Sarath Samaranayake's Official Blog

Dr. Sarath Withanarachchi Samaranayake's Resume

2025-04-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Detailed Resume

Dr. SARATH WITHANARACHCHI SAMARANAYAKE

45, Pride of Ceylon, Mayadunna Mawatha, Athurugiriya. Sri Lanka

As an experienced English lecturer in the education management field, I have developed a diverse skill set in e-learning, lecturing, educational technology, curriculum development, and teacher training. I possess a doctoral degree in Linguistics from the University of South Africa. Throughout my teaching career, I have researched various topics related to English acquisition and teaching in different EFL contexts, including Thailand. On a contractual basis, I worked as an English Lecturer in the Department of International Language Teaching at the Faculty of Education, Sanam Chandra Palace Campus, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, with my contract set to conclude on 16th July 2025.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Date of birth	19.05.1961	Passport No	P0347046
Nationality	Sri Lankan	Date of issue	11. 04. 2025
Gender	Male	Date of expiry	11. 04. 2035

· My passport will be renewed during this month.

EDUCATION

2007-2010 BA (Honors) in TESOL, University of South Africa.

2010-2012 MA in TESOL, University of South Africa.

Thesis: The Effects of Authentic Materials Using Role-Playing Activities on oral

proficiency: A case study of Thai undergraduate students – (available at

uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/6029).

Supervisor: Mrs. Tuli. Petla Shandu.

2013-2017 Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of South Africa.

Thesis: Academic Writing Issues of Foundation Level Students:

The Effectiveness of Context-Specific Teaching Materials Using a Process

genre approach to writing-(available at uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/22795).

Supervisor: Dr. Carien Wilsenach

TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS

· English for Academic Purposes

· Conversational English

· Business Communication

· Academic writing

· IELTS Preparation courses

· Discourse analysis

· EFL/ESL Pedagogy

· L2 acquisition

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2019 - 2025 English Lecturer, Department of International Language

Silpakorn University, Thailand

Course Titles:

1. Advisor for MA in TEFL program- 2023 Up to date (Two graduate

students are under my supervision. They have been conducting two studies relevant to the speaking and listening skills of grade 5 and 6 school students.

2. Academic English Writing for the MA in TEFL program 1^st year

3. Advanced English Writing for BA English major 4^th year.

4. Introduction to English Literature for the BA English major, 3^rd year.

5. English for Everyday Use for the BA Educational Technology major 1^st

year.

6. Teaching Practicum- Supervisor of the BA English Major Course since July

2019 up to date.

2012-2017 English Lecturer, University of Technology and Applied Sciences-

Shinas, Oman.

Course Title: Foundation and post-foundation programs.

Primary language skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing) and

projects and presentations to post-foundation level

Technical Writing 1 and 11 for the post-foundation program.

Prepared teaching materials for reading and writing skills

2006-2012 English Lecturer, Department of Languages and Linguistics, Prince of

Songkhla University, Thailand

Course Title: Conversational English for undergraduate students.

TOEFL and IELTS preparation courses.

English Conversation Course for the General Public.

English for restaurant owners and hawkers.

English Language Listening and Speaking Course for Undergraduates

students.

1999-2006 English Instructor, Advanced Technological Institute, Sri Lanka

Course Title: Business Communication

Taught Business Communication to students studying in the National and

Higher National Diploma in Accountancy, Management, Business Studies

and English.

1999.1-1999.4 English Instructor, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Course Title: English Intensive Course for Freshmen (One Semester)

Taught English Intensive Course to Freshmen.

1991-1993 English Instructor, Non-formal Education Centre, Maldives

Course Title: English for government officials.

Taught General English to government officials.

Taught basic-level English to the professional staff in the Maldives

Electricity Board.

1987-1991 English Teacher, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka

Study program: Primary and secondary schools’ English Language

Taught English as a Second Language as per the school curriculum.

1984-1985 English Assistant Teacher, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka

Study program: Primary schools’ English Language.

Taught English as a Second Language as per the school curriculum.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

1983.1-1983.12 Certificate in Professional English, The Open University of Sri Lanka.

1986-1988 Govt English Specialist Trained Teacher Certificate, Sri Lanka.

1990 First Certificate in English, University of Cambridge, UK.

1991-1992 Dip in TEFL, The Scottish International School, UK.

2005.1-2005.12 Certificate in Computer-Based Multi-Media Material Production,

National Institute of Technical Education of Sri Lanka.

2006.9-2006.10 Certificate in TEFL, Text and Talk Academy, Thailand.

2015 July-August Certificate in Teaching with Technology and Inquiry: An Open Course

for Teachers. (https://courses.edx.org/dashboard ), University of Toronto

through edX (Online course).

2015 September Certificate in Introduction to Teaching English as a Second. Language

(https://alison.com/profile/ ), ALISON-Advanced Learning Interactive

System Online.

2015 September Diploma in Basic English for Business and Tourism, ALISON-Advanced

Learning an Interactive System Online.

2015 October Certificate in Effective Communication Techniques for Teachers.

ALISON-Advanced Learning Interactive System Online.

2015 October Certificate in Speaking and Writing English Effectively, Alison.

2015 November Certificate in Instructional Planning for Successful Teaching, Alison.

2015 November Certificate in Motivating Students to Learn, Alison.

2015 December Certificate in Understanding Students' Development and Diversity,

Alison.

2015 December Certificate in English for Teaching Purposes, University of Barcelona

through Coursera.org

2015 December Certificate in Blended Learning Essentials: Getting Started, University of

Leeds through FutureLearn.

2017 October UCl 1x: Understanding Classroom Interaction- A course of study offered

by PnnX, an online learning initiative of the University of Pennsylvania

through edX.

2018 January ColWri2.2x: Academic and Business Writing course offered by Berkeley

X, an online learning initiative of the University of California through edX

2018 March EDSCl 1x: The Science of Learning- What Every Teacher Should Know

(20 hours of professional learning) – A course offered by Teachers College X,

An online initiative of Teachers College, Columbia University, through edX.

March 2018 Certified Publons Academy Peer Reviewer.

April 2018 Lang 101x: Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered

Languages- A Course offered by AdelaideX, an online course learning

initiative of the University of Adelaide through edX,

2018 May Assessment in Higher Education: Professional Development for Teachers

by Erasmus University Rotterdam on Coursera.

2018 June Teaching Adult Learners: An online course offered by the Government of

Western Australia North Metropolitan TAFE, and delivered through

Open2Study. (https://www.open2study.com/user)

2018 July-Aug Education in a Changing World: An online course offered by the Government of

Western Australia North Metropolitan TAF,E and delivered through

Open2Study.

2018 July-Aug Sociology: An online course offered by the Government of Western Australia

North Metropolitan TAFE, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 July-Aug Becoming a Confident Trainer: An online course offered by the Government

of Western Australia North Metropolitan TAFE and delivered through

Open2Study.

2018 July-Aug Emergency Management: An online course offered by the Government of

Western Australia North Metropolitan TAFE, and delivered through

Open2Study.

2018 August Essay and report writing skills: A course offered by the Open University of

the UK.

2018 Aug-Sep Understanding the Origin of Crime: An online course offered by Griffith

University, Australia, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Aug-Sep Innovation for Powerful Outcomes: An online course offered by Swinburne

University of Technology, Australia, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Aug-Sep Foundations of Psychology: An online course offered by RMIT University,

Australia and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Aug-Sep Early Childhood Education: An online course offered by Gowrie Victoria

Institute, Australia, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Sep-Oct Becoming Human: Anthropology: An online course offered by Macquarie

University, Australia, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Sep-Oct Microbiology and Forensic Science: An online course offered by Jordan

University of Science and Technology, Jordan, and delivered through

Open2Study.

2018 Sep-Oct Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: An online course offered by Macquarie

Graduate School of Management, Australia, and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Oct-Nov Leadership: Identity, Influence, and Power: An online course offered by

Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australia, and delivered through

Open2Study.

2018 Oct-Nov Climate Change: An online course offered by Macquarie University, Australia

and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Oct-Nov Marine and Antarctic Science: An online course offered by the University of

Tasmania and delivered through Open2Study.

2018 Dec Indigenous Studies: Australia and New Zealand: An online course offered by

The University of Massey and the University of Tasmania delivered through

Open2Study.

Certification by the Elsevier Research Academy

25.01.2019 A Guide to Journal Citation Metrics

02.10.2018 Diversity in peer review.

27.08.2018 Making academia-industry collaborations work.

20.06.2018 Make the most of your research: Publish your data & Methods.

13.06.2018 Systematic Reviews 101

12.04.2018 “I don’t know what to believe…”: Making Sense of Science Stories

26.01.2018 Conference skills for researchers.

08.01.2016 How to review a manuscript.

26.11.2015 Peer review in Asia: Special tips for Reviewers.

22.01.2016 How to get published: preparing your manuscript.

22.01.2016 How to get published: Using proper scientific language.

12.02.2016 How to write a lay summary: Improving research impact.

04.03.2016 Getting your paper noticed: Promoting your research for making an impact.

08.01.2016 Structuring your article.

05.02.2016 Plagiarism.

04.03.2016 Content ownership.

19.05.2017 Gender Bias in Academic Publishing.

01.03.2017 10 Tips for Writing a truly terrible journal article.

21.12.2017 How to write an abstract and improve your article.

12.09.2017 Make a Career in Research

13.05.2017 Why write a book

19.12.2016 Creating a good research data management plan

12.12.2016 Data citation: How can you, as a researcher, benefit from citing

18.11.2017 5 diseases ailing research- How to cure them

17.03.2017 How to get your book published

08.03.2017. The Nuts & Bolts of Peer Review: A Discussion by Biomaterials Editors

PUBLICATIONS IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

Samaranayake, S. W. (2026). Enhancing English Fluency through Small Talk: A

Controlled Study among Adult Thai Learners with No Formal English Education.

New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resources Development, 1–13.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1939225261427204

2. Samaranayake, S. (2025). A Semiotic Exploration of Human Language: Nature,

Characteristics and Linguistic Equality. Journal of Mass Communication, 10(1),

161–178. https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jmctrmutp/article/view/274477

3. Samaranayake, S. W., Thienpermpool, P., Kositchaivat, S. (2025). Investigating an

Adapted process genre writing model and its implications for undergraduate Thai

students. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics,

10(1), 73−90. http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v10i1.1852

4. Samaranayake, S. W. (2024). The Impact of Online Tutoring on Oral English

Proficiency of Adult Thai Learners. International Journal of Lifelong Education,

43(4), 448−463. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2024.2358918

5. Samaranayake, S. W., Kositchaivat, S., & Prasansaph, S. (2024). EFL/ESL Tertiary-Level

Learners are No Longer Required to Repeat the Same Dialogues in Speaking Classes:

A Case Study from Thai University. Indonesian Journal of English Language

Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 179−197.

http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v9i1.1686

6. Samaranayake, S. W., Thienpermpool, P., Kositchaivat, S., & Jantarach, V. (2023). Can

TED Talks Help Improve Undergraduate Non-English Major Thai EFL Students

Listening and Speaking Competencies? Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

Research in Asia, 29(1), 35-53.

7. Samaranayake, S. W., Kositchaivat, S., & Thienpermpool, P. (2022). Effectiveness of In-

House Materials on Academic Reading Proficiency of College-Level Omani Students.

Arab English World Journal, 13(4), 454-467.

https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no4.30

8. Samaranayake, S.W., Suneeta, K., & Jantarach, V. (2022). An Investigation into the

Teaching Practices and Material Effects on Student Outcomes: A Case Study from

Oman. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics,

7(1), 141-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v7i1.1253

9. Samaranayake, S.W., Suneeta, K., & Vachira, J. (2022). The Effects of Reading Habits on

Test Performance by Foundation-level Omani Students. Arab World English Journal,

13 (2) 37- 49. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no2.3

10. Samaranayake, S. W., Thienpermpool, P. (2021). Effects of an in-house entry test on the

Post-Foundation Students at an Omani College of Technology. Arab World English

Journal, 12 (4), 37-49. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no4.13

11. Samaranayake, S. W. (2016). Oral Competency of ESL/EFL Learners in Sri Lankan Rural

School Context. SAGE Open, 6(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/1177/215824401665420

12. Samaranayake, S. W., & Gabayno, J. J. (2014). The Effects of Writing Intervention

Program on Foundation Level Students at Shinas College of Technology, Oman. Arab

World English Journal, 5 (4), 131-145.

http://awej.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=579:sarath-w-samaranayake-joaquin-jr-gabayno&catid=53&Itemid=152

13. Samaranayake, S.W. (2010). The exploitation of literary texts in teaching ESL/EFL. The

English Language Teacher, MELTA, 39, 205-221.

www.melta.org.my/ET/2010/article%2011.pdf

PUBLICATIONS (BOOKS)

1. Samaranayake, S. W., Gabayno, J. J., & Sultan, B. (2017). The Effects of Writing

Intervention on Omani Students. Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG,

Germany.

https://www.lap-publishing.com/catalog/details//store/gb/book/978-3-330-03392-4/the-effects-of-a-writing-intervention-on-omani-students

2. Samaranayake, S. W. (2012). A new dimension to Role-plays: Real-world activities for

EFL learners. Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG, Germany.

https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/a-new-dimension-to-role-plays:real-world-

activities-for-EFL-learners/ISBN/978-3-659-19440-5

PRESENTATIONS

1. Sarath W. Samaranayake. Reading in an EFL Context. On August 4th, 18th, and 25th, 2018, a guest lecture was conducted for three batches of Secondary School English Teachers in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand, at the English Language Seminar organized by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, Silpakorn University.

2. Joaquin Jr. Gabayno and Sarath W. Samaranayake. Utilizing Simple, Effective, Practical Guides in Teaching Reading to Omani Learners. Classroom practice-oriented, the presentation was conducted at the TESOL in Oman: Innovations, Challenges and Future Perspectives Symposium held at Middle East College, Oman, on the 23rd of February 2017.

3. Sarath W. Samaranayake and Joaquin Jr. Gabayno. Academic writing issues of foundation-level students in Oman. A paper was presented at the 12th Asia TEFL and 23rd MELTA International Conference held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia from 28^th- 30^th of August 2014.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS

June 2007 Member, TeflAsia

To present

ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE

2013-2014 Was a member of the Action Research Committee of ELC, Shinas College

of Technology (ShCT).

2013-2014 Was a member of the Testing Unit-ELC, ShCT.

2013-2017 Was a member of the Quality Assurance Team- ELC, ShCT.

2014-2017 Was a member of the Materials Writing Committee-ELC, ShCT.

2014-2017 I was a peer reviewer for the Research Council of Oman.

2016- Was a peer reviewer for the International Journal of ELT.

To present

2017 - Engaged in material writing for the Foundation Program at Level 2 ELC, ShCT.

2017- Engaged in writing support materials (Reading level 4), ELC, ShCT.

Since 2023, I have been a peer reviewer and an article editor for the SAGE Open Journal.

Affiliation with peer-reviewed journals as a reviewer/Article Editor

I am a Certified Publons Academy Peer Reviewer (https://publons.com/author/1419342/dr-sarath-withanarachchi-samaranayake#profile)

Scopus Author ID: 18838334300

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6352-726X

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=okfQWg4AAAAJ&hl=en

Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/I-9360-2019

Researcher ID: 1-9360-2019

REFERENCES 1. Asst. Prof. Dr. Suneeta Kositchaivat

Department of International Language Teaching

Sanam Chandra Palace Campus

Silpakorn University

Nakhon Pathom. Email: sxuneeta@hotmail.com

Contact No: +66823603039

2. Dr. Mantana Pandee

Head of the Department

Department of International Language Teaching

Sanam Chandra Palace Campus

Silpakorn University

Email: manthanap@hotmail.com

Contact No: +66814436306

3. Dr. Pateera Thienperpool

Graduate Coordinator

Department of International Language Teaching

Sanam Chandra Palace Campus

Silpakorn University

Email: thienpermpool@gmail.co

Contact No: +66914951941

DECLARATION

I do now certify that the information stated above in my curriculum vitae

is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Signature Date: 4/22/2025

(Sarath Withanarachchi Samaranayake)

My Teaching, Research, and Service Philosophy

Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, I believe in creating an inclusive and captivating learning environment that fosters critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning among students. My teaching approach is grounded in three key principles: student-centered learning, experiential learning, and ethical and global perspectives.

1. Student-Centered Learning: I make it a priority to understand each student's unique background, learning style, and goals to tailor my teaching methods accordingly. I incorporate active learning techniques, real-world examples, and collaborative projects to empower students to take ownership of their education and apply theoretical concepts to practical situations.

2. Experiential Learning: I am a strong supporter of hands-on experiences and experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. Whether through internships, research projects, or simulations, these experiences reinforce academic knowledge and cultivate essential skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability.

3. Ethical and Global Perspectives: I incorporate ethical considerations and global perspectives into my curriculum to responsibly prepare students to navigate diverse societal and cultural contexts. By fostering discussions on ethics, sustainability, and social responsibility, I aim to develop well-rounded professionals who can make positive contributions to their communities.

Research Philosophy

My research philosophy is centered on advancing knowledge in L2 acquisition through rigorous inquiry, innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Key aspects of my approach include:

1. Impactful Scholarship: I aim to conduct research that addresses significant challenges and contributes to theoretical advancements and practical solutions. My research efforts are characterized by a balance of fundamental inquiry and applied research that can benefit industry, policy, or society.

2. Collaborative Endeavors: I prioritize collaborative research partnerships within and beyond academia, as they enhance perspectives and drive innovation. Actively seeking interdisciplinary collaborations allows me to leverage diverse expertise in effectively addressing complex research questions.

3. Dissemination and Engagement: I prioritize sharing my research findings through reputable publications and conferences to reach academic and professional communities. Additionally, I am dedicated to engaging with stakeholders, policymakers, and the public to ensure that my research has meaningful impacts and promotes evidence-based decision-making. Service Philosophy: Service to the academic community, profession, and society is integral to my role as an assistant professor. I approach service with dedication, integrity, and a collaborative spirit, focusing on:

1. Academic Leadership: I am committed to contributing actively to departmental and university governance, participating in committees, and supporting initiatives that enhance academic experience and institutional excellence.

2. Professional Engagement: I believe in giving back to my profession through leadership roles in professional associations, reviewing manuscripts and grant proposals, and mentoring early career scholars to foster a vibrant scholarly community.

3. Community Outreach: I recognize the importance of community engagement and strive to apply my expertise to address societal challenges through outreach activities, partnerships with local organizations, and initiatives that promote education and knowledge dissemination beyond academia.

2023-08-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

Holiday in Phon district in Khon Kaen province (from 28^th July to 3^rd of August 2023)

We had a long vacation of around a full week due to government holidays at the end of July and the beginning of August 2023. I planned to travel to an Esan province where I have a Thai friend. On the 28^th of July, I took a bus from the Morchit bus terminal and traveled to the Phon district in Khon Kaen province, Thailand, and stayed at SeasonSawat Resort, located in the Phon district, which is a unique attraction for local visitors. The resort features separately constructed houses elevated on steel posts, standing around 2.10 meters above the ground level. The roofs of these houses are designed in a triangular shape. Each house comprises a bedroom, a bathroom, and a balcony at the back, offering visitors a relaxing spot to enjoy meals or coffee while admiring the sunset or night view. The resort features breathtaking night views once the lights are illuminated. However, internet access can be challenging like most hotels and resorts in Mueang Phon. Additionally, the water in the bathroom may be salty.

Eating Esan food

I had the opportunity to sample various types of delicious Esan cuisine from both restaurants and the homes of friends. One of the special meals was the bamboo shoot soup mixed with pumpkin and other vegetables collected from my friend’s garden. It is a common practice among female Thai friends who live in remote provinces to get together and prepare their meals and enjoy together over a lengthy talk filled with jester and amusement. They generally take no care about time or other family matters when it comes to having get-together parties. They said that they hold such parties at least once a week. One day we went to see a local market a few kilometers away from Khon Kaen City. This market is famous for wild food which consists of a kind of Mushroom that is collected from jungles and sold at the market at high prices. In addition, different varieties of insects can be bought at this market. Easan people have extraordinary taste buds for fried insects and ants. People who cannot buy them generally go to jungles and collect them to satisfy their longings. Most village people in Phon district engage in paddy and cattle farming, while some do poultry.

The photos below show some events or places where the writer engaged in or visited.

2023-06-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Writing a Research Abstract

For inexperienced researchers, the task of writing research abstracts can be overwhelming. Recently, I conducted a seminar for a group of faculty members at Silpakorn University's Sanam Chandra Campus, focusing on crafting effective abstracts for research papers.

Please refer to the content below.

What is an abstract?

An abstract summarizes a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject. It helps the reader quickly determine the paper’s purpose. An abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript.

