This paper provides a review of the research related to the use of blended learning in English as a second/foreign language context. Blended learning is a relatively new field that combines traditional teaching approaches with distance and online learning. The use of blended learning has been emphasized by the recent research that examines the academic and social benefits of this teaching approach. Because it combines traditional and online teaching modes, the promise of blended learning rests on the strengths of both teaching approaches. The present review of the literature revealed that blended learning can be used effectively to develop language skills, enhance the English learning environment, and promote students’ motivation toward learning the language. There is a dearth of literature that examines the challenges that face language teachers when using blended learning. Hence, more research has to be done to identify and deal with these challenges.
The pre-sessional team at a university in the Midlands (U.K.) trialled a new observation approach in which teachers had a choice between three observation types: online seen live (synchronous); online seen recorded (asynchronous); and unseen. This presented the opportunity to consider what impact, if any, the type of observation has on observer and observee perceptions and experiences of lesson observations. Perceptions of the observations were collected via focus groups and interviews and were analyzed using a pragmatic version of grounded theory (Barbour, 2018). Preliminary findings suggest that the type of observation can dial up or down certain qualities of the observation, such as who controls the data and whether observations are seen as high or low risk, creating opportunities to move beyond box ticking and towards using observations for meaningful individualized continuing professional development (CPD). This may be especially important in the pre-sessional context, in which many practitioners work under precarious circumstances, with increasingly limited access to meaningful CPD and diminishing opportunities for experimentation within their practice (le Roux, 2022). This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Barlian Kristanto, Diannike Putri, Le Huang Dung
et al.
Vocabulary mastery is crucial for nursing students to effectively communicate in English. This study aimed to develop and validate a tailored computer-assisted vocabulary learning (CAVL) intervention to improve nursing students' retention of English lexicon, which is essential for healthcare communications. The CAVL program was designed using the Moodle platform and focused on four thematic units that targeted essential nursing vocabulary. The learning process followed research-based principles of vocabulary instruction, including multimodal introduction, reinforced retrieval, and contextual repetition. This study utilized a research and development methodology to conduct iterative needs analyses, design refinement, and rigorous evaluation protocols. Expert reviews, prototype testing, post-intervention vocabulary tests, and delayed assessments were used to gather data and make data-driven improvements. Quantitative analysis evaluated the effectiveness of this approach for 100 Indonesian nursing students. Vocabulary assessments were administered before, immediately after, and two weeks after the intervention, revealing significant improvements in terminology knowledge following the implementation of CAVL. Importantly, scores remained stable during the delayed assessment, demonstrating durable retention. These results are consistent with previous literature on the benefits of contextual and multimodal vocabulary learning. The CAVL prototype facilitated learning and effectively improved vocabulary retention outside of the classroom. This research provides an adaptable framework for technologically-assisted language mastery, which is essential for the next generation of nursing education. Further studies can explore the application of this framework in allied healthcare fields and the transition to practice in nursing education.
Special aspects of education, Language and Literature
This study investigates the use of hyperbole as a satirical device in English-language science fiction, examining its stylistic conveyance and translation into Russian. Employing linguo-stylistic analysis, translation analysis, and functional-linguistic component examination, various definitions of hyperbole are explored. The results indicate that hyperbole serves as an artistic tool for deliberate exaggeration, capturing the reader’s attention and emphasizing the author’s stance. Focusing on Harry Harrison’s science fiction novel “Bill, the Galactic Hero” and its two translations by V. P. Kovalevsky, the research scrutinizes hyperbole’s contribution to satirical effects and identifies two types of hyperbolic exaggerations: contextual and hidden. Hidden hyperbole is further expressed through stylistic contrast and enumeration. In the Russian translations, the satirical effect is largely preserved, albeit with some losses. The study underscores the significance of hyperbole in engaging readers’ critical thinking and directing their focus towards real-world issues within the science fiction narrative. For professional translators, recognizing and conveying hyperbole is crucial in accurately representing the author’s intended meaning.
Theory and practice of education, Philology. Linguistics
This paper explores “difference” as locus for changing power relations in Jane Austen’s major novel Emma. While Austen’s pre-occupation with courtships has been under scholarly investigations, it has not been properly considered as tool of resistance: one that strives to displace power from physical force to a discursive one. This displacement is a strategic struggle of middle-class ascendency over aristocracy in a changing English milieu. The study examines courtships within two Foucauldian frameworks. The first one is disciplinary that aims to regulate sexual practices like panopticon---an apparatus of power, producing normative/heterosexual identity through surveillance. Embedded in the first is the second approach that examines the very assumptions of the panoptic discourse through ‘micro techniques of power’. It is the ability of her characters (especially the female) to reject not only undesirable sexual advances but desirable proposals as well that transform their otherwise passive and docile bodies into subjects to be reckoned with. In doing so, Austen does transform signs of class and rank into forms of expression as pre-requisite for any exchange. This paper is an attempt to look into the power dynamics in the novel from a different angle---the angle of difference impacted by power/knowledge and discourse. Two sites of contestation are analyzed: the first played between Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightly, and the second between Mrs. Elton and Jane Fairfax. This transformation can explicitly be viewed in her novel Emma. Foucauldian insights are certainly innovative to a well-read Austen.
