IntroductionThis systematic review aims to present the characteristics of the recent research in gamified EFL/ESL instruction, benefits and drawbacks of using gamification in EFL/ESL instruction, and gamification elements.MethodsThe researchers carried out database search in both Web of Science and the Scopus for relevant articles using 15 related key terms. Finally, forty journal articles aligned with the inclusion criteria.ResultsThe results found that gamification has been widely utilized in more than ten non-English-speaking countries and various English language skills, which indicated that gamification has gained popularity in facilitating EFL/ESL learning. The benefits of using gamification included improving students’ English language skills and abilities, positively affecting students’ attitudes and emotional responses, providing an authentic language learning environment and cultivating students’ comprehensive competence. The drawbacks of using gamification mainly included the technical problems, short-lived positive effect, and the negative influence caused by the gamified competition, and so forth. The most frequently used gamification elements were feedback, points, quiz, digital badges, leaderboard, and reward, followed by progress bar, story-telling, challenge, videos, time limit, and competition.DiscussionThe results provide a better understanding of the state of using gamification in EFL/ESL instruction in recent years. It will be useful for researchers seeking to understand and evaluate gamification as well as to practitioners interested in using gamification.
Over the past 20 years, there has been increasing interest in exploring what language teachers believe (Borg, 2006). Often these beliefs are expressed in terms of metaphors (Richards, 1998; Woodward, 1991), but there has been little recent research connecting the two strands. The present study is based on the personal reflections of a group of 72 trainee teachers in a Malaysian University after a three-month practicum in local high schools. In these reflections, as well as currently fashionable constructs such as facilitator and motivator, these students often described their perceptions of the role of the language teacher using various metaphors. The wide range of metaphors volunteered by these trainee teachers were coded into various categories, such as terms relating to facilitating, mentorship, entertaining and kinship. This presentation will discuss a number of these, and also quote some of the trainees' comments in support of their chosen metaphor, which thereby reveals their underlying beliefs about teaching and learning. Relating their professional activity to other roles illuminates not only what teachers themselves believe, but also reinvigorates notions of (language) teaching itself. One of the implications of this study is that teacher educators, both in the specific setting and in relatable contexts elsewhere, can incorporate such metaphors into their programmes and in this way reimagine, refine and redefine the role of the language teacher for the benefit of their students, and themselves.
The advancement of scientific research and raising the next-generation scientists in Africa depend largely on science access. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused discussions around open science (OS) to reemerge globally, especially in resource-poor settings like Africa, where the practice of OS is low. The authors highlighted the elements, benefits, and existing initiatives of OS in Africa. More importantly, the article critically appraised the challenges, opportunities, and future considerations of OS in Africa. Addressing challenges of funding and leadership at different levels of educational, research, and government parastatals may be pivotal in charting a new course for OS in Africa. This review serves as an advocacy strategy and an informative guide to policymaking and institutionalization of OS in Africa.
Purpose – A consensus has been reached regarding the need for a paradigm shift in the English as Second Language (ESL) classroom. The literature has shown that self-regulated learning (SRL) has been substantiated as beneficial for students in language learning. It is believed that SRL promotes learner autonomy and successful academic outcome. Despite SRL being a quite popular strategy and is heavily researched, its functionality through the medium of ePortfolio is uncertain. Therefore, this research attempts to analyse how SRL contributes to positive academic outcome using ePortfolio as a medium. Methodology – A meta-analysis was carried out to identify the patterns and gaps in this research area. The results indicated that, out of 204 studies found in the database, only nine met the criteria used in this study. Findings – Findings from this meta-analytic research found that all nine studies included in this review emphasised different research methods and reported significant changes in the students’ academic outcomes. Eight studies were quantitative in nature, with only a single study being qualitative. Based on our interpretive findings, three themes were discovered in this study which are metacognition, collaboration and motivation. Significance – By understanding the roles played by SRL, this study hopes to provide insights to those who would like to use ePortfolio as a medium to promote self-regulated learning. It also gives a clearer view on how ePortfolio as a tool can promote SRL and the result of the meta-analysis may benefit other researchers in helping them to transfer what is applicable in their study. Keywords: Self-regulated learning, ePortfolio, meta-analysis.
Ministries of Education in many countries have adopted various forms of school-based assessment (SBA) to replace (for example, New Zealand) or complement (for example, England, Australia and Malaysia) more conventional forms of assessment such as tests and examinations. Central to these alternative approaches to SBA is formative assessment. In recent years, a body of research has been built investigating various aspects of SBA in Malaysia, but there has been a dearth of studies exploring what practising teachers believe and do regarding implementing formative assessment in their own classrooms. The present article reports some of the findings of a case study in which ten Malaysian primary school teachers of English were interviewed to identify the extent of their understanding of formative assessment and their reported practices of providing feedback in an SBA environment. Initially, the teachers revealed a general lack of understanding of the difference between formative and summative assessment. In such a situation, it would seem that the teachers are unready to implement SBA at the present stage, despite it having been mandated in Malaysian schools since 2011-12. However, later in the interview, they reported implementing various forms of feedback, some of which might be regarded as formative. There is a need, therefore, to differentiate between teachers’ explicit knowledge and their implicit understanding of matters such as formative feedback. The inherent limitations of self-report data emerging from interviews will be discussed and how these might be overcome.
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