What does it include?

An abstract should include the research topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, data analysis, and conclusions. Additionally, include the potential implications of your research and suggest future directions for related studies.

What is a Genre?

Genre is the form of your writing (a business letter, memo, report).

A medium is how you deliver your writing (email, a mailed paper copy).

Genre and medium are both determined by audience and purpose.

For example, (How do you want to inform your staff members in your workplace about an oncoming meeting?)

A letter of invitation to a guest. Formality will affect your chosen genre—the more formal the purpose, the more formal the genre.

Which genre is appropriate for your text?

Questions to ask yourself:

What is the purpose of this text? To convince? To analyze?

What is my topic? A question? A case study? A project you

worked on

Who is my intended audience? Your professor? Your colleagues? The

General public?

What structure do I need to follow? Format? Sections? Headings? Length?

Basics of Abstract in APA Format

In APA format, the abstract page should follow immediately after the title page.

An abstract written in APA format should be:

• Accurate and objective: The abstract should accurately reflect what the paper is about.

• Brief and complete: The abstract must be short and focus on only essential points, concepts, and findings.

• Steps to Take When Writing an Abstract in APA Format

• Include a running head: a shortened version of your paper’s title that should be aligned to the top left corner of the page.

• It should be capitalized with characters not exceeding 50. The page number is on the top right corner of the page.

• Use the standard font: Use 12-point Times New Roman unless instructed.

• Make it double-spaced.

• Write your abstract last: use the present tense when you refer to the results and conclusion and the past tense when discussing the methods and research instruments used.

• Two types of abstracts: informational and descriptive. Descriptive abstracts are not common. So, use an informational abstract. An informational abstract should include the purpose, methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations.

• Avoid using the first person and abbreviations: In an abstract, do not use “I.” Instead, you can use “We” or “the researcher/s.” Write in active rather than passive verbs. Abbreviations and acronyms should not appear in your abstract.

The abstract should be one paragraph that is NOT indented, and it should include the following information:

• An introduction to the research topic (context). (Some authors do not write an introduction)

• Purpose of the study (aim or objectives of the study)

• Methodology.

• Findings.

• Significance and implication.

• Keywords related to the research topic.

The relationship between sleep and student performance

Purpose: This research paper analyzes the correlation between sleep and high school student performance in class.

Methodology: To answer this question, we compared academic performance against questionnaires that detailed the sleep schedules of 122 high school students.

Findings: Our results showed a positive correlation between poor academic performance and fewer than 8 hours of sleep a night. The results also revealed poor sleep patterns can lead to concentration and behavior issues.

Significance: The implications of this study could be used to encourage high schoolers to sleep at least 8 hours a night.

Keywords: academic performance, sleep, high school student

Read the abstract carefully and identify its components (Introduction (context), purpose, methodology, findings, and significance. (Write 3 keywords)

Can TED Talks Help Improve Undergraduate Non-English Major Thai EFL Students’ Listening and Speaking Competencies?

The test results (mid-semester and final examinations) of various English courses indicate that most non-English major undergraduate students studying at the university where the current study has been undertaken leave the university after four years without acquiring the required proficiency in English. This condition can deprive them of local and international social and educational opportunities. Given the situation described above, this study explored the effectiveness of an instructional intervention supplemented with authentic materials, including TED Talks videos, to enhance English as a Foreign Language (EFL) tertiary-level learners’ listening and speaking skills in Thai tertiary education. The study employed a pre-test and post-test research design in which two study groups (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (N = 44) and Teaching Elementary Education (N = 38) were chosen using a random purposive sampling technique. The study groups were instructed with TED Talks: Keynote 4 teaching materials for one semester, and the study used two research instruments (pre-test and post-test). The pre-and post-test data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The results were statistically significant at .05, indicating an improvement in both groups' listening and speaking competencies equivalent to the B2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2020). In addition, a large effect size between variables was reported. This means that this study is practically significant. Assuming the study’s positive outcomes, it can be concluded that the instructional intervention supplemented by TED Talks: Keynote materials can effectively enhance non-English major EFL undergraduate learners’ listening and speaking competencies.

Keywords:

Now check if you have correctly identified the components.

Can TED Talks Help Improve Undergraduate Non-English Major Thai EFL Students’ Listening and Speaking Competencies?

The test results (mid-semester and final examinations) of various English courses indicate that most non-English major undergraduate students studying at the university where the current study has undertaken the university after four years without acquiring the required proficiency in English. This condition can deprive them of local and international social and educational opportunities. Given the situation described above, this study explored the effectiveness of an instructional intervention supplemented with authentic materials, including TED Talks videos, to enhance English as a Foreign Language (EFL) tertiary-level learners’ listening and speaking skills in Thai tertiary education. The study employed a pre-test and post-test research design in which two study groups (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (n = 44) and Teaching Elementary Education (n = 38) were chosen using a random purposive sampling technique. The study groups were instructed with TED Talks: Keynote 4 teaching materials for one semester, and the study used two research instruments (pre-test and post-test). The pre-and post-test data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The results were statistically significant at .05, indicating an improvement in both groups' listening and speaking competencies equivalent to the B2 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2020). In addition, a large effect size between variables was reported. This means that this study is practically significant. Assuming the study’s positive outcomes, it can be concluded that the instructional intervention supplemented by TED Talks: Keynote materials can effectively enhance non-English major EFL undergraduate learners’ listening and speaking competencies.

Read the abstract carefully and identify its components (Introduction (context), purpose, methodology, findings, and significance.

Engaging students in dialogic interactions through questioning

This paper presents a study of EFL classroom talk focusing on how teachers successfully encourage and elicit student dialogic talk through questioning. It is based on observation data from forty-nine classes involving eleven teaching staff in a university in central China. The findings reveal the difficulty of engaging students to be the first to participate in dialogic interactions in a culture where the deeply engrained reserve is the accepted norm. Two teacher questioning patterns are identified that effectively elicit students’ first dialogic contribution in each interaction. These patterns can also serve as a profitable investment to elicit subsequent productive student talk. This study also argues for a situated, contextualized analysis of classroom talk.

Now check if you have correctly identified the components.

Engaging students in dialogic interactions through questioning

The following abstract is jumbled, so arrange it in the proper order.

In the week before the start of classes, participants were given two surveys: one on expected college engagement and the second on video game usage, including a measure of video game addiction. Based on the findings, it is suggested that school management should develop awareness campaigns and educational programs to inform students about the potential risks and negative consequences of excessive video game use. These programs can be integrated into orientation programs, workshops, and seminars to reach a wide range of students. This study explored the pattern of video game usage and addiction among male college students. It examined how video game addiction was related to expectations of college engagement and college grade point average (GPA). Participants were 477 male first-year students at a liberal arts college. Results suggested that video game addiction is (a) negatively correlated with expected college engagement and (b) negatively correlated with college GPA.

Now check and see if you have correctly ordered the abstract.

Video Game Addiction and College Performance Among Male Students

This study explored the pattern of video game usage and addiction among male college students. It examined how video game addiction was related to expectations of college engagement and college grade point average (GPA). Participants were 477 male first-year students at a liberal arts college.

In the week before the start of classes, participants were given two surveys: one on expected college engagement and the second on video game usage, including a measure of video game addiction.

Results suggested that video game addiction is (a) negatively correlated with expected college engagement and (b) negatively correlated with college GPA.

Based on the findings, it is suggested that school management should develop awareness campaigns and educational programs to inform students about the potential risks and negative consequences of excessive video game use. These programs can be integrated into orientation programs, workshops, and seminars to reach a wide range of students.

Academic phrases for writing aim & objectives (Purpose)

This study aims to develop more sophisticated methods for __
This work aims to develop __
The overall goal of this work was to __
This project aims to develop an overarching framework to __
The experiment aims to compare __
In this paper, we present a new method for __
Our research aims at finding a solution for this challenging problem of __
We examine some previous work and propose a new method for __
One of the major aims of this work was to create __
The main objective is to investigate methods for improving __
The objective of this study is to devise and implement a system for __

Significance and advantages of your work

The first main contribution proposed in this field is a __
The contributions of this work are presented as follows: __
The key contribution of this work is the solution it provides __
It has numerous advantages as explained here __
It has significant benefits in terms of __
One of the primary benefits of this __________ is __
This gives a significant advantage because __
The main advantage compared to the previous method is __
This presents some practical advantages.
One practical advantage of the method is that it can be used in __
In comparison with other techniques, this method has the advantage of __
The main advantage is that we can __
The additional advantage of using this method is that it results in __

Choose the most suitable statement for each part of the research abstract below.

Purpose

A. This study will investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.

B. This study investigates the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.

Method

A. Structured interviews will be conducted with 25 participants.

B. Structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants.

Findings

A. Our analysis has shown a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

B. Our analysis shows a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

C. Our analysis showed a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

Significance

A. We concluded that coffee consumption increases productivity.

B. We conclude that coffee consumption increases productivity.

Role play by students in my BA class

2018-10-12T23:10:00.001-07:00

Role play by students in my BA Class

2018-10-12T22:52:00.001-07:00

Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered Languages

2018-04-10T09:55:00.003-07:00

I completed the following course and found it quite interesting and challenging as it was a new field for me in linguistics.

Certificate

Progress chart

Course Details No Prerequisites Required

Course Dates This is a self-paced course so you can learn when it suits you.

Time Commitment Between 2 to 3 hours per week.

Assessment To qualify for a certificate, all challenge questions and self-check reports must be completed. edX will only issue certificates to participants that have chosen the verified track and complete the course with a grade of 50% or higher.

When your certificate is available, you will be notified in your edX dashboard.

Grading Scheme Pass (50% or higher) Fail (under 50%)

Course Syllabus

Course Overview

Language is an integral part of society. Wherever we come from, the words we use and the way in which we use them are fundamental to our cultural identity. In today’s increasingly globalized world, however, ‘linguicide’ – the loss of a language – is becoming all too common. But there is hope. The language revival movement has emerged as an important and effective response, and this course will introduce you to its key principles and techniques. After discussing powerful answers to the question of why languages should be revived, we’ll investigate how. Far more than just a simple process of recovering literacy and lost letters, language revival involves a deep and complex engagement with history, human rights, identity and wellbeing. You will also learn what’s being done around the world right now, and how effective these techniques have languages should be revived, we’ll investigate how. Far more than just a simple process of recovering literacy and lost letters, language revival involves a deep and complex engagement with history, human rights, identity and wellbeing. You will also learn what’s being done around the world right now, and how effective these techniques have been.

What you'll learn

• Explore connections between language and identity.

• Understand the impact of language loss on people around the world.

• Examine what is being done to revive languages today.

1. Linguicide (Case for Revival)

Week 1 Learning Objectives

• Understand the ethics of language revival.

• Discuss the aesthetic considerations.

• Explore the political and economic imperatives for

language revival.

Week 1 Assessment Requirements

You'll be assessed on the following items:

• Completion of the weekly challenge questions.

• Completion of the weekly self-check reports.

Important: it is also expected that you engage in all weekly discussions and activities.

2. Revivalistics (New Transdisciplinary Field of Enquiry)

Week 2 Learning Objectives

• Express how and why working closely with your community is the best practice for language

revival.

• Discuss ways in which to coin new terms for new concepts and modern terminology.

• Detail how and why language revival is a transdisciplinary, including linguistic, endeavor.

Week 2 Assessment Requirements

You'll be assessed on the following items:

• Completion of the weekly challenge questions.

• Completion of the weekly self-check reports.

Important: it is also expected that you engage in all weekly discussions and activities.

3. Israeli (Case Study: Revived Hebrew)

Week 3 Learning Objectives

• Describe the history of Hebrew and Israeli.

• Start coining phono-semantic matches in order to expand the vocabulary of your revived

language.

• Analyse multiple causation and cross-fertilization between languages, which are an inevitable

byproduct of language revival.

• Apply the Founder Principle and the Congruence Principle in various contexts.

Week 3 Assessment Requirements

You'll be assessed on the following items:

• Completion of the weekly challenge questions.

• Completion of the weekly self-check reports.

Important: it is also expected that you engage in all weekly discussions and activities.

4. Kaurna (Case Study)

Week 4 Learning Objectives

• Discuss what happened to Kaurna and why it should be reclaimed.

• Detail the sources and methods used to transform the language.

• Explain how Kaurna language in used in the public domain.

• Outline how to overcome the challenges for reawakening a language.

Week 4 Assessment Requirements

You'll be assessed on the following items:

• Completion of the weekly challenge questions.

• Completion of the weekly self-check reports.

Important: it is also expected that you engage in all weekly discussions and activities.

5. Saving Languages (Recapitulation, Comparative Analysis)

Week 5 Learning Objectives

• Discuss and apply the rigour of the Language Revival Diamond (LaRD).

• Differentiate and compare the key components of language revival as applied to the spectrum

of reclamation, revitalization and reinvigoration.

• Detail the various methods employed to revive a language in a given state of loss.

• Discuss ways in which languages might be preserved, revived or reclaimed, for future

generations.

• Contrast and compare the constraints and limitations of languages under revival.

Week 5 Assessment Requirements

You'll be assessed on the following items:

• Completion of the weekly challenge questions.

• Completion of the weekly self-check reports.

Important: it is also expected that you engage in all weekly discussions and activities.

DISCUSSION FORUM ETIQUETTE AND FREQUENCY

We expect you to follow the edX Code of Conduct at all times and keep your posts/responses positive on the learning forums. Post regularly, at least once per discussion activity and be sure to respond to your peers, as instructed.

FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

Please share your insights with all of us at the Language Revival Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/Revivalistics/

The Science of Learning-What Every Teacher Should Know

2018-03-22T10:06:00.002-07:00

The Science of Learning-What Every Teacher Should Know

I completed a course of study offered by Teachers College X, an online learning initiative of Teachers College, Columbia University through edX. The course is about The Science of Learning-What Every Teacher Should Know. The duration of the course is 20 hours of professional learning. This course helped me demystify some of the grey areas I had relating to cognitive science which now powerfully informs us about how we can teach and learn more effectively.

This education course will show you, through current research, how we learn — the way our brain makes, stores, and retrieves memories.

You will examine common misconceptions and misunderstandings about learning that can prevent students from learning at their fullest capacity. Along the way you will explore the practical implications of cognitive science for classroom teaching in terms of choosing effective instructional strategies, developing useful assessments, motivating student effort, and designing learner-centered curricular units.

This course is aimed to enhance the practice of K-12 teachers

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

· How the brain encodes memories, stores them, and retrieves them for later use.

· Why working memory is so important for learning and ways to prevent it from getting overloaded.

· Strategies for making memories that “stick” and can be readily recalled when needed.

· Misconceptions that many students have about learning and ways to correct them.

· How student mindsets and beliefs about learning can help or hinder their academic success.

· How to help students become independent and self-regulated learners so they can lead their own learning.

· Teaching strategies and assessment techniques that maximise student learning.

COURSE OUTLINE

Section 1 Memory and Learning	Teacher Nicole Brittingham Furlonge, English Teacher, Grades 9-12 Topics Learning in Schools Understanding How Memory Works Working Memory Connecting Prior Knowledge Making Memories Retrieving Memories
Section 2 Mindsets	Teacher Ted Ogden, English Teacher, Grades 6-12 Topics Taking the Student’s Perspective Importance of Non-Cognitive Factors Growth Mindsets and Learning Developing Growth Mindsets Sense of Belonging
Section 3 Student Learning Strategies	Teacher Kari Ostrem, MfA Master Math Teacher, Grades 9-12 Topics Cognitive Load Multitasking Motivation Learning to Learn
Section 4 Effective Teaching Strategies	Teacher Lily Diamond, Teacher, 5th Grade Topics The Science of Learning and Effective Teaching Strategies Feedback and Teaching Retrieval Practice Spacing and Interleaving Metacognition

VIDEOS

The four-section course is comprised of 4-7 video lectures that are 5 - 12 minutes long. The videos can be watched at various speeds and with or without closed captioning. Additionally, downloadable transcripts are available for each video lecture and run simultaneously to the left of the video.

The videos will feature guest teachers from various schools in the United States invited to deliver lectures co-written by Dr. Pearl Rock Kane and Dr. Kevin Mattingly, professors at Teachers College, Columbia University. Interviews with these teachers will provide personal anecdotes on what has worked for them and what they have found challenging.

ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS

· Discussion Forum: Will help us discuss, debate, and build community. Please review the discussion guidelines before posting. Use [STAFF] in the subject of each post that needs attention from a course team member. Please see the edX Learner's Guide for detailed information on how to make the most of edX discussions.

· Teams: Science of Learning Teams are groups of up to 20 students who meet regularly in-person or virtually to review and discuss the course and explore the concepts of the course together. Although students are encouraged to participate in discussions within the edX forums, joining a Team allows for deeper and more personal engagement with the course and with other students. See our EDSCI1x Team Leader Guide for more information.

· Self-Checks: Formative assessments that follow video segments test your understanding of core concepts.

· Teacher Journal: A place for you to keep reflections and responses for your insights and applications we hope you will be able to use later in your own classroom practice. We will use the Notes function of edX as our journal. Sometimes we will provide "prompts" for you to respond to, yet you can use your Teaching Journal at any time to record your thoughts and ideas.

· Weekly Progress Chart: Will help you keep track of your progress by showing your completed assessments and scores.

ASSESSMENT AND GRADING

Section Quizzes	40%	Four section quizzes assess your knowledge of the content for each topic. The lowest scoring quiz will be dropped.
Self-Reflections	20%	Five self-reflections appear throughout the course to give you an opportunity to think more deeply about concepts and evaluate
Final Exam	40%	One final exam will assess your understanding of major concepts covered.

You must earn 70% or more of the total grade to pass the course. We encourage you to earn a verified certificate for this course. To learn more about what verified certificates include, please see the edX Learner's Guide. This course offers On-Demand certificates. From edX: "As soon as you have achieved the required grade in the course, you see a message at the top of the course Progress page indicating that you have qualified for a certificate. At this point, you can keep working toward a higher grade in the course, or you can request your certificate immediately." For more information, please see the edX docs.

Self-Reflection Rubric

Description	2 Proficient	1 Developing	0 Lacing
Relevance to Your Teaching Practice: Discuss the relevance of the topic to your students and teaching practice	This response contains discussion of the relevance of the topic to your students and teaching practice in an in-depth and detailed way	This response contains discussion of the relevance of the topic to your students and teaching practice, but lacks depth and detail in some areas	Response does not discuss or address the topic relevance to your teaching practice
Application: Does the response provide an example of classroom application?	This response contains a clear and specific example of what seems to be a feasible application	This response contains an example of a classroom application, but it is difficult to determine or not stated clearly	Response does not discuss or address a classroom application

READINGS AND RESOURCES ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING

This list is a selective overview of some useful resources for deepening your understanding of concepts introduced in the Science of Learning MOOC. It is not meant to be comprehensive but simply as an entry point for you into the research about how people learn. Many of the articles cited can be found online as PDFs for your professional use and application.

Learning—General

Books

Ambrose, S.A. and J.A. Bridges. (2010). How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching. Jossey-Bass.

Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L. and McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Belknap Press.

Carey, B. (2014). How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens. Random House.

Doyle, T. and T. Zakrajsck. (2011). Learner-Centered Teaching: Putting the Research of Learning Into Practice. Stylus Publishing.

Dumont, H., D. Istance, and F. Benavides, eds. (2010). The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice. OECD Publications.

Ericsson, A. and R. Pool. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Hattie, J. and G.C.R, Yates. (2013). Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn. Routledge.

Lang, J.L. (2016). Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning. Jossey-Bass.

Ormrod, J. E. (2015). Human Learning. Pearson.

Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why Don’t Students Like School? Jossey-Bass.

Articles

American Psychological Association (2015). Top 20 Principles from Psychology for PreK–12 Teaching and Learning. APA Publishing.

Benassi, V. A., Overson, C. E., & Hakala, C. M. (Eds.) (2014). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site:http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Deans for Impact (2015). The Science of Learning. Austin, TX: Deans for Impact. [Link]

Dumont et al (2012) The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice. Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publications.

Website Blogs

The Learning Scientists: http://www.learningscientists.org

Daniel Willingham Science and Education

Blog: http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog

Learning Deeply

Blog: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning_deeply/?_ga=1.221559128.1114697907.1480521103

Inspired Instruction--Videos from the Teaching Channel: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/inspired_instruction/?_ga=1.160215549.1114697907.1480521103

Conferences and Workshops

Learning and the Brain: https://www.learningandthebrain.com/education-conferences

Understanding Memory and Learning

Active Learning

Drake, E. and D. Battaglia. (2014). Teaching and learning in active learning classrooms. Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching, Central Michigan University. [Link]

Freeman, S. E et al (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1319030111

Willingham, D. T. (2008). What will improve a student’s memory? American Educator, Winter, 17-25, 44.