English literature, Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
This study examines how codas of Urhobo-English loanwords are adapted and shows that the strategies adopted in repairing loanword coda in Urhobo are driven by syllabification constraints and universal conventions. Syllabification conditions in languages that forbid filled coda will require that all the consonant sounds in a phonological word that are to be found in the phonetic string are parsed as onsets. Assuming this is true, it has implications for loanword adaptation. Urhobo exclusively permits the open syllable type. Implicitly, all the coda elements of loanwords are likely to be licensed as onsets, which may result in a possible ‘illicit’ onset cluster given the onset condition requirement of the language. Accordingly, this study examines the attested patterns of adaptation of English coda in Urhobo loanwords and their motivations as well as implications. The discussion is built around the theory of constraints and repair strategies.
Fariba Khayyati, Fariba Ebtekar, Mohiadin Amjadian
et al.
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted with the aim to answer the following questions: What were the main reasons for students’ leaving the Telegram network group? How could they be encouraged to stay in such groups?
METHODS: This was a qualitative study based on the content analysis method of Hsieh and Shannon. Using purposive sampling method, 24 students were recruited from the Islamic Azad University of Saqez in Iran in 2020. Nvivo software was used for data analysis. The reliability of the findings was insured through transcribing the data as soon as possible, accurate recording of the steps of the study, and using a suitable data collection method.
RESULTS: The codes were placed into 10 subcategories and 3 main categories including the challenges of staying in the channel, smoking and not intending to quit, and motivational factors affecting the staying of individuals in the group.
CONCLUSION: Most of the participants reported the low attractiveness of the channel, the cost of the Internet, Telegram filtering, and cultural reasons as significant challenges. Using photos instead of texts, posing questions for group members to answer, putting story series on the channel, advertising on other channels for this channel, and photos or GIFs were described as motivations for staying on the channel.
In dem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse aus zwei Studien vorgestellt, in denen Deutschlehrkräfte und ihre Vertrautheit mit, ihre Nutzung von und ihre Einstellung zu digitalen Medien untersucht worden sind. In der eigenfinanzierten DIDID-Studie („Digitales Distanzlernen im Deutschunterricht während der Corona-Pandemie“), an der von November 2020 bis März 2021 auf Basis eines Online-Fragebogens 1981 Deutschlehrkräfte teilgenommen haben, sind Daten zu digitalen Kompetenz-, Einstellungs- und Nutzungsmustern von Deutschlehrkräften in Bezug auf digitale Medien während der Corona-Pandemie gewonnen worden. In der von der DFG 2021/22 geförderten GETDIME-Studie (“Effects of the Covid Pandemic on German Language and Literature Teachers and their Familiarity with, Use of and Views on Digital Media”) wurden auf Basis unveröffentlichter Daten in der ICILS-Studie 2018 digitale Kompetenz-, Einstellungs- und Nutzungsmuster von Deutschlehrkräften vor der Corona-Pandemie untersucht. Die Extrapolation von Grundprofilen der Deutschlehrkräfte in DIDID und ICILS ermöglichte einen unmittelbaren Vergleich. Dieser lässt eine leichte Progression der in DIDID untersuchten Deutschlehrkräfte in ihrer Vertrautheit mit, Nutzung von und Einstellung zu digitalen Medien während der Corona-Pandemie gegenüber den in ICILS 2018 teilnehmenden Deutschlehrkräften vor der Pandemie erkennbar werden. Dabei zeigt sich ein deutlich erhöhtes Fortbildungsinteresse und ein klarer konturierter Fortbildungsbedarf.
Abstract (english): German teachers and their familiarity with, use of, and attitutes toward digital media during and before the Corona pandemic in Germany. Finding from two studies.
This paper presents results from two studies that investigated German teachers and their familiarity with, use of, and attitudes towards digital media. In the self-funded DIDID study („Digital Distance Learning in the German Classroom during the Corona Pandemic“), in which 1981 German teachers participated from November 2020 to March 2021 on the basis of an online questionnaire, data on digital competence, attitude and usage patterns of German teachers with regard to digital media during the Corona Pandemic were obtained. In the GETDIME study („Effects of the Covid Pandemic on German Language and Literature Teachers and their Familiarity with, Use of and Views on Digital Media“), funded by the DFG 2021/22, digital competence, attitude and usage patterns of German teachers prior to the Corona Pandemic were investigated on the basis of unpublished data in the ICILS study of 2018. The extrapolation of basic profiles of German teachers in DIDID and ICILS enabled a direct comparison. This reveals a slight progression of the German teachers studied in DIDID in their familiarity with, use of and attitude towards digital media during the Corona pandemic in comparison with the German teachers participating in ICILS 2018 before the pandemic. This reveals a clearly increased interest in further training and a clearly contoured need for further training.
Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women are one of the most prevalent infections occurring at various stages of life. UTI represents one of the most common, challenging and widely misunderstood infectious diseases among women as outpatient and nosocomial infections leading to morbidity.
Aim: The objective of our study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of urinary tract infection among Pakistani diabetic females and create awareness regarding its preventive measures.
Study type, settings & duration: This observational study was carried out at South East Hospital and Research Center, Islamabad over a period of six month from February to August 2022.
Methodology: The non probability convenient sampling method technique was used. Data was collected through pre-structured proforma and entered in SPSS version 25.0. Questionnaire written in English and local language was handed over to each diabetic patient. All the responses were collected and the same was entered in the software for analysis.
Results: The mean age of patients was 52 years, Weight 70kg, mean duration of diabetes 8 years and random blood glucose level was 268.63 mg/dL. Total of 36.3% diabetic females had knowledge that they are at increased risk of developing UTI. Only 24.7% knew that interrupted urinary stream can be a symptom of UTI, 27.9% knew about fever and 12.4% knew about abdominal pain. Only 7.1% diabetic females knew that incontinence of urine can be its symptom. Almost 60% of the patients knew about the importance of timely treatment of UTI.
Conclusion: Urinary tract infection ......................
Having recourse to learners' mother tongue in foreign language (FL) classes has been a controversial topic in the field of teaching English as a foreign language for a long time. There has been a great deal of claims and counterclaims that revolve around the pedagogical appropriateness of teacher usage of learners’ mother tongue in foreign language teaching. Recently, the findings of English as a foreign language (EFL) research cast doubt on the rationales of proponents of exclusive use of FL in EFL setting; and researchers come up with the reality that a rational use of first language (L1) is not only inevitable but also profitable in classrooms where teachers and learners share the same L1. Dearth of knowledge on the pedagogical reality of this issue in Iraqi EFL contexts is worth exploring. This study aimed at highlighting English language teachers’ attitudes towards using the learners' mother tongue (Arabic) in the EFL classrooms, seeking their viewpoints on the purposes for which Arabic could be used in English classes, and exploring their reasons for using it. For this end, the study was conducted on 50 EFL teachers teaching at public primary schools in Baghdad, using a questionnaire survey developed to fulfill the aim of the study. Findings of the obtained data demonstrate that teachers’ overall attitudes towards occasional use of Arabic in EFL classrooms were positive; and they reported using Arabic for both teaching and classroom management purposes. Analysis of the data also indicates that all of the participants were inclined to switch to Arabic in their EFL classrooms for a number of reasons necessary to create a more comprehensible, motivational, relaxing, friendly, and supportive classroom environment for young learners and to save time and effort in overcrowded classes.
Piotr Teodorowski, Saiqa Ahmed, Naheed Tahir
et al.
Objectives
Public involvement and engagement have been growing within big data research. However, seldom heard voices such as migrant and ethnic minorities communities are often underrepresented. This study explored how Polish and South Asian communities in the United Kingdom could be better included in public involvement and engagement activities.
Approach
We conducted semi-structured interviews with Polish (n=20) and South Asians (n=20) to elicit their views on big data research, public involvement and engagement. We focused on Polish and South Asian communities as they represent some of the United Kingdom’s largest migrant and ethnic minority groups. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Public advisors were involved in the analysis. They and one of the researchers come from ethnic minority and offered insider insight into participants' perspectives and thus allowing us to unpick the complexity of experiences and backgrounds.
Results
The majority of participants were willing to become involved or engaged in big data research. However, we found there were multiple barriers to involvement, these included: language (especially for those for whom English is the second language); use of jargon by researchers; time restrictions and unfamiliarity with big data or public involvement. Some participants questioned how much migrants could be involved when they were only in the United Kingdom on a temporary basis. The participants made recommendations for how researchers can mitigate these barriers. Awareness-raising activities would allow people to expand their understanding and build their confidence when speaking about big data research in a second language. Participants spoke of the need for researchers to work more closely with local communities, especially with local gatekeepers.
Conclusions
The results indicate that there is no ‘right’ way to involve and engage seldom heard communities around big data research. Researchers need to engage with communities, establish trust and develop a long-lasting relationships. These partnerships should move beyond single projects and aim to benefit both researchers and seldom heard communities.