US or UK publishers to provide the resources for its curriculum which is based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This study investigates the relationship between Saudi Arabian university students’ English language levels and their performance in science courses in a foundation year program. Using Oxford University’s Q: Skills Placement Test, quantitative data is used to establish the students’ language levels according to the internationally accepted CEFR scales. The scores were then correlated with students’ overall averages in the science courses. Data was gathered over a period of five academic years and statistical analyses were conducted using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient formula and scatter plots. The findings and conclusions have serious implications for curriculum designers at Saudi Arabian universities as well as institutions of higher learning in the Middle East and the Arab world.
The increasing use of emojis, digital images that can represent a word or feeling in a text or email, and the fact that they can be strung together to create a sentence with real and full meaning raises the question of whether they are creating a new language amongst technologically savvy youth, or devaluing existing language. There is however a further depth to emoji usage as language, suggesting that they are in fact returning language to an earlier stage of human communication. Parallels between emojis and hieroglyphs and cuneiform can be seen which indicates the universality of visual communication forms, rather than written alphabetised language. There are also indications that emojis may be cultural or gender-specific with indications that women use more emojis than men to express their feelings and that age is less of an indicator of usage than technological awareness and capability. It appears that emojis are filling the need for adding non-verbal cues in in digital communication about the intent and emotion behind a message. Examinations of the way that emojis have developed and evolved and their current and forecast usage leads to the conclusion that they are not a “new” language developed by the technological adept younger generations, but instead are an evolution of older visual language systems that make use of digital technology to create greater layers and nuance in asynchronous communications. Furthermore, emojis are devices for demonstrating tone, intent and feelings that would normally be conveyed by non-verbal cues in personal communications but which cannot be achieved in digital messages. It is also evident from prior works and analyses of usage that there are universal meanings to Emojis. This suggests that as a language form, emojis may be able to contribute to increased cross-cultural communication clarity. Further research is however recognised as being necessary to fully understand the role that emojis can play as a visual language for all generations, not just those termed millennials or technologically savvy youths. Keywords: Emojis, socio-semiotic analysis, new language, old language, pictograms
Students facing difficulties in learning English because of a range of factors and issues are often demotivated to learn. This has a direct impact on the entire learning process. Research into motivation in the EFL classroom has discovered that certain strategies can encourage learners to think more positively and thus be more motivated in their language learning process. This paper critically discusses types of motivation strategies in the EFL classroom and their increase in popularity. Following this, it critically considers ways in which motivation strategies are still lacking and hence presents some approaches to better promote these from the perspective of students, teachers and policy makers. Along with providing specific recommendations for further research on L2 motivation, the paper concludes by calling on for adopting a range of motivational strategies that can improve student foreign language learning.
This paper explores how technology, and specifically the application of social media, in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom is changing how language is taught. The paper begins with a depiction of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and how technology has generally been employed in EFL classrooms in the past few decades. This critical appraisal, which provides the context for the paper, assesses how successfully technology has been viewed in relation to language teaching and learning and how it has developed up to the present day. The focus then moves to social media apps and mobile technology as a contemporary form of CALL. The discussion considers the ways in which social media is used in language classrooms and more importantly the things it can offer the EFL teacher and learner. Importantly, the paper concludes by proposing ways in which these types of technologies can be better incorporated across cultures and contexts to promote EFL teaching and learning.
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