Attention

Diamond, A.(2013) Activities and programs that improve children’s executive functions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(5): 335-341.

Diamond, A. (2013) Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64:135–68.

Cognitive Load

Artino, A.R., Jr. (2008). Cognitive load theory and the role of learner experience: An abbreviated review for educational practitioners. AACE Journal, 16(4), 425-439.

Misconceptions

Gardner, H. (2011). The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach, 2nd Edition. Basic Books.

Taylor, A.K. and P. Kowalski. (2014). Student misconceptions: Where do they come from and what can we do? In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site:http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Prior Knowledge

Ambrose, S. A., & Lovett, M. C. (2014). Prior knowledge is more important than content: Skills and beliefs also impact learning. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site:http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Working Memory

Gathercole, S.E. and T.P Alloway. (2007). Understanding working memory: A classroom guide. Harcourt Assessment.

Motivation

Brophy, J. (2008). Developing students' appreciation for what is taught in school, Educational Psychologist, 43(3): 132 — 141.

Stipek, D. (2001). Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning. Holt.

Toshalis, E. and M. Nakkula. (2012). Motivation, engagement, and student voice. The Students at the Center Series. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future. https://studentsatthecenterhub.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Exec-Toshalis-Nakkula-032312.pdf

Willingham, D. T. (2005/2006). How praise can motivate--or stifle. American Educator 29(4): 23-27.

Non-Cognitive Factors in Learning

Dweck, C.W., G.M. Walton, and G.L. Cohen. (2014). Academic tenacity: mindsets and skills that promote long-term learning. Gates Foundation. [Link]

Farrington C., et al. (2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners: The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance--A critical literature review. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. [Link]

Yeager, D., G.M. Walton, and G.L. Cohen. (2013). Addressing achievement gaps with psychological interventions. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(5): 62-65.

Student Learning Strategies

Dunlosky, J. (2013). Strengthening the Student Toolbox: Study Strategies to Boost Learning, American Educator, 37(3): 12-21.

Pashler, H. et al (2007). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning. National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences

Zimmerman, B. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2) , Spring 2002

Zumbrunn, S. J. Tadlock, & D. Roberts. (2011). Encouraging self-regulated learning in the classroom. Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Teaching Strategies

Bjork, R.A., & C.M. Clark. (2104). When and why introducing difficulties and errors can enhance instruction. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.). Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site:http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php

Chappuis, J. (2014) Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning. 2nd Edition. Pearson.

Palincsar, A. S. (1986). The role of dialogue in providing scaffolded instruction. Educational Psychologist, 21 (1 & 2), 73-98.

Pashler, H. et al (2007). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning. National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences

Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. Rosenshine, American Educator, 36(1): 12-19.

Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1): 10-16.

Willingham, D.T. (2014). Strategies that make learning last. Educational Leadership, 72(2): 10-15.

Wiliam, D. (2013). Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning. Voices from the Middle, 21(2): 15-20. National Council of Teachers of English.

Wiliam, D., & S. Leahy. (2015). Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms. Learning Sciences International.

COLLEGE WRITING 2.2X, ACADEMIC AND BUSINESS WRITING

2018-01-05T01:22:00.001-08:00

I completed the course above on the 1st of January 2018 and following is my certificate, my course progress chart and the full description of the course. The course helped me refine my knowledge and practice of academic writing.

Maggie Sokolik, Ph.D., Instructor
I'm @maggiesokolik on Twitter, we're using the hashtag #cwp2x for this course.
You can also follow me on Facebook or join our announcements-only class Facebook group

COURSE DESCRIPTION

College Writing 2.2x is the second half of a two-part course (2.1x was offered previously, and will be offered again later this year.) It is not necessary to complete part 1 in order to take part 2. There are no prerequisites except that you must know English well enough to take a course taught entirely in English.

In this part of the course, you will focus on academic and business writing. Don't worry if you only interested in one of those. You will practice your writing skills in the area that interests you, whether it's academic or business writing. You will also focus on proofreading and self-editing; revision vs. editing; common errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling; understanding tone and diction; and vocabulary development.

The course materials will be offered via readings, videos, and various types of homework assignments. There are suggested optional textbooks for additional writing work. You will participate in online discussions as well as peer review of your writing. You will complete one full essay assignment for this part of the course, in addition to keeping a regular journal.

Grading Policy

This course requires that you score 50% or higher as an average of all assignments that are marked as quizzes, homework, draft, or final assignment. (Even if you miss some assignments, as long as your average is 50%, you can pass the course.)

· There are 5 homework assignments, and you may miss one of them without penalty: 40% of your grade

· There are 5 quizzes, and you may miss one of them without penalty: 30% of your grade

· There is one draft assignment in week 4: 10% of your grade

· There is one final writing assignment in week 5: 20% of your grade

More information about policies is found at the student FAQ.

Weekly Schedule Week 1:

· What is Genre?

· Welcome to the Course

· Genre

· Homework: Your Journal 1

Week 2: Vocabulary, Tone, and Diction

· Building Vocabulary, Tone, and Diction

· Homework: Your Journal 2

Week 3: Academic Writing and Business Writing

· Academic, Business, or Both?

· Responding--Evidence and Examples

· Homework: Your Journal 3

Week 4: The Nuts and Bolts of Writing

· Before Your Write

· Common Writing Problems

· Your Writing: Draft

· Homework: Your Journal 4

A draft version of your assignment is due this week.

Week 5: Presenting Your Work

· Revising and Presenting Your Work

· Final Essay: Submission

· Homework: Your Journal 5

A final version of your assignment is due this week.

Recommended texts:

Textbooks are not required

My certificate

My course progress chart

Understanding Classroom Interaction

2017-12-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

I successfully completed the course above on 16^th December 2017 and following is my certificate, my course progress chart and the full description of the course. I found the course very useful and effective.

UCI1x (September 2017)

Understanding Classroom Interaction

Welcome!

Have you ever wondered why some classroom discussions are lively and engaging and others more like painful interrogations? Why some students always have an answer ready, but others never participate? Why everybody (or nobody) laughs at a teacher’s jokes? What role multiple languages should play in classroom talk? This course gives classroom teachers at all levels and subject areas the analytic tools to answer these and more questions about classroom communication. Each lesson introduces fundamental concepts and techniques of classroom discourse analysis, developing an analytic toolkit and promoting critical reflection on pedagogical practices overs the course of five modules.

Instructors:

Betsy R. Rymes, PhD. Instructor

Chair; Educational Linguistics Division

Graduate School of Education

University of Pennsylvania

Andrea Leone-Pizzighella, TA

PhD. Candidate in Educational Linguistics

Graduate School of Education

University of Pennsylvania

Objectives

You will learn about:

• turn-taking patterns and their function

• question types and their effects on classroom talk

• the role of intonation, gesture and other subtle cues on interaction

• types and functions of classroom storytelling

• types of class participation and their effects

Prerequisites

This course is designed for practicing teachers as well as for undergraduate (3rd/4th year) and graduate students who are student teaching or tutoring. There are no content prerequisites for taking this course. However, we encourage learners to take edX Demo101.

Please familiarize yourself with the privacy and policy statement of edX before taking edX courses: https://www.edx.org/edx-terms-service

Course Format

This is a self-paced course with five modules. All modules will be released on September 19, 2017, at 9:00am EST (14:00 UTC). All coursework (including Discussions, Quizzes, and Final Exam) must be completed by the close of the course—12 months from the course open date—on September 19, 2018 at 9:00 am EST (14:00 UTC). However, learners are encouraged to proceed through the course by completing one module per week. The course takes most learners five weeks to complete. More information on UTC conversion can be found at this link: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

A time commitment of 2-3 hours per module is expected. The Teaching Assistant (TA) will be available to facilitate discussions on the discussion forum and provide additional guidance on the assignments as needed. If you have any questions regarding the assignments, please review the forums to determine if the question has already been asked and/or answered. If it has not, we invite you to post your question in the discussion forum, and the TA will respond within 48 hours.

Each module will contain the following components:

• Lecture videos

o 6-10 short lectures (or approximately 45-90 minutes of video content) per module

o Cover all content necessary for answering assessment questions

• Quizzes

o 5-question graded assessment each module

o Two attempts are permitted per question

• Final Assignment

o Short discourse analysis of turn-taking, questions, contextualization resources,

storytelling, or participant structures in your classroom

o Open-response reflection and identification of these structures is required

• Discussion Forum

o Participation in discussion forums is CRUCIAL as it is our means of interaction in a

class about interaction ☺

o Please exercise good judgment and appropriate forum etiquette

▪ Be respectful of your fellow learners

▪ Focus your discussion on the course content

Grading

Grading will be based on:

• Quizzes (80% of your grade) – Two attempts are permitted per question

• Final Assignment (20% of your grade)

A composite grade of 75% is considered a passing grade. Learners who complete the course requirements on the verified certificate track will receive a web certificate. Learners on the audit track will see their achievement reflected in their course profile.

This course uses the edX honor code. Please do not use any reference material while completing quizzes.

Course Outline

Module One: Introduction to classroom interaction (What is it and why do it?)

• Introduction to previous classic research and reasons for studying classroom

interaction.

• Introduction to basic terminology of the field and brief examples of how this

terminology can be used to focus our observation of classroom talk.

Module Two: Turn-taking patterns and question types

• Introduction to typical turn-taking patterns, the different types of questions teachers

and students ask and the consequences for student engagement and learning.

• Students will view examples of different types of questions and analyze the way

classroom discussions develop around them.

Module Three: Beyond Language: The role of intonation, gesture and other non-linguistic

cues on interaction

• Introduction to the concept of “contextualization cues,” that is the role of gesture,

posture, dress, and appearance in cueing how teachers and students understand and

contribute to classroom interaction.

Module Four: Types and functions of classroom storytelling

• Review of classic research literature on storytelling in classrooms, from pre-school “sharing time” to literature and science discussions. Examples illustrate techniques of

narrative analysis in everyday classroom settings.

Module Five: Types of participation and their effects

• Introduction to different participant structures with emphasis on the joint nature of

any classroom talk (from group work to teacher-delivered lectures). Examples of how

different frameworks for participation in classrooms affects who talks, what gets said,

and how.

• “Tying it all together” and analyzing individual repertoire within shared participant

structures: Final Discourse Analysis and Reflection

Final Assignment. You are to do the following:

1. Transcribe an event

- Identify a Recurring Event in your classroom, workplace, community

- Record that Event—audio and video, if possible (make sure you get permission

from participants)

- Transcribe the audio so you can investigate closely (or, if not possible to record, take

extremely good notes of the event and analyze them thoroughly)

2. Identify the “hot-spots”

- Foiled expectations

- Turn-taking & Questions

- contextualization resources

- Storytelling

- participant structures

- The role of individual communicative repertoire

- Anything that otherwise catches your attention

3. Analyze the event

- Identify possible explanations for your foiled expectations

- Turn-taking & Questions

- contextualization resources

- Storytelling

- participant structures

-The role of individual communicative repertoire

4. Discuss implications for ongoing interaction in your context

-what questions do you now have after analyzing this data

-what would be important for participants in this setting to consider/be aware of going

forward?

-are your observations and findings something that occurred in isolation, or are they "norms"

of this setting? What COULD that imply?

After recording, transcribing, and analyzing your data, pick three significant findings and the examples of those findings in the transcript itself. Discuss your context, findings, and possible implications and SUBMIT THIS in the OPEN RESPONSE SECTION BELOW. You can also upload a PDF file below if you prefer (note: this is 20% of your grade).

Additionally, you will grade 3 of your peers' responses using the rubric provided. ASSESSING YOUR PEERS IS THE ONLY WAY TO RECEIVE A GRADE ON THIS ASSIGNMENT.

Final assignment

Context: The conversation in this video takes place among three friends (two girls and a boy) and a waitress in a restaurant. One girl wants to go out for a dinner with her friend, so she calls her and invites her to a particular restaurant where they meet another friend (male) by chance. They all go to the restaurant and order food and drinks they prefer. While eating, they talk about the quality of food and what their current work is. After eating, finally, they pay the bill and leave the restaurant. The students study different majors at the university and English conversation is one of the compulsory subjects they should study during their bachelor’s degree program. Their ages range from 17 to 20 and their first language is Thai. They study English as a foreign language in both school and tertiary level contexts.

Turn-taking & Questions: As this conversation takes places in a restaurant among friends, this can be thought of as a casual conversation in which the participant structure is whole group discussion. Therefore, each one is free to talk with the other friends. The conversation goes on in a natural way as if it were really happening in a restaurant because the turn-taking and questioning pattern are not disruptive in that each student gets a chance to interact with other three participants. Given this, it can be said that the interaction pattern which can be observed in this discussion is mostly IRE but not always. In this conversation, no one dominates but equality shares their ideas with one another in a relaxed atmosphere. They use the right language to ask questions and respond relevant to this specific situation (E.g., Let’s meet at Milky restaurant, How about the food? Good evening, please take seats).

Foiled expectations: This conversation is not free of foiled expectations. A good example to prove this can be linked to the confusion which the boy gets when he is asked “Oh! I see. Can I taste it?” by his friend (A). The boy does not seem to understand what she asks, Instead, he himself is starting to taste the food again. This incident makes others laugh (Please watch the video and see it clearly) how the boy becomes embarrassed. In another situation, A is asking C (boy), “How do you know that?” to which C does not reply but keeps on gazing and then he nods his head, and this leads to a burst of laughter by all.

Contextualization resources: Since the conversation happens in a restaurant, a waiter is there to welcome them and lead the customers to a table. Bringing menu (I prefer if they could use a real one). Eating food (even though, they mimic), gaze, eye contact, facial expressions, posture (how they sit around the table), gestures (taking food from a plate and tasting a bit), wait time, and room set up and clothing (University students go the canteen and have food with their friends in the uniform) can be considered as contextualization resources present in this conversation.

Participant structures: As can be seen from the transcript as well as from the video, the participant structure in this discussion can be ascribed to students working in a group project. If the participant structure is mapped as shown in the table below.

Interactors	Phase
S1-S2	First phase of the conversation
S1-S2-S3	Second phase before entering the restaurant
S1-S4, S3-S4, S2 -S4	During ordering food and drinks
S3-S1, S1-S3, S3-S2	While eating
S1-S4, S4-S1, S1-S4, S4-S1, S2, S3	Before leaving the restaurant

A careful analysis of the participant structure as shown in the table above, we can conclude that this discussion is near to a real-world situation in which friends go out together for a meal.

The role of individual communicative repertoire: Individual repertoire contains a number of elements such as greetings, ways of addressing, gestures, languages, pronunciation of certain words, catch phrases or signal words, expressing praises/criticism. In this discussion, I find that students are competent with their communicative repertoires. When analyzing the transcript, it is clear that that they know how to greet, how to address others, use gestures, expressing praise and criticism. Needless to cite all example, but I will cite a few examples to illustrate how the students in the conversation use to make it meaningful and alive. When they evaluate the quality of food which they are eating, they tend to ask each other how they feel about the food. Some say food is tasty while the boy says his fried rice is not good and allows others to taste. This may be culture specific. However, this kind of activity is generally done by most cultures. Another significant point which I would like to discuss here in relation to the role of individual communicative repertoire is that most Thai learners cannot pronounce certain words (e.g., fried rice is pronounced as ‘fire rice’ or phrases correctly. Sometimes, they do not care much about stress and intonation which might lead to miscommunication of the intended message. Overall, it can be said that each student equally contributes to the speech event with no one taking a dominant role.

Ongoing Interaction: Some questions that pose me after analyzing this speech event can relate to limited oral proficiency of students. As a result, they mostly use short utterances that contain less than ten words and they are also not free from grammatical errors (e.g., “These one fried rice, two pizza and three KFC”, “I don’t sad”, “you can go there and saw the sunset”). Moreover, they cannot continue a conversation for a long time. This is clear from the middle part of the conversation in which they talk about their careers or talk about what they did during their holidays. I think this kind of analysis will help me to identify the types of language errors which the students tend to make when they talk in social situations and provide them with feedback so that they will minimize their errors in one respect, on the other, they will be better prepared to face challenges they may have to face in their education and work place in the future. However, this kind of interaction will allow students to expose themselves to talk about issues relating to their education or society, share their ideas in a less threatening environment, provide feedback to their peers and finally to build up better understanding about each other and one another as important members of their community.

This video shows a classroom based role-playing activity which I recorded when I was teaching in a university in Thailand and it was published in www.youtube.com with the permission of the students who act in this role play. The video can be watched by accessing this website: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vcg7ZWa5dhY

Roles: A- (a girl) B- (a girl), and C- (a boy) friends D-a girl (a waitress in a restaurant)

Transcript

A: (A calls her friend) Hello

B: Hello

A: Is that Pha speaking?

B: Yes. It's me. Who are you?

A: Hey, Pha. This is Pic. I want to go to have dinner at Milky restaurant. Would you

like to join with us?

B: Yes. I do. What time?

A: At 6p.m. today.

B: Ok, I'm free.

A: Oh! let's meet at the restaurant.

B: Ok. See you. bye.

A: Bye.

A& B meets C (another friend)

C: Hello, Hello.

A: Hello, Sea.

C: Hello, Pic.

A: Nice to meet you.

C: Nice to meet.

A: Let's go to the Milky restaurant.

B: Yea.

C: How about your restaurant?

A: Oh, It’s bad.

C: you sure?

A: yes.

At the restaurant (The waitress welcomes them)

D: Good evening. Please take seats.

B: Yes.

A: Here.

A&C: Thank you.

A: Can I have menu please?

D: Yes. This is menu.

C: Ok. I want fried rice, two pizzas, three kfc.

A: I want a set of pizza and spicy salad.

B: I want (?) (what she is ordering must be some kind of Thai food which is not clear)

D: Ok. What about beverage?

A: A glass of orange juice.

C: Pepsi.

B: A glass of iced tea.

D: Ok. Wait a minute.

(After a while, the waitress brings the food and drinks they ordered)

D: These one fried rice, two pizza, and three kfc and Pepsi for you. ..and these (?)

and iced tea for you. And these a set of pizza and papaya salad for you

and orange juice. Enjoy your meal.

A: Ok. Thank you very much.

C: Pic. How about your food?

A: Oh. Its some (?). I want to taste. (tastes). Yes. How about your fried rice?

C: Oh, fried rice bad.....

A: Bad.

B: Bad.

A: Really.

C: Yes.

A: Oh. I see. Can I taste it?

C: (he is confused a little, so he keeps on looking at A for a while and then A

signals that she wants to taste the food). Ok. Ok. Ok ((laughter))

(A tastes fried rice)

A: Mmm..it's so sweet.

(B also tastes)

B: Same you.

A: How about your work?

C: Oh! I'm free. I don't have work....I don't have a job.

A: Must be so sad.

C: No.. I don't sad. I'm very happy.

B: Wow!

(A asks D)

A: How about you?

B: Good. I'm a programmer.

C: How about your parents?

A: Oh, parents. There's good as well. Hey, last weekend I went to Phuket with my family

C: Really.

A: Yea.

C: What interesting Phuket?

A: Oh, you can go to saw the sunset and Phuket.

C: I know...I know that Phuket.

A: Have you been there?

C: No.

A: How do you know that?

C: (Keeps silent ((laughter))

B: Yes.

A: Ok. And Pathong beach is also beautiful.

B: Good. I went to Phuket last month. ( ) It is so beautiful.. little island. Some

beautiful..(?)

A: Yes, the beach is very clean. Right? Oh.. finish? Can I have the bill?

D: Here's your bill. 500baht.

A: Here's 1000baht.

D: Here's your 500baht.

A: Ok. This is a tip for you.

D: Thank you very much.

A: Never mind.

D: Thank you. See you next time. Please come again.

A, B &C: Ok...

A: Please, let's go.

This is the certificate I received

This is my course progress report

( https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:PennX+UCI1x+3T2017/progress)

The 47th National Day of Oman

2017-12-01T00:58:00.001-08:00

Water Polution video with questions and answers

2017-03-17T04:23:00.001-07:00

An academic reading activity for foundation level students

2017-03-17T04:18:00.001-07:00

2016-06-23T04:38:00.002-07:00

A research study conducted by me is now published in an issue of SAGE Open, SAGE Journal.

You can read this article by accessing this website sgo.sagepub.com/content/6/2/2158244016654202

Teaching Reading in a foreign language: Sentence method or eclectic method?

2016-01-25T07:03:00.001-08:00

EFL Language Testing should go beyond the sentence level-The role of communicative competence in language testing

2015-11-14T10:16:00.003-08:00

Influence of English as a Powerful instrument of Communication in Thailand

2015-10-09T08:50:00.002-07:00

The Best Method in EFL/ESL Teaching

2015-09-25T01:46:00.001-07:00

To read more about the Best Method in EFL/ESL Teaching, you can log on to www.tjprc.org where you can find the article above.

Relationship between additional language learning and risk-taking

2015-09-22T21:23:00.001-07:00

To read this article, please log on to the website: http://www.ijelr.in The following article is found in Vol. 2. Issue 3., 2015(July-Sept).

An excursion to A’Zaimi Wadi in Liwa, Oman

2014-10-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

Oman is a country filled with natural beauty and wonderful creations of nature. Among those significant creations of nature, Wadi takes a special place because, in a Wadi, one can see a stream of crystal clear water flowing slowly through a gorge towards a valley surrounded by a range of mountains. Wadi (Arabic: وادي‎ wādī) is the Arabic term traditionally refers to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only during the times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi).

In Oman, there are a number of Wadis which are quite famous among local and expatriates who are fond of visiting them with families or friends during holidays. Most people would naturally like to visit quite famous Wadis which can be reached easily by a car or a four wheeler and avoid least famous ones. Wadi A’ Zaimi in Liwa (one of the provinces in Al Batinah North governorate) in Oman is such one which is not mostly visited by either local or expatriates in Oman since it is not accessible with ease. The main barrier which lies before any visitor to this particular Wadi is the paved road with bitumen. The paved road which runs from Liwa ends at a small hamlet called Rissa and from there a gravel road (a track) runs through the desert plain teemed with gravel. By a normal car, you can go up to this village and then you need a four wheeler to reach A’Zaimi Wadi.

This is the end of the paved road which branches off Liwa from the main highway. From here to A’ Zaimi valley, the road goes through a semi-desert area.

During Ed holidays, on 6^th of October, 2014, a group of lecturers including me decided to visit Wadi A’ Zaimi as an expedition. Our group consisted of four lecturers and from the department of English at Shinas College of Technology, Oman. One of our lecturers’ son (Asnath) also joined us so all together our group comprised of 5 members. Mr. Asif, an English lecturer offered us a ride in his car. We started around 8.40 a. m from Aqr (is a small town situated in the region of Al Batinah) and drove along the highway up to Liwa and then tuned to right and continued our journey along the road until we came to a junction. We waited for some time until a car came and got directions to the place we wanted to get to.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.8062966,56.4384468,2716m/data=!3m1!1e3

By accessing the above URL, you can locate Aqr in the map.

On either side of the road, well-grown date trees could be seen. However, the area we were passing through was found to be thinly populated and desolate. After driving a considerable amount of time, we came to a small restaurant where we stopped to refresh ourselves by drinking some water. In the hotels we found some Bangladeshis who were having breakfast. One of my friends, Mr. Basit who is also an English lecturer from our college, began a conversation with Bangladesh people and got to know all information such as the distance from there to the Wadi and how much time it might take to get there. While discussing, those Bangladesh people revealed that the road would end at Rissa and from there we need to go by a four wheeler since the road is not carpeted. Moreover, in the valley, they said that there is a very famous tree where people go to make wishes. “If you make wish by standing under that tree, you wish, whatever it is, will come true”

This is the junction where we stopped our car to ask someone for directions to Wadi A’ Zaimi

With this information, some of our colleagues became so interested to see this tree that we all decided to go and see this specific tree however much the journey was arduous. Furthermore, those friendly people said that we would be able to hire a four wheeler because there are locals who are used to doing that. With renewed interest, we got into our car and started our journey along the road that was meandering through bare mountains and finally, we came to Rissa and began to look for someone who could take us there.

On either side of the road, what is visible is nothing except this kind of land formation.

This is the place from where you need to hire a four wheeler to get to Wadi A’ Zaimi. The sign board erected at the end of the carpeted road says A’ Zaimi is 14 Km. Asnath is inquiring from a local person if there is a possibility to hire a four wheeler from Rissa to Wadi.

Luckily, after a few minutes, we were able to contact a local person who agreed to take our group in his four-wheeler to Wadi A’ Zaimi. Once our journey stated, we were overjoyed at what we could see on our way. Gradually, the plan began to disappear and we found our vehicle was going up a very steep hill in a very narrow read. To one side, is a towering cliff and to the other is a steep precipice which reminded me the death road of Bolivia. In a video, I watched how drivers take risks in driving across the death road. But our local person was a seasoned driver and driving in such a gravel road was a simple thing for him. Once our climb to the apex of the hill was over, our vehicle began to descend slowly. While climbing down, although we pretended that we were not feeling afraid, it was later found that everybody in our group felt a sense of panic. After about 45 minutes’ travel, we were taken to the tree of wish (See photo below).

This is the tree where people go to make wishes.

The scars of the bark are the nail heads which have been driven into the tree by devotees.

These nail heads testify how many devotees have come here for making wishes up to date. We left the tree with the wish that should continue to grow bigger and taller so that it can accommodate more and more visitors and devotees to make their unending wishes in the years to come.

This tree has grown up to 30 to 40 feet in height and its circumference is nearly 15 feet. When we got closer to the tree, we found that its bark has been hit with various types of nails. Close scrutiny of the trunk of the tree revealed that people who come to make a wish at the tree are used to hitting nails. Some of our colleagues, who were able to find a nail that had been left by someone, could hit one or two nails into bark of the tree. I wonder whether they made any wish. We spent nearly 30 or 40 minutes in and around the tree but no one came to the tree to make a vow or wish.

According to Wikipedia, a wish tree is an individual tree, usually distinguished by species, position or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. By tradition, believers make votive offerings in order to gain from that nature spirit, saint or goddess fulfilment of a wish. This introduction to a wish tree seems acceptable in several ways because the man’s association with the nature has a long history. This kind of practice among people is found in many countries irrespective of their geographical location. In many Asian countries, Banyan tree has become not only a wish tree among Buddhists and Hindus but also one of the most venerated trees in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. It has the ability to survive and grow for centuries and is often compared to the shelter given by God to his devotees In Hindu mythology, the tree is called Kalpavriksha, the tree that provides fulfilment of wishes and other material gains. It symbolises Trimurti - Lord Vishnu is believed to be the bark, Lord Brahma the roots, and Lord Shiva the branches The Banyan tree is mentioned in many scriptures as a tree of immortality. Its aerial roots grow down into the soil forming additional trunks and are therefore called Bahupada, the one with several feet. It symbolizes longevity and represents the divine creator, Brahma (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Significance-of-the-Banyan/).

Another picture of the tree

We next explored the A’ Zaimi valley which extends a vast area with no human settlement. Only a few families do live there even though the most precious natural resource (water) is available in plenty the year round. A few vegetable farms are to be seen among the lush grown date groves in A’ Zaimi valley. On our way back from A’ Zaimi valley to Rissa, we came across a number of streams full of clean water that flow down irrigating the desert land. On our way back to Rissa, we had to travel up steep mountains which offer panoramic views of A’Zaimi valley. Our return journey from A’Zaimi valley to Rissa took less time than our trip from Rissa to A’Zaimi valley because on our return journey, we came from another track which the driver told us shorter. Around 1.30p.m, we could arrive at Rissa and bade good bye to our Omani friend and started back our journey from Rissa to Aqr in Asif’s car. All of us enjoyed the excursion as it was a thrilling and memorable experience we have had in our life.

A pool-like formation- Mr. Asif, one of our lecturers, poses for a photo.

Another photo of a natural pool.

Well-grown vegetable plot in the valley

This picture shows a view of the A’ Zaimi valley. The photo was taken from a high elevation

Before we start our journey to A'Zaimi valley, we posed for a photo

Another photo with the sign board in our background (from left to right, Asif, Shakeeb, Basit and me

Close and spectacular view of A'Zaimi valley. This photo was taken from a higher elevation

Re-visited my village

2014-09-13T04:33:00.002-07:00

It is a common phenomenon that most people who now live in cities in many countries in the world have migrated from villages. We all have pleasant memories about the village where we were born, bread, shaped and educated (in a primary school) before we had moved to a city for other reasons. When we were studying in a primary class, we remember writing compositions about the topic of “My village”. Our teachers often encouraged us to compose even poems about village life because village life is thought to be so simple, pleasant and entertaining that it keeps attracting people belonging to all walks of life all the year round. As we know, a great number of books on both prose and poetry that deal with every aspect of village life have been compiled by veteran writers and poets in their respective countries in the world. Even though there can be some differences in the patterns of life of villagers, one can see that all villages, irrespective of their geographical locations, share common features such as vocations, beliefs, customs, norms, social values, attitudes and interactional patterns among members of a given community.

Being a person from a village, I also experienced the vicissitudes of village life same as the other members did in my village. As far as my view is concerned in Sri Lankan context, it was Martin Wickramasinghe, one of the eminent scholars that Sri Lanka ever had, who wrote much about village life in my country both in Sinhala and English languages alike. Next to Martin Wickramsinghe, another name that comes to my mind is late J. Vijayatunga who could paint the vicissitudes of Sri Lankan village life through his prolific pen. He lived in England and wrote in English so that English readers got a chance to enjoy reading Sri Lankan village vignette as it was. The name of the book he wrote is Grass for my feet. I remember reading it with renewed interest for its simple language and the varied stories based on a typical village life set in the southern part of Sri Lanka.

Martin Wickrmasinghe J. Vijayatunga

While searching the internet for information about J. Vijayatunga, I came across a book review written by Richard Boyle about one of J. Vijayatunga’s books called Island Story with the topic of Fact and fiction remind us of our richness. The extract below gives some information about Vijayatunga.

Jinidasa Vijayatunga (1903-89) is one of those authors who, though reasonably prolific, are mainly remembered for a single title. In Vijayatunga's case it is Grass for My Feet (1935), his childhood reminiscences of village life in Ceylon published in London. This book caused the Times Literary Supplement to declare, "Here one almost fancies is an eastern avatar of Mark Twain." Together with R. L. Spittel, Vijayatunga was one of the first Ceylonese writers to convey the essence of the island to the world and helped forge the identity of Ceylonese English literature.

Educated at Mahinda College, Galle, and across the Palk Straits at the University of Madrapalle, Vijayatunga then went back to India in the early 1920s and worked as editor of the magazine India & Ceylon and as a teacher at Tagore's Shantiniketan. Afterwards he settled in England, only returning to Sri Lanka in 1989, the year of his death. While nothing else he wrote matched the evocative excellence of Grass for My Feet, there are several other works of his that deserve attention, in particular Island Story, which has the bonus of being handsomely illustrated by Ivan Peries.

(Extracted from http://www.sundaytimes.lk/041024/plus/books.html)

The preamble I have already provided to this account is no exhaustive about village or its life. The purpose of this account is to present the reader with a genuine picture of my village where I was born, bread and shaped around five decades ago. During the month of August, 2014, I revisited my village which I had left when I was 17 or 18. After that, from time to time, I made a few journeys there but I could not see a big change in my village in any of my visits as the one I made during this year. After completing my primary and secondary education, I left my village for good. Due to occupational reasons, I had to move to the capital of Sri Lanka and after spending a few years in Colombo, I left the country. After I had left the country, I got no chance to visit my village even though some of my relatives still live there.

Soon after returning from abroad, I resolved to pay a visit to my village so that I could meet my relatives, friends and acquaintances who used to be very near and dear in association. For this visit, I was accompanied by my son who is now nearly 14 years and he has never been to my village so he does not know any of my relatives. I wanted to show him my village and make him interact with my relatives so that he can get an idea about the life which villagers lead.

During the third week of August, we packed our clothes and other necessities and left Colombo in one morning. We travelled by three buses to get to my village which is situated in Galagedara Electorate in Kandy district. It is situated at the foot of Alagalla rock which stands majestically projecting a glamorous view to the naked eye of a casual viewer. My village is surrounded by mountains, rubber plantations and paddy fields. It still looks like a virgin forest.

Alagalla Rock seen from my village

Another view of Allagalla Rock

When I left my village, its condition was much better in terms of environment than it is today. There were no motorable roads, no many houses with tiled roofs. The people were very humble and united. Many paddy fields and farms were a specific characteristic in my village. Most paddy fields were cultivated in both seasons. Buffaloes were mainly used not only to till the soil of paddy fields but also to thresh paddy. As I remember, when we were very young we loved to engaged in paddy threshing which was generally done in the evening. In the olden days, villagers used three or four buffaloes tied neck to neck with a rope to thresh paddy. The buffaloes thus tied together would walk round the stack of paddy spread evenly on the threshing floor. Once all the paddy seeds were separated from hey, the group of buffaloes are removed from the threshing floor and the people who have come to help the farmer whose paddy is being threshed will remove the hey from the floor with a wooden stick specifically made for this purpose. When paddy is threshed by a group of buffaloes, it is customary for a boy to go behind them with a stick in hand to drive them continuously (see the picture below). When the buffaloes become tired, they are given a rest for some time. Being children, we loved to do this. While going behind buffaloes, you have to take a dried areca nut leaf (the hard part which attaches to the tree, see the picture below) to collect cow dung. Moreover, the one who goes behind the buffaloes should recite loudly and rhythmically a folk poem meant for paddy threshing. Once the paddy threshing is over, food is provided to all those who attended the work. Our participation in paddy threshing in any farmer of the village mostly linked to the food because the food which is prepared for such an event tends to be more delicious than the food generally prepared for home consumption by villagers. I should say that there are specific words and terms associated with paddy cultivation related tasks in Sri Lanka. So the food which is specially prepared and taken to the threshing floor or to the paddy field in a basket woven from canes or coconut leaves is called “Ambula”.Being children, we loved to enjoy “Ambula”which comprised with four or five curries along with our elders. During the harvest season in our village, we used to come home at night. During the day time, the threshing floor became a play area where we used to play different types of games such as hide and seek or playing a game with a ball. Why we chose a threshing floor as a play area was that it provided us with comforts and safety. Once the paddy threshing is over, the farmer plies a huge stack of hey around the threshing floor making conducive place for the children to play.

Paddy threshing using buffaloes

The hard part of areca nut leaves which attach to the tree

It is a pity to state that all of those I mentioned above pertains to paddy framing have now disappeared from my village leaving no trace. I came to know that now most paddy fields are not cultivated due to the shortage of water and those paddy fields have now become either barren or farm lands where some vegetables are grown for home consumption. Most paddy farmers have transformed into other manual jobs which help them earn their day-to-day living expenses. Traditional paddy cultivation as it used to be a few years ago no longer exist in my village. Most villagers are now dependent on the rice produced in other areas in the island. Condition such as this directly affects the rice production in the country. From the point of economic view, failure to produce to the required amount of a product as per the demand will normally result in increasing the price of it.

Even though the condition of framing in my village is not favourable in terms of economy, there is one thing I found to be worth mentioning here. It is about the people who used to be very near and dear to me while I was a member of their community. They had not changed in their hospitality and humanity. They were the same as they used to be before a few decades ago. This is something I should appreciate highly because it is a common view that good qualities of most people disappear along with the changing society where most people nowadays give priority to money and status. The remarkable change I noticed with many of my village friends and relatives can be ascribed to only the physic. In attitude and manner, they are still the same.

The first night was spent with one of my old and close friends. He works as a manager of a rubber estate. We have been close friends since we were very young. He has gained a wealth of experience in relation to estate work. Since we had not met for such a long time, we spent many hours talking about our past and present activities and other matters related to our family and social life. The estate he works has a good bungalow where we spent the night. The bungalow consists of two bed room, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom with a verandah. It has all the facilities as a modern house has.

This is the living room of the bungalow

Spacious bed room

In order to prepare rubber sheets, this machine is used. It is quite fast and efficient

A view of the rubber estate

In the morning, we went round to see the rubber estate and it is well-kept and managed. After breakfast, we bade goodbye to my friend and left for my village again. But this time we went to see my uncle and aunt who live in another village a few kilo meters far from mine. It should be noted here that some infrastructure facilities have been developed in these areas which used to be sleepy hamlets in Hataraliyadda area, especially, the roads have been carpeted so now there is no distinction between cities and the villages in some parts of Sri Lanka.

Hatarliayadda town is under construction

My step mother and father are quite old now but they are in good health. My step father worked in the Railway department in Kandy until he retired. We were given a stupendous lunch and then we left back to my village where my two uncles live with their families. One of my uncles is already dead.

My step mother and father with the other members of his family

My step mother and father

They posed for another picture with my son on the left

As I stated earlier, my village is situated at the foot of Alagalla rock so in order to reach my village, one has to take the road which branches off from the bus route from Rangamuwa (another village located on the Hatraliyadda-Rambukkana bus route). The road which leads to my village is mountainous so you have to climb about one kilometre to reach a plain and then another kilometre to reach my uncle’s house. We reached my uncle’s house around 4 p.m. and in the evening visited some of my relatives who live in my village close to my uncle’s house. We spent the night there and in the morning I was awoken by a loud sound which came from the roof. It sounded as if someone was walking on the roof. I quickly went out and to my dismay it was a monkey. My aunt said that a group of monkeys are used to coming to the gardens of the villagers in search of food. Therefore, it is very difficult now to protect any fruit from them. I noticed a quite big troop consisting of 10 to 15 monkeys roaming over the tree tops around my uncle’s garden in which coconuts and some fruits like mangos teen, mangoes and durian have been grown. The only device the villagers use to drive away the monkeys out of their home gardens is to light fire crackers or throw stones at them. But since now they have got used to the sound of fire crackers, that device too have become ineffective. Throwing stones at them with a catapult also seems rather difficult since they can easily see someone trying to do it from above. There were a few fire crackers which I lighted and threw at the tree where the moneys were sitting. But I myself found that they were not disturbed or distracted by the ear splitting sound. They were seen just staying there on the tree tops.

Rangamuwa Primary School where I received my primary education.

My late uncle

My late uncle and aunt (aunt is alive)

Temple in my village

A small shop

I tried the next device too. There was a hand catapult placed in the same place where I found some fire crackers and this time my son too joined. I asked him to find small stones form the ground so that I could use them to shoot at monkeys with the hand catapult. I tried several times,

A hand catapult

But taking a correct aim at a monkey was difficult because they stood on such a high branch of a tree that the stone I shot from the catapult did not reach up to that height. So we discontinued that and decided to get ready to leave for Colombo that day morning. After breakfast, we left the house where we had stayed the previous night saying them food bye and visited the house of my other uncle and told them that we were leaving. On our way to the bus stop, we were given a ride by one of my brothers who is a relative of mine. Later we took a bus to Rambukkana and took the train to Colombo. A journey by train is generally enjoyed by all especially children. We did not travel up to Colombo fort because it was convenient for us to get down at Gampaha and take one but to Kaduweal and another to Koswatta where our rented house is located. Around 1 p.m. we were able to get to our house ending our two day journey to my village.

On the way to Gampaha by train, my son (Gavindu) took several pictures of some places that we passed. They are given below.

Mirigama Railway station

Another scene captured by camera

End of another journey

Keeping a Diary in EFL Teaching (part 2)

2014-05-23T06:08:00.004-07:00

Keeping a Diary in EFL Teaching (part 2)

13 Oct, 2013

Since today is Saturday, I stayed at my room and installed my computer with office 2007 and did all corrections in assignment 3, only conclusion is left because it needs to be written after one-way ANOVA is performed. When the means and standard deviations of more than two interval scores are calculated, Independent Samples T-test cannot be used. Without knowing that, I used Independent Samples T-test which is wrong and the results of the descriptive statistics I presented in my assignment based on the pilot study is erroneous. I saw it appear in Nunan's (2009) book but did not think about it further. I have to re-do the calculations.

14 Oct, 2013

Went to the college. Even though today has been declared as a working day, the students were not present. In general, students don't attend the classes when a working day falls between two holidays. We went to classes and stayed there for 20 minutes and then returned to the office. Around 5.45 I left the college. No special work was done today at the college except the QA meeting where we concluded the work that was assigned to us. Today there was a slight change in the weather in that the sky remained cloudy since morning so some predicted that there will be rains soon. We hope it happen soon. Dr Jun (An English lecturer) said that Aquilis (An English Lecturer) was hospitalized for a surgery.

15 Oct, 2013

Beginning from today up to Saturday this week are Eid holidays so no classroom teaching in the college. In the morning, I prepared a grammar revision paper for level 3 because the next we will have to do a revision of all the units we have covered up to now. Since the scores of the grammar quiz indicated poor performance, I designed a revision paper in such a way that it allows them to recall what points are really necessary for them in the mid semester exam that will start on 27 of October, 2013. Although the time passes quickly, the amount of students’ learning seems to be a very little. That is why, as I assume, most students can't perform well in an examination setting. I sometimes get to think whether some students in our classes suffer from test anxiety which is a psychological condition in which people experience extreme distress and anxiety in testing situations. While many people experience some degree of stress and anxiety before and during exams, test anxiety can actually impair learning and affect test performance. This really is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed in no time. The students' rate of acquisition seems to be so low even after they were exposed to a considerable number of hours in classroom instruction. I hope if students are instructed or counseled individually, this problem may, to a certain degree, be addressed. The following cover page is from a grammar test paper administered for level 3 students in a given semester-end exam and it clearly proves my claim made above. For ethical reasons, the identity of the student has been withheld.

16 Oct, 2013

At room and started working on the proposal. I completed nearly three third of it and the literature review section still remains in complete because it needs to be organized on themes rather than on individual studies. Lot of work could have been accomplished if the Internet was available. I need to perform One Way ANOVA with the pilot group’s study data to find out if there was a significant difference in the statistics.

17^th Oct, 2013

Still holiday so I could finish almost three thirds of my proposal. I still need to revise the literature part and do ANOVA to find any significant difference across the test marks of the pilot study group. Once the college begins I try to do it online if possible if not try to down lord any statistical software. Further, I need to get the permission from the dean which I hope to do soon.

20^th Oct, 2013

Attended the college and did two classes where grammar was taught. I discussed a model paper with the students who had already studied grammar rules pertains to simple present, present continuous, simple past, comparative and superlative adjectives but I still find that the majority of my students have not learnt them properly. It seems they easily forget what they learn in the classroom. This seems to be a critical issue where the critical period hypothesis as proposed by Krashen (1982) comes into play. The critical period hypothesis states that the first few years of life is the crucial time in which an individual can acquire a first language if presented with adequate stimuli. If language input doesn't occur until after this time, the individual will never achieve a full command of language-especially grammatical systems. In second-language acquisition, the strongest evidence for the critical period hypothesis is in the study of accent, where older learners do not reach a native-like level. However, under certain conditions, native-like accent has been observed, suggesting that accent is affected by multiple factors, such as identity and motivation, rather than a critical period biological constraint (Moyer, 1999; Bongaerts et al., 1995; Young-Scholten, 2002). Since the beginning of this semester, the students were immersed in grammar rules explicitly. Students were provided with a number of exercises and feedback. But they seem to have not learnt them yet. Once they are given an exercise, they need my help all the time. Sometimes, some students cannot identify the similarity when the two sentences are alike. For example: suppose if students are given an exercise in which they are asked to write or underline the correct form of the verb ( Simple present or present continuous) the first sentence looks like the one below: Ali _____[study] at AB College. Then after three or four sentences, again similar sentence like the below is included with the same structure; Ahmed ______[play] football on Friday afternoon. Some students tend to write the first sentence correctly. However, when they come to third or fourth sentence which is also from the same form, they are not likely to apply the same rules as they did previously. Instead, they write a different verb form. This means that teaching itself does not cause learning. Depending on learning context, I presume that a teacher has to change his all teaching technique and strategies to make his teaching more useful to the learners. This is the crux of the issue which should be addressed from different perspectives. Sometimes you may have to do a drill too even though it has no place in the modern EFL classroom. Other time, you may require applying TPR. Furthermore, you will like to provide learners with a script of a conversation and ask them to practice and then produce it in pairs or small groups. In addition, one might have to take a passage from a text book or a magazine and ask learners to translate it into their native language. Perhaps, a teacher can apply a teaching strategy called advanced organizer where he/she teaches students how to read quickly in order to understand the gist of a text. There may be some more methods, approaches as well as techniques which might be effective and beneficial for learners who study English as a foreign language.

21 Oct, 2013

Went to the college and conducted two classes as usual. For group 12, I gave students further practice of writing a job application. Now most of them know how to start writing and what to include in the sender's address and receiver's address. But still there are a few who are not confident about themselves. As time passes and with much exposure to this specific genre, I am hopeful that they will be able to become proficient. In group 11, I noticed a remarkable change in the boys’ attendance. After a few weeks I found the class full with boys who generally get absent on other days. When the exam nears, boys’ tendency towards classroom studies naturally changes from idling to working hard because they want to obtain pass marks from the tests. Haithem is a boy, who has got used to paying a lethargic attitude to learning in the class for the past few weeks, began to work actively and got many answers correct in the exercise I did with the class. I felt astonished at his enthusiasm today. I wonder whether he keeps it until the course ends. I believe that this kind of behavioral change is lined to affects which sometimes are beyond our explanation.

The following answer script of a student’s writing shows that the student has grasped the notion of genre which according to Tribble (1996, p. 159) is “a communicative event which uses texts in predictable ways to achieve agreed communicative purposes”.

(Author's data, 2013)

22^nd Oct, 2013

Attended the college and conducted two classes. For group 12, I started with comparison and contrast paragraphs. I first showed them a PowerPoint I borrowed from Rhona (An English Lecturer) and changed a little. It contained signal words with examples. After that, I checked with them if they had brought the handout I had given them two weeks before, but I found that they didn't brought it. So I had to start with their textbook. These are some of the practical difficulties which teachers encounter every day. I got them to do one exercise, in which they had to practice how to use signal words such as similarly, likewise, both....and, so do:/does. As is often the case with boys, they still need my help so I offered to help them. That lesson is to continue next week. With group 11, I did a grammar lesson as I did yesterday. They did it quite enthusiastically in the first hour. After that their interest began to decline gradually. I think this is natural given the function of the brain. So some students continued to answer the model question paper while others did not. The second session starts at 5 and ends 6p.m. When the clock hits 6 p. m, students’ attention begins to shift from lesson to going home.

23^rd Oct, 2013

Went to the college. Today I had to do a substitution because Aquilis is sick. I went to my class so I could help some students with some grammar point which they still had problems. Badriya and Fatma still did not understand how present continuous is used for activities that are happening at the time of speaking and for arranged activities that will take place in the future. I explained to them with examples and had their attention draw to the model question paper too. They confirmed that they understood it. Later, I went to another pair (Mariam and Aisha). They wanted to know how simple past and past continuous are used. Having drawn their attention to the exercise given in the model paper, I explained to them how both tenses are used. They assured that they realized it. Maktoom and Salim are two students who are quite weak in writing were also helped with continuous form for arranged activities. The next one was Sulaman whose scores for grammar quiz was the least in the class. I helped him with simple present, present continuous and simple past, comparative and superlative constructions and asked him to practice the model paper at home, but I don't know if he does it. I think he has problem of reading and understanding the instruction because when he is asked about the rules, he can tell them what they are but when he is posed a question based on the same rules, he cannot write. However, I find individual coaching works well with students especially with low proficiency students because the fact is that when they are individually instructed, they have to concentrate on the subject matter which the teacher explains to him. When the students are in a classroom, there are many ways that their attention can be diverted to different things. We have noticed this phenomenon in every classroom irrespective of whether they are children or adults. Sometimes even in a tightly controlled class, this kind of obstruction can occur. Talking too much by the teacher in the classroom is too difficult to control given the new views of language teaching in which the teacher should create a non-threatening environment if he want the students to participate actively in a given lesson. As soon as the teacher switches into an authoritarian role, the whole scenario of the class begins to change. That is to say; students most probably will resort to silent mode and especially the introverted students will not engage actively in the lesson under discussion on one hand on the other, those who are extroverted also become dissatisfied with a threatening atmosphere in a classroom. Given the complex nature of human behavior, it seems rather difficult to manage a classroom well even though there are some views that a teacher should be able to control the class. I do not here mea n that teacher should allow students to do whatever they want in the class. Musin came around 8 p.m. He wanted to practice how to write a job application further. I showed him how to write a job application. I further, told him how to organize letter according to the position given in the advertisement. I instructed him to write one without looking at a previously written one. Otherwise he is just copying from another paper to a new one where no writing can happen. Musin is so week that he does not know basics of the target language. From my point of view, he should be in level one. I wonder how he got access to level 3.

24^th Oct, 2013

Today, the mid-semester exam was conducted for all levels. For writing, there are two questions; opinion and writing a letter of job application for level 3. Students have a choice. I hope group 12 students, must have selected option B (job application) because it should be easy for them for two reasons; first, they received enough practice of writing a job application. Second, the job advertisement given was simple. However, even they could try opinion question which seemed easy for them to write. The question was based on advantages and disadvantages of technology. We practiced similar questions in the class. Until I examine their answer scripts, I m not sure what they have done. Today I invigilated group 8 of level 3. I observed that most students had written wrong answers for grammar. The first question was based on present simple and present continuous. The first question read like this: 1. Don't make any noise. The baby ______(sleep). I noticed many have written their answer as, “Don’t make any noise, the baby sleeps or Don’t make any noise. The baby sleeping” with no use of “be” verb. Only one girl of the group had written it correctly. The example I give below confirms what I have sated here in respect of students’ mistakes.

(Author's data, 2013)

26^th Oct, 2013

Yesterday I got the answer scripts of group 4 for first marking. The number of scripts was 25 and out of 25, as I expected, only two students had selected option (A) in which they are required to write an opinion paragraph. The question is "Is technology good or bad for our life? This really is a broad topic to discuss. When we refer to technology, it covers a wide area such as transport, communication, trade and commerce, education, health and so on. But I find the points that are given as good and bad boil down to one specific area, which is Internet. Internet is only a part of technological advancements. However, 23 students have selected option (B) in which they are required to write a letter of job application to the manager of the company given in the advertisement. Out of 25, only one student has written the letter somewhat correctly. The student was a female and even she has not written the qualifications correctly. She wrote, "I have a graduate in the field of business and management. After that she wrote, "which was apply before 30th of October, 2013. In writing about her skills, she writes, "I am fluent in written and spoke English. However, when it comes to personal traits, she says, "I am responsible and hardworking. The organization of her letter has some flows in that she should have written about her nationality and age at the beginning just after the opening sentence but she has written it in the middle which can be identified as a problem of organization. When considering her conclusion, it should be noted that it is quite right in the sense that it is really effective. So her marks out of 20 are 13 which is the highest in group 4.

27^th Oct, 2013

Attended the college and found the students presence was so low that only four students were present (two boys and two girls. Those who were present were taught. I gave them to write a paragraph about comparing and contrasting. Bushar wrote an effective paragraph with a strong conclusion. But Munira did not study English because she said she wanted to do some math in order to pre-prepare for the math’s exam which will be held the next day. Mushin and Maktoom came to the class and wrote a half of the compare and contrast paragraph and then they left. Most boys in level three have limited proficiency so they show no interest in studying English however much it is needed. The second class had no students so I left the college at 5.45p.m. Being teachers we should not feel happy when there are no students in the class. Some students don't pay attention to lessons being taught or the teacher. Instead they secretly use the mobile phone to communicate with others. This clearly shows the extent to which the discipline has deteriorated. As I view, this may be one aspect of their unruly behavior. There can be a number of reasons that can lead to make someone behave in a disruptive manner. Among the many factors which are external and internal to a person, family background, biological traits, social and cultural influence can be considered as important. Apart from those, existing situation in a given place can also have some impact on someone's behavior. For example, a student in a classroom where he feels he/she is threatened with subject matters. This becomes very clear when students are learning an additional language like English. Learners who are not ready to take a risk of making mistakes are generally not considered as good language learners. Risk-taking has been identified as one of the important characteristics of successful learning in a second language (for more information about the relationship and risk taking, one may read this article available at http://www.withanarachchi.info/78-articles/86-article-6

28^th Oct, 2013

Today group 12 had reading quiz: skimming. Since Aquilis was absent, even though it was an off day, I went to my class and conducted the test. I found some students had problems in understanding the questions. The major problem they had was the inability to read and understand the text given. I find them still illiterate when it comes to reading a text in English. I think the problem of inability to read and understand poses great problems for a majority of students. This issue needs to be addressed initially before embarking on other skills. According to a good number of studies, reading has been proved to be essential skills which immensely help learners acquire a second language. Furthermore, reading helps improve writing skills to a good degree. If you want to become a proficient writer, you should be an avid reader. Given the students in the foundation level, I believe that it is important to introduce a program that helps them to develop an interest to hook on to reading. Even in group basis if such a thing can be implemented, students will at least to a certain level, be benefited. Again a program like this cannot be started due to time constraints. Teachers who teach a specific skill tries to cover up the lessons suggested in the course outline during the semester within which they might be bogged down with preparing extra materials, exercises and tests. Given a condition described above, it seems rather difficult for teachers to initiate something innovative and effective in terms of language development of learners. As long as the traditional classroom exists, I believe, the teaching and learning process cannot be changed. The normal pattern into which the teachers, learners and the institution routinely stick will continue to go. What I mean by normal pattern is the one we get to see every day in a normal classroom conducted in an EFL context. In other words, students come to the class (some are on time while a few get late) and sit down facing the whiteboard which acts like a most important learning and teaching aid in a typical classroom where a teacher uses at his own will to explain subject matters. Before the students enter the classroom, the skill teacher makes sure that he/she is present in the class. Then, the teacher greets students and starts taking the attendee of the class. Introduction of the lesson of the day to the class follows next. Teacher explains to the students what they are going to study depending on the skill and students will follow the teacher at every step. The class comes to the end and the same process goes the next day and the other days too like a vicious circle. In order to cause a change to this, one must make a change. But how and when might be the problem given institutional constraints.

(Author's photo)

1^st Nov, 2013

Holiday, since today is Friday. Prepared one lesson-(causes and effects) and this lesson needs to be taught next week. Only one month to teach for this group. In December, somewhere in the middle they have the exam so I need to make them ready for the final exam. On December 19 will be the last working day.

3^rd Nov, 2013

Went to the college. I did two classes where I taught grammar for group 12 in the first session. Today my lesson was present perfect tense in which learners find no such aspect in their native language; Arabic. Thompson-Panos and Tomas-Ruzic (1983) describes that Arabic is a highly aspectual language, while English can combine a number of tenses with simple, perfective, and progressive aspects. Arabic makes two basic distinctions: the perfect and imperfect aspects. The perfect is used to describe a completed action in the past, while the imperfect describes a situation not yet completed (often in the present or future). Given this kind of problem, we have to be careful in presenting grammar points to Arab learners. In order to avoid this, I first distributed a pre-prepared list of irregular verbs and got their attention to draw to it. However, the sheet I gave them did not include all irregular verbs so I had to write the past participle of some verbs that happened to be present in the activity I gave them to do. Some students had problems in understanding it first but as they continued to do the exercise, they became aware of the form. I plan to continue the same lesson today with some more exercises where they will find the use of both present perfect and simple past. They should be able to identify the distinction between the two. During the second session, Head of the section came to my class for observation. I did a writing activity in which students were required to write a compare and contrast paragraph which was a continuation from the last week. They waited there about 20 minutes and left the class. My opinion about classroom observation is that it is good as long as it can have an impact qualitatively on the teacher. But I don't believe it may have such a positive impact on the qualitative development of the teacher who is being observed. However, I don't mean that a kind of evaluation is not necessary. There is no argument that it is a must but how it is done mostly matters because from my experience I know that an observation will not bring any positive results on the part of a teacher unless he/she really is willingly to change the way he/she uses to instruct class. We all should accept the fact that no one is perfect. Every teacher whether experienced or novice needs to learn from different teaching contexts that he/she is exposed to. What we really should be concerned about is how much learning has taken place against the amount of teaching that a teacher has contributed in a given time. To measure this there is no method existing in the domain of classroom teaching. For example, if a class consisting of 20 students sits for an examination and 80% passed the exam and then we tend to conclude that our results are better because of our teaching was successful. How far this is true is beyond my cognition.

4^th Nov, 2013

Attended the college and conducted two classes as usual. Today level 3 students received their mid-semester marks for all skills. In my class, the average marks of writing are quite satisfactory. That is to say, out of 20, there are 4 students who have got 15 to 20, 14 students who have obtained 10 to 14 and 6 students in between 5 to 9. There aren't any who got below 5. Given these results for a skill like writing in a context such as mine, I can be content. When I started their writing class, I found except one or two students, all the others were quite weak in that the majority could not write a few sentences with no errors. Now their improvement seems really interesting. Of the 26 students, (two students writing results were withheld due to the fact they were reported to cheating in the exam) 18 students received better marks. However, I advised those two students, who were caught cheating in the exam, to refrain of such misdeeds which could have dire consequences on their future. Moreover, I told them to work hard for the final exam and try to get good marks so that they could go to the next level. Those two students, in general, are good in behavior and I never found them cause any disturbances in the classroom. I wonder why they attempted to cheat. I believe they must have done it not knowing the consequences of it. Both are capable students with a need to study. They could have easily answered the question which was based on job application. Why some students try to cheat in an examination seems to be a crucial issue that needs our attention. I wonder whether there is any link with their social background. In other words, as I perceive that most students come from socially backward families where one may find that many are either farmers or smaller scale businessmen while most of their mothers are housewives who have to stay at home and look after the family. General tendency is that Muslim families are quite big in size and a typical family consists of more than five children. So as is often the case with poor people in every country, these students also have to receive a better education in order to lead a good life in the society. If students fail to obtain some qualification from a college, university or other higher education institution, they may have to suffer a lot. Because of this problem, students are prone to do malpractice in an examination setting. However, being teachers, we should make them convinced that committing any form of exam cheating is unethical and illegal. Therefore, such practices should be done away with.

5^th Nov, 2013

Today is Friday so it is a holiday. I plan to submit a proposal to the next ELC Annual Conference which has been scheduled to hold in January, 2014. I think the pilot study I conducted into the writing issues of level 3 students would be timely and useful since many writing teachers are struggling with teaching academic writing to their students. If the proposal is accepted, I am going to use a PowerPoint presentation where I will present the way I did the study and the results I obtained in the end so that it may have some effects on some teachers who want to apply process genre approach to teaching academic writing. If they can use it, I believe it will help not only the teachers but also students improve their writing proficiency in the target language and as a result, most probably, they will be able to perform well at an examination setting. I hope I can complete the proposal which should be sent to the SPD committee in time.

6^th Nov, 2013

Today is Saturday so in the morning I did some reading and after that, prepared the proposal for the ELT workshop which has been planned to conduct in January next year by the SPD committee in our department. If the proposal is ready, I can send it to SPD coordinator.

7^th Nov, 2013

Went to the college and conducted two sessions for group 12; grammar and writing. For grammar, I continued with the same lesson from last week which is about present perfect tense with time words like already, still, yet and just. I gave them more activities. In class work, students work but, as I stated above, in the examination they don't. For writing, today, I introduced describing bar graphs. First I explained them what a bar graph was and then I taught them the features that a bar graph generally includes. The features are bars, categories and labels. After that, I distributed a pre-prepared handout in which a simple bar graph is included. The bar graph is about the students' after school activities. Along with the graph, I included some questions relating to the statistics of the bar graph so they were required to answer them first. For example, what is the title of this bar graph?, how many categories are there in the graph, which activity is liked by most students? Once the answered the questions, I explained to them how to write a topic sentence for a bar graphs and it was followed by writing a paragraph describing the graph. I helped them form a few sentences and asked them to describe the information one by one making both comparisons and contrast where necessary. However, the students stopped where they needed to write a conclusion. I told them to restate the topic sentence with another way or using different words. Finally, I wrote the topic sentence on the board for the whole class but I asked Bushar if she had another conclusion. She said that should like to write a different conclusion. Furthermore, I distributed them another handout where they are required to write a paragraph of comparison and contrast because practice in writing compare and contest is not enough. They could write only one paragraph which is not adequate. They need to practice more.

To be continued

Keeping a diary in EFL teaching (part 1)

2014-03-20T12:22:00.001-07:00

Keeping a Diary in EFL Teaching (part 1)

In a qualitative or a quantitative study, data gathering is an important part. For collecting data, depending on the type and design of the research, a researcher has to decide the kind of research; a researcher has to decide the kind of research instruments he/she is planning to use in his/her research. In most, ESL/EFL classroom based research; diary/journal studies have lately established their credibility as a way of documenting a first person’s experience either as a teacher or a learner. Furthermore, dairy studies have gained validity as data collection procedure in studies on language learning and teaching (Nunan & Bailey, 2009, p. 293). Therefore, in most qualitative research, a researcher keeps a diary in which he makes entries about learning process of students with whom he is conducting an investigation to find out (an) answer/s to the question posed. The method is seen to have advantages for teachers wishing to re-examine the language learning process. It moreover promotes awareness of learning processes and pitfalls, and is evidence of progress; and language learning research, by adding to the knowledge base and also revealing new issues and factors to be considered. Keeping a diary and analyzing the data

According to Bailey and Ochsner (1983),

A diary study in second language learning, acquisition or teaching is an account of experience as recorded in a first person journal. The diarist may be a language teacher or a language learner-but the central characteristic of the diary study is that they are introspective. The diarist studies his own teaching. Thus he can report on affective factors, language learning strategies and his own perceptions-facets of language learning experience which are normally hidden or largely inaccessible to an external observer (p. 199)

Following Schumann (1977) and Bailey (1980), Matsumoto (1987) distinguishes the terms introspective and non-introspective data. According to these researchers, the term introspective is the term given to data where the researcher and the diarist are the same person while non-introspective means that the researcher and diarist(s) are different people. Introspective data is that which is gathered from subjects while they carry out a task; an example is the think aloud protocols used by Cohen (1983) in gathering data on reading strategies. Retrospective data is that which is collected after the event. Diary studies are considered as examples of retrospective data. Even though diary studies are considered to be a method of collecting data, it is not free from criticism. However, I do not intend to make this description long by adding more and more information concerning diary studies. Instead I want to publish some of my diary entries I made regarding my teaching and learning process with a group of Arab students in 2013. For ethical reasons, the names used in the diary entries are pseudonymous.

12th Sep, 2013

Went to college and we were given our class time table along with the delivery plans, course outlines and stationeries. So teaching in level 3 will begin on Monday. As I did in the previous semester, I have been assigned writing and grammar. Last semester, level 3 students did not have a grammar test for the level exit exam, but this time, students are going to have a grammar paper for which 10 marks will be given so the present students have to study grammar with more attention than the last group which did not pay much attention to grammar since it was not included in the final exam. I also have thought of changing my classroom techniques so as to make it more effective to students' learning context. Generally, when grammar is taught, teachers tend to apply deductive method in which learners are taught rules directly rather than allowing learners to discover rules and learn by themselves engaging in activities set by the teacher. I believe it would be better if learners are engaged in a speaking activity where they get a chance to practice a particular grammar point which I want them to learn. After learners receive some amount of practice in the target structure, they may be able to understand it.

17^th Sep, 2013

My class started today and I found the students’ attendance sound unlike the last semester where I had only two students out of 24. However, this semester indicates an increase of the students in level 3 compared to the previous semester. Furthermore, I believe that an increase of students should be a positive indication which makes us convinced of the fact that students have become more aware of the importance of their education.

18 Sep, 2013

Attended the college and conducted classes for group 12 & 11 where the former was taught writing and the latter was grammar. For writing, instruction relevant to paragraph writing was given and students were asked to do activity 3 from their textbook.
The exercise is based on topic sentence. Finally students were given a writing activity in which they were asked to write a short message. Except one or two students, others did not need my help. For group 11, present continuous and simple present were taught. Most students did the activity given with an interest while a few didn't do it zealously. That is the nature of an EFL class. It is common to find students who are not diligent in their work. This kind of behavior can be ascribed to several factors which are external and internal to the learners.

19 Sep 2013

We had a workshop today about Quality Assurance and it went so well that the organizers' were fully satisfied with regards to the outcomes of the workshop. The first session was quite difficult since the members had no clear idea as to what they were expected to do. However, when it came to the second and subsequently to the third session, both the committee members of QA as well as the participants gradually became aware of what they were expected to do. This is to say that the second and third sessions went well. An official from the Quality Assurance Department of the college explained clearly how implementation steps need to be developed in line with strategies specified in a sub goal so the participants worked in line with the implementation steps that would go to the operational plan of the college for 2013-14.

20 Sep, 2013

Today was a holiday so I stayed in my room. I started writing discussion of the findings relevant to the pilot study I conducted during the last semester with a group of level 3 students. One page was written and typed on a word document but suddenly what I had typed began to erase. This was something I had never experienced before. I found my computer has a problem. This erroneous condition became a big problem so I decided to get my computer checked by someone.

24 Sep, 2013

Attended the college and I had two classes; writing for group 12 and grammar for 11. For writing, I had the class completed the previous activity given earlier in which they had to write a paragraph about "My home town" Tuesday they could write only the first draft. According to the process genre approach, they are required to write multiple before they actually come to the finished product. Today I got them write it again because I provided them with a feedback. All students wrote it again making correction. After that I taught them how to identify topic sentence, supporting sentences and the conclusion. I went up to the students and explained it to them. I found that paying individual attention was more effective than teacher fronted instruction even though it sometimes is tedious. Individual coaching is a must for low proficiency children because a skill like writing needs to be guided. As Lenneberg (1967) views, “Human beings universally learn to walk and talk, but that swimming and writing are culturally specific, learned behaviors. We learn to swim if there is a body of water available and usually only if someone teaches us. We can write if we are members of a literate society and usually only if someone teaches us. Just as there are non-swimmers, poor swimmers, and excellent swimmers, so it is for writers”

27 Sep, 2013

Went to college. Today is free for me so I did some work such as preparing weekly lesson plans and doing correction in my second assignment. Today students had quiz in which they had some vocabulary related questions to answer. There were three questions. The first one was to match words and phrases; the second was to write synonyms for the words given. The third question consists of writing antonyms for the words provided while the 4th was about choosing the best word for each blank. The total marks for the paper was 10 and the actual marks the students receive is five. No of students sat for the test was 28 out of 29 and the scores they had obtained were as follows: 10 out 10 =3, 9 out of 10 =1, 8 out of 10 =3, 7 out of 10=5, 6 out of 10=2, 5 out of 10=6, 4 out of 10=2, 3 out of 10=1, 2 out of 10=3, and 1 out of 10=2. According to the statistics above, it can be inferred that general performance of the class is satisfactory, but the individual performance of the group is not satisfactory. This indicates that students generally proficiency in reading is not adequate. Reading greatly helps learners write effectively. Yesterday I started the next lesson (writing) for group 12. It really was the second day that I tried to expose them to writing. I first explained to them that when talk or write, we need to persuade others by expressing our opinions concerning some issues that may be socially, politically or educationally important. I gave them a topic "using a mobile phone while driving can be dangerous” I discussed the topic with them and tried to elicit their ideas. They had some knowledge of the topic. I wrote some lexical items that they could use in their writing. I put them into 8 groups: boys and girls separately and asked them to continue by writing the topic sentence first. I allowed them enough time to complete the task. While they were writing, I monitored each group and offered to help them with any help they needed. After the activity, I collected their papers to take home to mark them. While going through their papers, there was one problem common to all. My students do not use signal words and joining words when they write. This indicates that they haven't studied them in level two or they have forgotten by now. So given this condition, I decided to teach them some sentence connectors along with signal words on Sunday. Mastering writing skill is a major issue for students who study English as a foreign language specifically in contexts where students do not pay much attention to writing in school settings. I believe that the foundation for writing should be laid at school. When the students are young, it is easy for them to acquire the skills of writing English letters clearly and legibly. Except one or two handwriting of all boys are horrible in my group. They do not know capitalization and technicalities of writing. Even though they are pointed out how they should correct them, they easily cannot absorb them. They still tend to make the same mistakes despite my feedback on several occasions.

30 Sep, 2013

Went to college as usual and conducted two classes; grammar and writing. For grammar, adjectives; their comparative and superlative degrees were explained. I gave them a pre-prepared handout and furthermore, explained how they are used. Some students knew the rules of using comparative and superlative sentences while a majority did not. However, once they did two or three activities, they found it easy to understand. For writing, they were taught how to write business letters of which more focus was on writing job applications. I first introduced them the topic and elicited what they had already known about letter writing. I next discussed the different parts of a business letter and gradually made them convinced why they wanted to learn how to write letters needed to apply for jobs. A model letter was given and explained. Students were instructed that they were not expected to produced the same letter rather they should use it to study the structure of a job application which can be adopted to suit to their needs. Finally, I distributed their previous writings and asked them to rewrite the paragraphs attending to the correction I had already made. All students said that they were tired and postponed it the next day except one male student who completed it in the class and handed it over to me. What is evident from such behavior is that there are students who really like to work despite physical issues.

3 Oct, 2013

Today I hope to give a topic for writing in the class. Group 12 has writing so the topic is "Is fast food good or bad?" Guidelines are given and I hope to get students elicited ideas on the topic first and then I write on the board. I need to see if that technique works. I want to get the whole class participation because there are low proficiency students who cannot compose a single sentence correctly. Even though I had planned to make them more practice on expressing opinions, I decided to postpone it until next week due to time constraints. Furthermore, it should be specifically be noted here that the students who come from level 2 to level 3 have to make a dramatic transition. In other words, in level 2, students are generally taught general English but in level three they are taught academic English with different genres. Because of this reason, most students find writing either challenging or rather difficult. Another reason is that the time constraint. As per the delivery plan, a writing topic allocated per week mostly cannot be covered within that week mainly due to the fact that the students find it hard to master it. The subject matter may be a little bit higher for them to grasp. Given the condition stated above, I decided to give them more practice on writing a job application. Moreover, for the mid-semester exam, the students are given a question based on job application. I prepared a new job advertisement and got it photocopied early. I distributed the job advertisement (it is about a business development officer) as I did yesterday; I first told them what they were supposed to do. Once they started writing, most male students needed further clarification about some areas. However, I observed that there was a little improvement especially in boys in the following areas: spelling, clarity, punctuation and organization of ideas. This kind of improvement can be ascribed to the fact that they are becoming familiar with writing. Then and there, some students sought my advice but as a whole their change of behavior seems much more improved than the first two weeks. Of the 8 girls only two still have problems in certain aspects of language but the rest are quite good. Mariam, Aisha, Amna, Tahani, Reem, Munira are doing quite well. Of the boys, Salem seems still has some problems with writing.

4 Oct, 2013

Today is a holiday. So I stayed in my room and worked on improving the literature review part of my proposal. While I was re-reading the 2nd assignment, I still found some areas that need improvement. Under definition of writing, I came across what Dudley -Evans (2002) stated about short-cut methods which writing instructors employ to raise their students' proficiency in teaching contexts where time becomes a constraint. He, furthermore, views that short-cut methods can help students to write expository essays. The validity of this statement remains suspicious for some teaching contexts especially where there are no cultures of written literacy is neither promoted nor valued in social contexts. What I mean here by saying so is that in contexts where English is studied as a foreign language, writing is not given much emphasis as speaking and reading are given because there is no pressing need to learn it. According to socio-linguistic, a given community can have an influence on the language they use for communicative purposes. If the society has an influence over the language they use, they give prominence to it whether it be spoken or written. Given this condition, hypothesizing that short-cut methods can have positive effects on learners' writing proficiency is hard to accept on the grounds that every teaching context is different in its perceived socio-political constraints. A living example to prove my claim can be cited here from my teaching context. Omani students study English as a foreign language and it is not extensively socially used. Furthermore, Omani students are not highly exposed to writing at school. They start learning English implicitly or explicitly once they enter a vocational training school or a college or a university. Therefore, teaching writing them is a Herculean task for FL teachers whose mother tongue is not Arabic. Because of these reasons identified and unidentified, most foreign EFL teachers make no stone unturned to prepare their students for the college level exit exams. In order to make students ready for the exams, the teacher makes use of different strategies in that they use past examination papers or model papers provided by the level coordinators to make the students better practice for the questions they may come across at the examinations. The students learn those answers by heart and produce them with modification or alteration in the exams and score enough to cross over to the next level. This process goes on every semester and every year. Except a very few students, a majority who goes to the next level really lacks the knowledge and skill they are expected to have at that particular level. This seems to be a pathetic situation on the part of students. However, there is no proper mechanism to avert this kind of issue in college education system. I feel these can be some of the drawbacks inherent in the tertiary level education.

4 Oct, 2013

Went to college and today also I had two classes; group 12 &11. For group 12, I had writing where I gave them a writing activity based on business letter writing. I gave them a job advertisement published in a newspaper. Instructions were given as to how the letter needs to be written. Somehow, they wrote it before the class ended. Then and there I helped them with language issues. They can't understand what the written discourse is yet. Especially, the different genres. It takes time for them to become proficient in the target language. Unlike other skills, writing is never practiced outside the class unless the students do it purposely. The exposure to writing in the class itself is not adequate. Even in the class some don't seriously work. When one activity finishes, they want to relax. When compared with students I had worked with in different teaching contexts, my present students seem a bit lazy. The majority is not intrinsically motivated on one hand and on the other most are not independent learners. I presume this can be linked to their cultural constraints. Islam highly emphasizes the importance of education for both men and women alike. Islam asserts that seeking knowledge is the obligation of every Muslim, male or female (Seda, 2002). So I believe that they should take education serious and give prominence to it. I further believe these students should subject to proper counseling. Students are badly in need of teaching the importance of education for their future life and a learning driven culture must be established in order to reap the better results of the investment which the government makes in millions and millions money every year.

5 Oct, 2013

A holiday so the daily routine has to go as usual. Tomorrow I should send the assignment to the supervisor and do the corrections in the 2nd assignment. In class, I plan to start writing because I find none of the students has been able to do the writing activity given in the pretest. They seem to need a lot of exposure to academic writing. Therefore, I should apply process genre approach in writing to see its effects on them soon. Most probably tomorrow. Without applying any teaching method, approach, or a technique, one may find it hard to decide the effectiveness of any of the methods or approaches stated above. As is often the case with most EFL learners, teaching and learning contexts are different. So we need to be very well aware of it. Sometimes, we feel the statement which says that teaching does not always cause learning. Then, the next issue that strikes our mind is what really causes learning. So far no one has been able to find a correct answer for that because of individual differences that are said to have an effect on learning. There are low proficiency students in my group. So I believe even they would be benefited by introducing the process genre approach because it provides students with opportunities to work as a group. Group work generally are effective in that it has lots of advantages especially for low proficient learners who lag behind others most probably due to their affective factors such as anxiety or introversion. Studies conducted into this area have evidence to prove that affective factors play an important role in language acquisition. Therefore, it seems important for EFL teachers to be vigilant of possible learners with affects in their classes.

4 Oct, 2013

Today I checked all paragraphs written by my students. Many of them should rewrite their paragraphs because re-writing helps them identify mistakes that they have made in the first draft. In the process genre approach, re-reading and revising is considered to be an important stage of writing. Moreover, re-reading and revising helps learners determine whether their subject content matches the topic and what they intended to say (Shih, 1986). Students should check whether their paragraphs have a logical order with clear topic and supporting sentences.

While checking their paragraphs, I found both local and global errors in them. I clearly marked them for the students to identify what mistakes they have made and how they should correct them. Studies conducted into the effects of feedback have found that positive feedback has some effects on learners. I plan to employ whole class correction technique rather than individual. Then everybody can participate in it.

This is a first draft of a student’s writing and this needs re-reading and revising.

(Author’s data, 2014)

Meanwhile, I could formulate two research questions for my study which I plan to conduct next year (2014). My research questions are; 1. Does the application of the process genre approach in writing help tertiary level students improve academic writing proficiency as measured by the assessment scale for written work proposed by Jacob, Zinkgraf, Wormouth, Hartfiel and Hughey (1981)?

2. How effective is the process genre approach in writing instruction for tertiary level students to perform better in examination settings as measured by the assessment scale for written work proposed by Jacob, Zinkgraf, Wormouth, Hartfiel and Hughey (1981)?

In an attempt to answer the research questions above, the following hypotheses were posed:

1. The application of the process genre approach in writing help tertiary level students improve academic writing proficiency as measured by the assessment scale for written work proposed by Jacobs, Zinkgraf, Wormouth, Hartfiel and Hughey (1981).

2. The process genre approach is effective in writing instruction for tertiary level students to perform better in examination settings as measured by the assessment scale for written work proposed by Jacobs, Zinkgraf, Wormouth, Hartfiel and Hughey (1981).

By conducting this research, I hope to achieve the following objectives:

1. To investigate the effectiveness of an enhanced process genre approach in writing instruction for tertiary level students to perform better in an examination setting.

2. To illustrate that using a prescribed textbook alone is not sufficient to improve tertiary level students’ academic writing proficiency in English. Therefore, the textbook should be complemented with extra teaching materials.

3. To enlighten the Department of English Language in the Shinas College of Technology of the extent to which the process genre approach and teacher developed materials are effective in improving students’ academic writing proficiency.

4. To recommend the implementation of an enhanced process genre approach in ESL writing classes at Shinas Colleges of Technology.

5 Oct, 2013

Holiday. No special thing to do except reading Nunan's book. It really is informative in that it presents all aspects relevant to research studies. Since it is a practical book on research, novice researchers will find it extremely useful. It discusses many topics relating to second language classroom research which is an emerging field. I started writing the proposal part by part.

7 Oct, 2013

Went to college and today I had two classes in my section (12). First, I had grammar where I explained to the students that it was not helpful studying only rules because most of the times they tend to forget the rules as time passes unless they use what they learn. I pointed out the importance of using the rules. I told them that they learn simple present and its rules in class and do activities making no mistakes. However, after a few days they will forget all the rules and behave as if they had never heard it before when they were questioned. This is really what happens even in exams. Given this problem, I stressed that they should try to use a particular rule over and again in order to internalize it. Moreover, I said that if a rule is internalized, it will retain in their memory and will not be forgotten so that they can use it in speaking, listening, reading or writing. When learners are taught skills separately, a condition like this can arise. That is why CLT informs us to integrate all the four skills when teaching. However, I told the students to make sentences using comparative and superlative forms of adjectives for which most students responded quite well. Salem and Maktoom did not attempt even though I repeatedly asked them to do. Today in writing class I told both to come to my office after the mid-semester exam so that I can explain them areas they still find problematic. Salim is a quiet student and mostly sits at the back of the class and he says he has shortsightedness so he can't see the board. I told him to go the front of the class, but he never wants to do it. For writing, I had them practice writing a job application in which the students were required to fill in the blanks. The words were given. Most of the girls did it correctly. Bushair and Tahani finished first followed by the rest. Boys had problems of choosing the right word so I had to help them with it. Finally, I discussed the answers with the whole class. But I could not check their books due to time constraints. I promised them to check the following day. After that, I distributed the handout prepared for the current week. It is about writing paragraphs of comparison and contrast. This is an area where students need to be trained well because a question from this topic can come in the final examination.

8 Oct, 2013

Went to the College and conducted two classes (group 12&10) for both classes I did grammar. Group 12 was first given a grammar activity in order to revise the previous lessons. Since the exercise centered round simple present all students found it easy. Only Abdulla and Khalid requested my help and did it quite well. I also felt happy over their positive involvement in the activity. After that, I introduced the new lesson based on present simple passive which I had thought would be difficult for them to understand but to my surprise most students could understand it from the first example I used to explain how passive sentences are made. Moshin outperformed the others by being able to answer all the questions posed to him by me. The other days he generally didn't show any interest for the classroom activities even though he did them. Today I noticed a difference my students' behavior. The other days, when the time gets closer to 4.30p.m most boys become restless and they tend to announce “Mr. Time is up” but today they didn't feel the passage of time but seriously concentrated on finishing the activity given. Given this situation, my assumption is that if they can work all days, it is not hard for them to learn. I could finish only a few sentences discussing with them. In the next class, I taught grammar where I first discussed the important points they have already covered in the previous lessons. Today one student who continuously absent turned up in the class and one boy began to talk in his native language without caring my presence. I tolerated his unruly behavior for some time but he didn't stop. My anger also rose a little bit although I tried to control it. Finally I went to boy and told him to be quiet if he can’t he should leave the class. Then he said "No. No, I will study" them I allowed him to stay on the condition that he should not disturb the class in any manner. I continued with my explanation and then I distributed the exercise I had prepared for grammar and asked them to do it. That particular boy who misbehaved earlier became very silent and finished answering the first section quickly and he asked me to check it. To my amazement, I found all his answers correct and he really has a sound knowledge of grammar. I talked to him and said that he was clever and not to behave badly in the classroom. After that he really showed a keen interest in all what I explained and said. Later, I got to think why that boy misbehaved and I myself concluded that he needed was my recognition first. If had done it earlier, he wouldn't have behaved like that. So it seems important to give each individual its due recognition. I generally do that but somehow or other I could not do it yesterday because a few boys entered the class after I had started. Once I start the class, I don't like or want to be interrupted by any external force.

8 Oct, 2013

Went to the college. Today we had a QA meeting where we discussed the action plan goals to finalize it. However, due to time constraints, we could finalize only goal no: 1 and we agreed to revise the rest the next day. I conducted two classes: writing for group 12 and grammar for group 11. For writing, I introduced them how to write an opinion paragraph. The topic I selected was “Is fast food good or bad?” I first wrote the question on the top of the whiteboard and drew a table below the topic with two separate columns one for good points and the other for bad points. Then I got the students to elicit their opinions. They came up with good points. Along with their points, I asked them to construct complete sentences and tell the class. I wrote their sentences on the board. Finally, the class could write two paragraphs with a conclusion about the topic and they were satisfied with their production. After that before the class stops, I gave them another topic to write at home. The topic was “Is Internet useful or harmful to students?” For group 11, first a test was given and all students found it so easy that they did it with confidence. After that, present simple passive was taught, it was not difficult for them to understand. Activity based on it was done by all students. One girl asked me permission to leave early because her father had come to take her so I allowed her to leave the class after the test.

9 Oct, 2013

Went to college as usual and did two classes. Around 1 pm we again had a meeting of QA which was held at the canteen due to lack of a place. Today we discussed goal no 2 & 4. Mr. David also joined voluntarily so he was also appointed as a member with the consent of the head of the center who happened to be in the canteen while the meeting was going on. HOC thanked the members of the QA committee for their keen interest in the duties assigned Dr. Jun, the leader of the QA committee headed the discussion and it successfully covered several goals before it was adjourned until the following day due to time constraints.

11 Oct, 2013

Went to the college and did two classes. Grammar for group 12 and again the same for group 10. Today, I first gave my class a test on grammar in which the students were required to answer 5 test items; a. Use Present or present continuous verb form to complete the sentences given. B. was on comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. C. To find which sentence is correct from the 3 given. D. Put the words in the correct order to make meaningful sentences. E. Find and mark correct sentence if the sentence is wrong they should correct it. Even though they were taught those lessons at the beginning of the month, now they have forgotten the rules of simple present and continuous. As I mentioned earlier, this is a common weakness that can be observed in my students. While students were writing, they called me for help. What I have observed in my students is that they want a teacher to correct every sentence they write at the same time. So if one student finishes writing a part or whole of an exercise, he begins to call the teacher, so sometimes it is quite disturbing to the rest of the class as well as the teacher. In one way I feel that they need feedback immediately. Therefore, perhaps you can't blame them. That may be nature of students especially those who are extroverted. However, I got them finished the test and discussed the answers. With group 10, I did the same.

To be continued

“Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble”

2014-02-15T07:01:00.003-08:00

“Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble”

In modern life, everyone depends on everyone else’s work, as well as on his own. The danger is that each person easily gets to think that his/her own particular contribution is of no importance, and that it cannot matter very much whether he/she does his particular job well or badly. However, this view, in the days when one, or even two or three persons, carried out through the whole of a piece of work-say, making a cart drawn by a horse- it was easy to tell who was responsible if the cart was badly made, or who should get the credit if it was well and quickly made. But when one individual’s sole contribution to the making of an engine is tightening one bolt as the piece passes by him on a conveyer, it is not easy for him to feel a sense of responsibility for the success of the engine as a whole.

In a similar fashion, taken the human society as a whole, every person’s contribution to his own society is important as well as equally helpful in terms of development. Suppose a worker in an engine manufacturing company, makes a mistake, or does his part badly, the whole industry will suffer even if his part is very small. When the same concept is applied to an institution, it is the same. Every employer’s task is important for the smooth functioning of the institution. If we move from a single institution to a country, it will be the same again. Every citizen should do his duty towards his country for its economic, educational, technological, and cultural development.

I wish to conclude the idea stated above by referring to Sir Henry Royce, a well-experienced manufacturer who said, “Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble, and that is the foundation on which the sound economy of a prosperous and happy country should be built”.

Failure is not something that you inherit

I strongly believe that there are many exciting possibilities around you than difficulties, Perhaps you have been focusing on the wrong side of life not to use these possibilites. It is time to shift your focus from the difficulties and place it on something else and begin to enjoy your learning journey. Allow the power that is in your destiny to teach you something new. Don't allow external circumstances to disorganize your perfect and pure inner being.

I would say that failure is not your inheritance. Don't embrace it. Hate failure with all your heart, soul, and strength. Failure will never rob you of your socioeconomic development. You are bigger than your weight and higher than your physical height. Your courage and determination may be under constant attack by failure and yet you are capable of placing failure where it belongs: under your feet.

Wherever you are, whether employed, unemployed, hight profile or not, rich or not, young and old, rural and urban, national, regional, continental and international, one thing you should strongly remember is that you were not born to fail. Make sure that you do not allow failure. Resist it and it will fly away from you.

(The ideas stated above concerning failure which all of us never want to experience in our life time are culled from a letter written to Inspired, an official publication for Unisa students, vol 6 (3), 2010) by Convy Baloyi)

I hope the ideas mentioned above will help us to become valued and respected members of our community.

A good language learner or a good communicator?

When we think about ourselves as learners of a foreign or a second language, or think about our learners whom we teach. We generally tend to hope that we should be good language learners and we want our students also to be good language learners. However, there is a question before us regarding the view stated above because some authors such as Margaret Mead (1964) insists that one should become a good communicator rather than becoming a good language learner. Therefore, EFL teachers are left to decide what they want to be or what they want their students to be by referring to what Margaret Mead (1964, P. 189) said, "I'm not a good mimic and I have worked now in many different cultures, I am a very poor speaker of any language, but I always know whose pig is dead, and, when I work in a native society, I know what people are talking about and I treat it seriously and I respect them, and this in itself establishes a great deal more rapport, very often, than the correct accent. I have worked with other field workers who were far, far better linguists that I, and the natives kept on saying they couldn't speak the language, although they said I could. Now, if you had a recording it would be proof positive I couldn’t, but nobody knew it! You see, we don't need to teach people to speak like natives, you need to make the other people believe they can, so they can talk to them, and then they learn".

My Reseach proposal for my Doctoral degree-2014

2014-01-04T03:41:00.001-08:00

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

Name: Sarath W. Samaranayake

Student ID No: 42101034

Code: (DPCHS 02)

Qualification: Research Proposal Module for D Litt et Phil in Linguistics

Research Proposal

Title: Academic writing issues of Foundation Level students: A case study of Omani students

Provisional Supervisor: Dr. Carien Wilsenach

2014

Title: ACADEMIC WRITING ISSUES OF FOUNDATION LEVEL STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF OMANI STUDENTS

Contents page	Page no
1. Introduction	2
2. Research problem	2
3. Context of the research problem	4
4. Literature review	5
5. Research questions	21
6. Research hypotheses	22
7. Objective of the research	22
8. Research method	23
9. Type of research	23
10. Subjects of the study	24
11. Subject selection and assignment	25
12. Materials to be used in the study	25
13. Procedures	28
14.References	29
15.Appendices	34

Introduction

Improving writing proficiency of EFL learners has become one of the major concerns among EFL teachers, instructors, course designers, and policy makers in contexts where English is studied as a foreign language. Learning a foreign language such as English is crucial to Omani nation's economic development and competitiveness because it enhances cognitive and social growth, competitiveness in the global marketplace and understanding of diverse people and cultures. As we approach a new century where global communication will be essential for survival, no nation can afford the luxury of international ignorance.

As a teacher of English, my preoccupation with helping students to develop their skills in the target language should be my main concern in my teaching profession. When I was appointed as an English lecturer to the Shinas College of Technology in Oman during the second semester of 2012, I was assigned a substitution class for a week in the pre-elementary program by the department of English. During that week, I was asked to do a revision of several modules from the course book the students had already studied. One afternoon, when I was doing the lesson, one student asked me for my permission to leave the class early because he wanted to get to his house before the rain had started. He told me if the rain started, the road in which he had to drive would be flooded and driving would be impossible. Given his request, I asked him to write a letter stating the reason why he wanted to leave the class early and submit me. After a few minutes, he came to me with the excuse letter and left the class after handing it over to me. Since I was busy, I kept the letter in my file and continued my work until the class time was over. After I went to my flat, I found the note which the student had given to me in the classroom. It seemed like a Japanese Haiku poem in which the message he wanted to communicate to me was written as below.

(Author’s data, 2012)

Research problem:

Insightful understanding gained in conducting a study to investigate the effects of authentic materials using context-specific role-plays on Thai undergraduate students’ oral proficiency in English and my experience as a teacher at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand from 2006 to 2012 and also an English lecturer at Shinas College of Technology since November, 2012 have compelled me to critically investigate why a majority of my students who study English at Foundation level fail in achieving writing proficiency. As stated in the introduction, Foundation Level program lasts one semester (12 weeks of classroom instruction) and it consists of two tests namely mid-semester and final. In addition, students have to do the continuous assessment tests on reading, writing and grammar which are generally held Thursday day of every week. The mid-semester examination accounts 30% while the final test account 50% of the final marks. The remaining 20% is given for continuous assessment making total of 100 marks. When I conducted the tests above for the two groups of Foundation level-3 students I was assigned to teach, I found that most of my students did not perform well in writing. One or two students wrote nothing except copying the question on to the answer script while a majority scored below five out of ten.

It should be noted here that these students who study in level 3 have already finished studying English in level 1 and 2. In addition, they have studied English as a subject at school for almost ten years. As stated in the context of the research problem, the Foundation English course offered by the Department of English Language is to help students develop their proficiency in the target language. My students, who are from different majors such as Engineering, Information Technology and Business Studies, after completing their studies at the college, aspire to find a job while a few chooses to pursue their higher studies in the Higher College of Technology where degrees are awarded. The view I have stated above concerning the importance of having a good proficiency in English for Omani youth is confirmed by Al-Badwawi (2001, p. 9) who states that, “possessing good English language abilities is considered important in increasing the future employability of young Omanis and improving their competitiveness in the regional and international labor markets”. For both these situations stated above, they need to achieve writing proficiency in the target language. Taken together, the note from a student and the students’ performance in the mid and semester-end examinations indicates that writing needs to be taught. If not, what students write does not conform to discourse and genre requirements demanded in academic writing.

Furthermore, it can be assumed that if the problem of writing proficiency of my learners is not properly addressed at the Foundation stage, it will continue to their next levels in the college and pose serious communication problems. Therefore, given the problem described above, the current study revolves around the research problem what can be done to help my students achieve writing proficiency in the target language.

Context of the research problem

Shinas College of Technology is one of the seven Colleges of Technology (CTs) which has been established by the Ministry of Manpower in Oman. The College is a public institution catering to higher educational needs of all Omani youth. The main aim of Colleges of Technology is to deliver high quality technical education in order to produce graduates with required professional and personal skills which will enable them to undertake employments in their chosen fields thus contributing efficiently and effectively to the ongoing economic development in the Sultanate of Oman. Shinas College of Technology offers study programs leading to diploma and advanced diploma in the field of Engineering, Information Technology and Business Studies.

The English Language Center (ELC) at the College offers English language programs for both Foundation and Post-Foundation levels such as Pre-Elementary, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced. All registered students are required to take a placement test and the marks they obtained in the placement test will decide which level they are placed in. The in-house placement test will determine the English language level of each student and his or her placement is decided accordingly. All levels have two progress tests and a final test which is known as Level Exit Examination (LEE) during a semester. The four-level English Language Program in the Foundation Year mainly aims at developing students' linguistic proficiency to meet the academic requirements of the Post-Foundation specializations. At Foundation levels, students are taught the four major language skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. As teaching and learning materials, commercially produced English textbooks are mostly used together with teacher prepared materials.

However, as is often the case with Arab countries, the medium of instruction in schools is Arabic and English is taught as a foreign language mostly by Arabic speaking teachers who do not pay much attention to writing skills as students claim. As a result of this, the students’ proficiency level in English writing remains inadequate or below expectation. Fareh (2010) observes that inadequate preparation of EFL teachers, lack of motivation on the part of learners, teacher-centered teaching methods and inadequate assessment techniques are some of the major factors that render EFL programs unable to deliver as expected. With this background understanding of the context of the research problem, I now turn to explore what other researchers has done and said in terms of theoretical, empirical and pedagogical bases of writing in the following section.

Literature review

In this section, I will explore theoretical, empirical and pedagogical bases of writing and in particular it will focus on previous research on the effects of different writing approaches in general and the process genre approach in particular. Moreover, it explores the effects of writing intervention programs where the process genre approach was used to enhance academic writing proficiency of EFL/ESL students coming from diverse educational and social backgrounds.

We often witness a common phenomenon that toddlers scribble on papers or walls in their homes. This activity grows out of their innate learning instincts. Bartel (2010) asserts that scribbling is a very important developmental task. It is an instinctive learning stage that helps the brain and body develop and build readiness for the more difficult tasks that are to be learned later. Scribbles soon become true letters and words of their native language as they grow up. Once children start schooling, writing (a major part of literacy) begins to develop. As a result, children tend to use a range of lexical choices and sentences arranged in a coherent manner to convey their ideas, thoughts and concepts. They begin to shift away from list-like writing towards a more meaningful and organized way (Berninger, Fuller & Whitaker, 1996). Scardamalia and Bereiter (2006) state that a growing meta-cognitive capability gives children the potential to shift from a knowledge-telling to a knowledge transforming approach and to use information about audience, genre and rhetorical stance to accomplish a variety of writing purposes.

Writing is one of the most important tools of communication. The ability to write helps develop imaginative and critical thinking abilities. It is stated that writing is more permanent than speaking, and requires more careful organization. It is also less spontaneous because it involves a process, from organizing ideas in the mind to setting the final document on paper. Teaching the skill of writing involves familiarizing students with various formats of informal and formal written texts. Moreover, teaching writing includes taking students through a process — a series of steps — such as brainstorming for ideas, organizing and sequencing them, revising and editing the draft and so on. Given the complex nature of writing, it would be appropriate for me to examine the theoretical, empirical and pedagogical views of writing at the beginning in order to gain a better understanding of it so that my engagement in teaching writing to my students will be better informed.

Definition of writing

Writing can be discussed both as a process and a product. Before dealing with such a discussion, I now examine various definitions of writing found in the literature. Writing is defined as, "a system of written symbols which represent the sounds, syllables or words of a language" (Richards & Platt, 1992, p. 313). This definition emphasizes the graphical features and linguistic elements of writing at the expense of other aspects. As such, it does not show that the purpose of writing is for communication.

Halliday (1989) makes a distinction between writing and the written language. By the former he means "the symbols and their function in the language" whereas the latter refers to "what is produced in the written medium” (pp. 42-43). The current study will employ the following definition of writing provided by Atkinson (2003, p. 10) who states, “Writing is a cognitive or internal, multi-staged process, and in which by far the major dynamic of learning is doing with the teacher who takes a background role.”

The definition provided by Atkinson (2003) for writing seems to fit into the context of my study in several ways. First, it sees writing as a cognitive process in which the learners should engage their thinking process at all stages of composing a text. Second, As Atkinson (2003) states, writing involves a number of stages such as pre-writing, planning, composing, revising, editing and producing a final draft. Since my study involves an intervention program, I plan to employ process genre approach in which my students are required to follow the stages stated above. Third, as is often the case with writing whether it be first or second language, the writing instructor has to guide his learners on how and what to write depending on the writing needs of his learners. This is what Atkinson (2003) means in his definition. Therefore, as stated above, Atkinson’s definition seems workable in my study context where I have to play a crucial role in helping my students achieve academic writing skills from the writing course they study.

The ability to construct coherent and cohesive texts in a written medium is considered essential for students pursuing higher education in which they have to use the basic rhetoric, linguistic aspects, form and the cognitive processes involved in academic writing at their specific level of education. The students at Shinas College of Technology are expected to master academic writing skills during their respective study programs such as Engineering, Information Technology and Business Studies. Even though there are different views of what constitutes academic writing, the general view of all the authors I reviewed is that academic writing displays students’ understanding of an expository or argumentative topic and of writing conventions. An academic text should have a clear and meaningful thesis statement that is discussed in an organized, logical, fluent and accurate manner. Academic writers have to use semi-formal or formal voice and mainly third person’s point-of-view. Hofstee (2006, p. 187) proposed that “academic writing has the following characteristics: clarity, accuracy, brevity, simplicity, and focus”, whereas Thaiss and Zawacki (2006, pp. 4-6) outlines the characteristics as follows: “attention to the topic of study and reflective thought about it, that reason dominates emotion, and that an academic writer should display analytic ability”. Focusing on abilities and components of academic writing, Weideman (2003) also provides comprehensive details about the abilities students are required to have at tertiary level. According to Weideman (2003, p. 61), “students need to understand relations between different parts of a text, be aware of the logical development of (an academic) text, via introductions to conclusions, and know how to use language that serves to make the different parts of a text hang together.”

Even though the abilities stated above were identified in the South African field of education, they are relevant to improve academic literacy of students across the globe. It should specifically be noted that Omani students wishing to do diploma courses at tertiary institutions are required to develop their academic writing skills in a similar fashion as Weideman (2003) observes. (A number of the academic writing abilities stated by Weideman (2003) above are present in the current Foundation English course outline of Shinas College of Technology and the other four colleges of technology which come under the purview of Ministry of Manpower in Oman). Leki and Carson (1995) observed that students should have guidelines for their initial academic writing activities across the curriculum. The responsibility of the writing teacher is to expose students to various writing strategies which include combinations of activities such as outlining, drafting, or free writing (Lavelle & Bushrow, 2007; Spack, 1988) based on their level of general and academic writing experience. According to Dudley-Evans (2002), given the limited time of many academic writing courses, teachers often have to employ short-cut methods to raise students’ proficiency to the required level before starting their undergraduate studies. Despite all the efforts that teachers exert in an EFL class to help learners achieve academic writing proficiency, “many learners never move beyond composing single sentences or perhaps paragraphs” (Williams, 2005, p. 1). In the next section, I will discuss why a condition of this nature prevails in many EFL academic writing contexts in general and Oman in particular by referring to generally accepted findings in second language (L2) acquisition research.

Implicit and explicit knowledge

There are two types of second language knowledge namely implicit and explicit knowledge. Implicit knowledge is assumed to acquire in a naturalistic L2 acquisition setting while the acquisition of explicit knowledge is ascribed to additional language classroom (Krashen, 1988; Ellis, 2008). Implicit knowledge of L2 is similar to knowledge of native language. It is the knowledge that the user is unaware of, but which can be used in order to produce or understand language. Typically, when knowledge is implicit, users may not be able to explain the rules for the use of a structure (Williams, 2005). In explicit knowledge, users can provide rules and reasons for why and how a certain form is used. In foreign language classes, what frequently happens is that L2 teachers teach rules to their students in order to develop their explicit knowledge of the new language. It is stated that “most learners find this knowledge useful and refer to especially when they begin to study the new language” (Williams, 2005, p. 4). Furthermore, Williams states that rich and copious input is crucial for L2 learning and for mastering L2 writing in which reading plays an important role. In addition to the findings stated above, learners must pay attention to learn a new linguistic item. Therefore, paying attention also seems crucial. However, it has been argued that development of linguistic knowledge and development of the communicative competence are not the same thing (Williams, 2005; Gass & Selinker, 2001). Some authors who have dealt with writing view that practice is particularly useful in developing skills. Given this view, writing is also a skill which requires considerable practice in both first and second language (Zamel, 1982; Williams, 2002). With this background awareness, I now examine the three writing approaches namely, model based, process and process genre approaches involved in learning and teaching L2 writing. However, I will not discuss model-based and process approaches in detail here due to the limited scope of the proposal itself.

Model-based approach

The literature that deals with the field of teaching writing, we are informed that teaching of writing was language focused in traditional teaching contexts and writing was used as a means of reinforcing language which had already been learned in spoken form. Therefore, the emphasis on writing was on correctness. To produce a piece of writing that is correct, it was necessary to provide learners with a good model from a textbook or by the teacher. This kind of instructional method was known as model-based approaches in which the students were required to follow a procedure when they wanted to write.

The characteristics of a model-based approach are to use a text as a starting point and then the text is analyzed and studied for features of form, content and organization. A new input is next provided as a basis for a parallel writing task. Finally, students are required to produce a parallel text using their own information (White, 1998). Even though the model-based approach became popular in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) domain as much of EAP writing is product-oriented, some authors (Flower & Hayes, 1977; Escholz, 1980; Watson, 1982) criticized model-based approaches for their apparent weaknesses in teaching writing. Nunan (1999) states that the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates, copies and transforms teacher supplied models while Escholz (1980) argues that the product approach merely results in ‘mindless copies of a particular organizational plan or style.

Process approach

Writing is often referred to as composing because it emphasizes the importance of communication and the creative process that learners go through as they write. Emphasizing why writing needs to be seen as a process rather than a product, Liebman-Kleine (1986, p. 785) argues that “process is not a dogma, but a concept that enables people to see writing in a new way and thereby ask questions that were not asked as long as people saw writing simply as finished products”.

The process approach emerged in the mid-1970s as a counter reaction to the product approach (Yan, 2005). According to Nordin and Norhisham (2006), the criticism leveled against the product approach was that it dealt with formalistic rhetoric which devalued the actual, individual creative writing process and overemphasized the product. The process approach movement began with studies about the composing process of writers (Emig, 1971; Pianko, 1979; Perl, 1980) and resulted in informing students how to approach a writing task. The process approach was developed initially for first language classrooms in English-speaking countries and it has later been adapted for additional language teaching (Caudery, 1995). According to Brown (1994) at that time the product approach was used in composition classes where the focus was on grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, content and organization and the writing activities were mostly de-contextualized. Learners were instructed to write essays on given topics. These were collected, critical comments were provided and the essays were assessed and evaluated (Caudery, 1995). The essays were returned and learners were supposed to do corrections. The actual process of how people write was negated by the use of the product approach. Moreover, the continuous error correction reduced learners’ motivation and self-esteem with regard to writing. Consequently, learners seldom learnt that an effective piece of writing can hardly be produced in only one draft. In addition, Zamel (1983) pointed out that written products do not show teachers much about learners’ instructional needs, which means then that teachers do not know how to help their learners if only written products are expected and if teachers are not part of the learners’ writing process at all. Even though an effective piece of writing, or the product, is the ultimate aim for any writer, there are different methods or strategies available to reach the product stage. This was recognized by some composition teachers and researchers (Emig 1971; Zamel 1982, 1983; Hairston, 1982) and the traditional thinking about writing was questioned.

The process approach involves several stages which appear to follow each other. However, the process approach is not linear, but rather recursive, which means the stages can appear anywhere in the process depending on the writers’ choices. Most proponents of the process approach (Yan, 2005; Williams, 2005; Shih, 1986; Geyser, 1996; Tessema, 2005; Zamel, 1983) agree that the number of stages can range from three to five (1979, pp. 7-8) such as prewriting (Conceptualize/ think), drafting (First attempt), revising (Improve on the first draft), proofreading (Correct the text), publishing (Share the finished product). Several empirical studies that investigated the effects of process approach (Kelemen, 2006; Zamel, 1983; Flower and Hayes, 1981; Perl, 1980; Urzua, 1987) have found positive results.

Despite the wide recognition of process approach in EFL/ESL classrooms, it is not free from criticisms in that some authors argue that process-based instruction will give learners a false impression of what will be expected from them once they leave the classroom (Horowitz, 1986; Williams, 2005). Another criticism is that process approaches not only ignore formal accuracy but also it does not prepare students adequately for writing exams in which the students will be judged on the product. In the examinations, the students will not have time to brainstorm, revise, discuss with their peers and write several drafts due to time constrains. Furthermore, Badger and White (2000) state that teachers using the process approach to teach writing, in trying to be humanistic and student-centered, fail to give enough input regarding linguistic aspects, different types of texts (genres) and purposes for writing. According to Reid (1984), the process approach does not consider variation among individuals, specifically, in linguistic and cognitive development and in academic discourse styles.

Even though there are arguments against the process approach, one may think if ESL/EFL learners can improve their writing in L2 writing classes, it is most likely that they will be able to transfer these skills to other settings such as tests or examinations. Even in time constrained writing tasks, writers need to go through a composing process which can be perceived as different to that of the process-based instruction in a typical classroom situation. For example, when I mark the mid semester or final examination writing papers of the students in my college, on many occasions, I have come across a number of answer scripts in which students had written main points under sub headings or drawing web organizers relevant to the topic of the essay on the reverse of the paper or a separate sheet of paper. Given the real nature of writing, one may find that writers tend to go back and forth revising and refining ideas at all points in the composing process. Therefore, in terms of developing EFL learners’ academic writing skills, one can believe process approach will do more justice to the learners than product approach which disregards the steps involved in composing and focuses only on the final product (Flowers & Hayes, 1981; Williams, 2005).However, given the weaknesses and some authors began to argue that writing varies with the social context in which it is produced (Swales, 1990; Flowerdew, 1993; Martin, 1993), a new approach called process genre approach emerged. In the following section, I explain the process genre approach with reference to the literature that deals with it from different perspectives.

Process genre approach

Badger and White (2000) state that genre approaches to writing are predominantly linguistic but, unlike product approaches, they emphasize that writing varies with the social context in which it is produced. Therefore, when teaching writing, it was argued that the different purposes, social contexts, structures and linguistic features of specific texts should be taken into consideration (Swales, 1981; Halliday, 1985; Yan, 2005). It is true that we have a range of kinds of writing-such as sales letters, research articles, reports, and memos that are linked with different situations (Flowerdew, 1993). Not all learners need to operate in all social contexts. However, genre approach has implications on academic writing. The students in my college study Engineering, Information Technology and Business Studies and they are required to write project reports, business letters, job applications, advertisements and memos and to design and develop web-based materials. Therefore, process genre approach seems important for the study context of my students.

According to Kim (2007), emphasis on the reader and the purpose for writing are paramount in the genre approach. As the reader is usually an experienced member of a specific community, albeit academic, technical or in the business field, he/she expects the writing discourse to comply with known, acceptable schemata and writing conventions based on the identifiable genre (Silva 1990).

Kim and Kim (2005) maintain that the genre approach acts as a support mechanism in ESL writing instruction, where examples of a particular genre could be used to help students to systematically understand what the linguistic and structural requirement of a particular genre are and what the communication purpose of the text is. Students’ knowledge of linguistic features and structural conventions of a variety of genres based on their communicative purposes is often very limited (Kaunda & Ball 1998; Swanepoel, 1999). Therefore, the writing teacher can play an active role in guiding, assisting and supporting students to advance to the point where they can employ their skills to be conversant in a variety of genres. In comparison to the product approaches, clear similarities can be seen in terms of input, as examples or models play just as an important role as in the product approach (Badger & White, 2000). The genre approach assumes that students learn more effectively when exposed to multiple examples of texts. In fact, the theory of learning of the genre approach seems to consist of three parts: modeling the target genre, where learners are exposed to examples of the genre they have to produce; the construction of a text by learners and teacher; and, finally, the independent construction of texts by learners. In theory, the cycle can be repeated as and when necessary (Badger & White, 2000). In the genre approach students know exactly what is expected of them since they have received explicit instruction in and examples of the specific genre (Kim, 2007). The awareness of the association between content, purpose, audience, style, structure, and language usage will stand students in good stead when encountering a similar writing situation later in their career. Indeed, it has been argued that knowledge of organization, arrangement, form and genre can systematically lead to knowledge of subject matter. They can then tap into their rhetorical conventions background knowledge to write a text that is acceptable and effective for its purpose. The genre approach is believed to lower the stress experienced by especially ESL writers (Kim, 2007).

Stages involved in process genre approach

Students must first recognize the recursive nature of the writing process. Even though the phases mentioned below are presented in a linear fashion, they are not necessarily meant to follow in the order suggested.

Pre-writing phase:

At this stage, students are supposed to become familiar with the genre and the relating conventions through direct instruction by the teacher or models they are provided with. Moreover, students use the background knowledge about the possible subjects or topics, the linguistic features and linguistic skills to write their own text in the specified genre.

Composing:

In composing, students structure the ideas in meaningful sentences based on the conventions of the specific genre. Thus, students construct sentences and paragraphs, but, their ideas are hardly ever completely formulated before they write their first draft, therefore, they need to produce multiple drafts at this stage.

Re-reading and revising:

Once the first draft is completed or while students are still busy composing, they are encouraged to re-read their text firstly to determine whether their subject content matches the topic and what they intended to say (Shih, 1986). Furthermore, students should check whether their paragraphs have a logical order with clear topic and supporting sentences.

Peer-editing:

Peer-editing means that students read each other’s work, and then offer feedback on content, structure and grammar. Peer-editing is also a form of input, as discussion on content with other students might lead to the addition of ideas. After the peer-editing session, students should be allowed more time to re-write the text if necessary.

Teacher feedback:

The teacher should edit and evaluate the students’ first draft once it is written, self-edited, peer-edited and revised, possibly re-written. The teacher can provide the student with feedback after going through the essay and make suggestions on how to improve the text.

Arguments against the process genre approach

It seems difficult to find concrete criticism against the use of the process genre approach in the literature about writing. This may be due to the fact that the process genre approach is a relatively new approach in teaching writing in ELT (Badger & White, 2000). However, Horowitz (1986) raises the problem of time. In fact, the problem of time is linked to the concerns discussed earlier for other versions of the approach. Time is a problem when using the process approach, it becomes an even greater issue in the process genre approach. The reason for this is that more activities and strategies such as reading, manipulating language features and analyzing model examples are added to help students to write more effectively.

Moreover, it has not been determined yet, whether the process genre approach helps students to write better and/or faster in examination settings. The assumption underlying the process genre approach is that if students are instructed based on genres and have had the opportunity to analyze and manipulate model examples, then they should be able to compose more effectively in an examination setting. However, it was not possible for me to find any empirical studies that could corroborate the assumption that helps students to write better and faster in examination settings.

A gap existing in the literature

Given the condition described above, one may find that there is a gap existing in the literature with regard to the effectiveness of application of the process genre approach to help students write better or faster in examination settings. As stated above, the assumption underlying the process genre approach is that if students are instructed based on genres and have had the opportunity to analyze and manipulate model examples, then they should be able to compose more effectively in an examination setting. If my students achieve a marked writing proficiency improvement, then that will be evidence of success in using process genre approach in enhancing learners’ academic writing proficiency in English. Since there are a very few studies that have investigated the effects of process genre approach in helping students to compose more effectively in examination settings, the current study will most probably be able to fill the gap in the domain of EFL/ESL academic writing.

A few studies summarized below give information on the effect of the process genre approach on students’ writing skills. However, of the three studies summarized, only one study compared the effectiveness of the process genre approach with another approach, the genre approach. It would seem appropriate for me to explain the distinction between the genre and process genre approach as has been identified by some authors. The distinction between the genre approach and process genre approach is that the genre approach bears more to a passing resemblance to the product approach in that a model text is analyzed and perhaps some controlled writing is carried out focusing on aspects of vocabulary or syntax. This is followed by some guided writing before a final free writing stage. Both approaches view imitation as important in learning. The main difference and the key aspect of the genre approach is that the model texts are seen as belonging to specific genres defined by social contexts and purposes (Badger & White, 2000). The process genre approach, according to Badger and White (ibid.), involves the provision of a situation from which the learners are helped to identify the purpose and consider the field, mode and tenor of the text they are about to produce.

Empirical evidence on process genre approach in application

As indicated earlier, one may find only a few studies have investigated the effects of process genre approach in enhancing EFL learners’ writing proficiency. Nordin, Halib, and Ghazali (2010) conducted a study at the University TeknologiPetronas, Malaysia to investigate the effect of the process genre approach on the writing skills of engineering students. The experimental group received writing instruction based on the process genre approach while the control group was taught through the genre approach. The findings of the study indicated that the writing ability of students in the experimental group was significantly better than those in the control group. The majority of students (79.6%) who received process genre approach instruction scored between 5.00 and 5.63, which is just below ‘excellent’. No student scored below 4.13. However, only 23.1% of the students in the control group who received genre approach instruction, scored between 5.00 and 5.25 and 8.6% of the students received scores between 3.00 – 3.63. The study supports the view that process genre approach has advantages in teaching technical writing.

Nihayah (2009) studied middle school learners in Indonesia to determine whether the implementation of the process genre approach would improve students’ writing ability. The findings showed that there was a notable improvement in students’ writing ability after the implementation of the process genre approach. A comparison of the mean scores (with a maximum score of 4) taken before and after the study indicate the improvement from 1.29 to 3.15 on content, from 1.62 to 3.01 on organization and from 1.55 to 2.98 on language use. However, one weakness of the study is that the researcher failed to report whether a control group was used to compare the results of the experimental group. The study would have been more valid if the researcher had included a control group as measure.

Another study conducted to investigate the effects of process genre approach is reported by Jackson (2012) who used an experimental and a control group in his study. He employed Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) combined with process genre approach in enhancing the writing skills of Foundation Level undergraduate students at Manipal International University in Malaysia. The researcher reports that the experimental group was taught using CLIL combined with process genre approach while the control group was not taught using the CLIL combined with process genre approach. The writing genre started from personal narratives and proceeded to argumentative, compare - and - contrast and cause - and- effect essays. The results indicated that the experimental groups’ average scores increased from 56% to 68% from the pretest to posttest while the control group recorded an increase of the average scores from 59% to 61% in their average scores. The researcher concluded that the use of CLIL combined with process genre approach was effective in enhancing academic writing skills of tertiary level EFL/ESL students. However, one weakness in the above study is that the researcher does not mention what kind of a method or an approach he used to teach the control group and how he combined the process genre approach with Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).

The focus of Foo’s (2007) study was on to see how successful the process genre approach in contributing to students’ ability to develop strategies to write essays more effectively. The researcher applied the process genre instruction to the experimental group while the control group was taught with product-centered writing instruction. The study reports that there was a remarkable improvement in the experimental groups’ in communicating their ideas, a more relevant to the purpose of the task as compared to the control group. However, no improvement was recorded in the organization of ideas or in the control of language. The students of the experimental group commented that they had a better understanding of “conceptual writing strategies” (Foo 2007, p. 16) and that they would be willing to apply practical strategies when writing essays. Even though Foo (2007) reports that the experimental group, which was taught using process genre approach, made a remarkable improvement in communicating their ideas relevant to the purpose of the task as compared to the control group, I find it some flaws in her study because she says that there were no improvement in the organization of ideas or in the control of language. This statement makes one to think that for any writing to be evaluated as successful, the ideas need to be well-organized. If the ideas are not organized in a logical manner in a given piece of writing, the writer fails to communicate his/her message to the reader on one hand, on the other, the reader also finds it hard to understand the message what the writer has written. Therefore, a situation like this can easily mislead the reader. Furthermore, one of the main objectives of teaching writing to EFL/ESL learners is to train them to control the language and use it properly in their written communications. If learners do not know how, what, when and where to use a particular form or a lexical item, their writing mostly becomes inappropriate and out of context. In Foo’s study, she does not suggest or explain why her learners failed to organize the ideas and control the language properly. Given this condition, the effectiveness of applying process genre approach in Foo’s study raises more questions than providing answers. I believe that if the researcher had considered tackling the problems stated above at the teacher’s feedback stage as outlined in the process genre approach, she could possibly have avoided the issue. It is a common phenomenon that beginner level EFL/ESL learners write with no organization of their ideas or no control of the language, but it is the EFL teacher’s responsibility to provide his learners with feedback in which both the language-related errors and content errors should be pointed out and discussed in such a way that students will understand how to rectify their errors. In my study, in order to avoid problems as encountered by Foo (2007), I will firmly stick to all steps proposed in the process genre approach. I will focus specifically on the role of teacher’s feedback in this process, as I believe it to be a core aspect of teaching and learning writing using the process genre approach.

It should specifically be noted that no evidence of any Omani studies on the application of the process or the process genre approach could be found. The studies described above, which were mainly conducted in different teaching contexts, suggest that the process approach and process genre approach are beneficial in improving academic writing skills of students who study English either as a second or a foreign language. Given the findings of the studies stated above, I believe that application of process genre approach in academic writing class would be more beneficial to my students whose linguistic needs are specifically linked to different genres. In the following section, I explore the effectiveness of writing intervention programs conducted in various teaching backgrounds.

Research evidence on the success of writing intervention programs

A number of studies conducted in different teaching contexts have found that intervention programs on academic writing are effective in helping EFL/ESL learners improve their writing skills. Du Plessis (2012) investigated the results of an intervention program designed to improve academic writing skills of foundation program students of the University of Namibia in 2008 and 2009. For her study, she selected three different groups of participants from the Foundation program and employed three writing approaches; the process approach, the modeling approach and the process genre approach separately to improve their academic writing skills in 2008 and 2008. To examine the effects of interventions, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied. The results obtained by students in the three groups who were taught using the three approaches; the process approach, the modeling approach and the process genre approach were different among the three groups. Moreover, the results between the pretest and posttest also showed a marked difference in the tree groups. After comparisons, taking the average results from both pre and posttests of the three groups for the years 2008 and 2009, the researcher reported that the modeling approach produced the best essay results (55%), with the process genre approach following in second place (45%) while the process approach recorded 44%. On the other hand, the differences in mean scores of the three approaches indicated that the process genre approach had the biggest difference with 11.34%, followed by the process approach with 10.4% and lastly the modeling approach with 8.49%. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher concluded that the process genre approach had the biggest impact on the academic writing abilities of students.

However, the researcher of this study has failed to include a control group which affects the internal validity of the study. In my study, I plan to include a control group in order to increase the internal validity of my study.

Carstens (2011) also reports the results of a writing intervention program conducted with two groups of second year university students at the University of South Africa. The researcher applied a quasi-experimental design to gather data. He selected two groups: one group consisted of 16 students who received an intervention focused on a specific subject (History) and the other group which consisted of 11 students who received an intervention focused on a variety of humanistic subjects because the researcher wanted to prove that irrespective of the teaching method being used, a strong subject-related focus would result in stronger motivation and in turn would result in better performance by students. Both groups received a particular intervention. Based on the results of the study, the researcher goes on to record that the differences in the achievement of the two groups do not seem to be only related to the focus of the particular intervention. Teaching strategies, amount of exercise and overt emphasis of particular meaningful resources also seem to impact on the amount of learning that take place.

Judging from the way in which the interventions were conducted by the researcher and the findings that emerged, it can be assumed that certain instructional approaches and techniques are useful tools when one conducts a writing intervention program in ESL/EFL context. Therefore, the study stated above is relevant to my study.

Given all the theoretical, empirical and pedagogical underpinnings of different writing approaches, their strengths and weaknesses and the success of previous studies on the use of process genre approach in the EFL/ESL classroom situations as described above, I plan to employ process genre approach in my study to investigate its effect on my learners’ academic writing proficiency. The studies described earlier are consistent with the present study because most of them were conducted in the contexts of EFL/ESL. Moreover, the findings of the studies cited above strongly suggest that the process genre approach can help learners to improve their academic writing skills. I want to find evidence to test the hypotheses which I have formed and stated below, “If the process genre approach will have a positive effect on the academic writing proficiency of my students and as a result, they will be able to compose more effectively in an examination setting”. I plan to design my own context-specific materials and use them in my study to investigate the link existing between the independent variable; contextually-developed writing activities delivered through the process genre approach, and the dependent variable; academic writing proficiency.

Conclusion

In this section, I have explicitly discussed the process of L2 writing on theoretical ground and examined the variables that are assumed to intervene in the acquisition of writing by ESL/EFL students in academic contexts with reference to empirical studies conducted in the domain of L2 writing. Moreover, I provided an overview of three writing approaches namely product approach, process approach and process genre approach along with a discussion of their origin, features and principles including their respective strengths and weaknesses as has been stated by several authors (Zamel, 1983; Flowerdew, 1993; Badger & White, 2000; Williams, 2005). Finally, I have included a few studies that investigated the effects of writing intervention programs conducted with learners form different social and educational backgrounds in varied teaching and learning contexts from around the world to support my study which will also be a writing intervention program meant to help my students improve their academic writing skills.

Research questions

1. Does the application of the process genre approach in writing help tertiary level students improve academic writing proficiency as measured by the assessment scale for written work proposed by Jacob, et al., (1981)?

Research hypotheses

Objective of the research

By conducting this research, I hope to achieve the following objectives:

1. To find out the effects of the process genre approach in enhancing writing proficiency of the tertiary level students.

2. To investigate the effectiveness of process genre approach in writing instruction for tertiary level students to perform better in an examination setting.

3. To help students improve their academic writing proficiency in English.

4. To illustrate that tertiary level students’ academic writing proficiency in English can be improved by using teacher-prepared context-specific teaching materials delivered through process genre approach.

5. To enlighten the Department of English Language in the Shinas College of Technology of the extent to which the process genre approach and teacher developed materials are effective in improving students’ academic writing proficiency. Therefore, I hope that the decision makers would consider introducing process genre approach to level 3, 4 and post-foundation English programs conducted in all Colleges of Technology coming under the purview of the Ministry of Manpower in Oman, to improve students’ academic writing proficiency as well as to help them perform better in both local and foreign examination settings.

Research method

As stated above, given the writing difficulties faced by my students at the Foundation Level, I decided to conduct a study to find out the effects of the process genre approach in writing to enhance academic writing proficiency of my students who study English as a foreign language. Furthermore, I want to investigate how effective is the process genre approach in academic writing for tertiary level students to perform better in an examination setting.

Type of research

The type of study I have planned to carry out is quantitative since it will involve statistical comparisons of interval data obtained from the subjects’ writing tasks in pretest, mid-semester and semester-end examinations to determine if there are any statistically significant differences among the mean scores of the three tests conducted for the treatment group during the study (Nunan & Bailey, 2009). According to Nunan and Bailey (2009), the design of research is Pre-test Post-test Control Group Design because it involves more than one group of subjects, administering a treatment, random selection and assignment of control and experimental groups and pre-testing both groups before any treatment begins. As the diagram below represents the type of research I intend to carry out, I will use additional materials and employ process genre approach to teach the experimental group while the control group will be instructed with the regular teaching method and the prescribed textbook will be the instructional material. It should specifically be mentioned here that for ethical reasons, the control group will not be disadvantaged in that they will still receive regular tuition from their prescribed textbook (Ready to Write -2) while the experimental group will not receive extra tuition in that they will also receive equal tuition.

Subjects of the study

The subjects in my study will be Omani college of technology students who study English at Foundation Level three in a given semester. The students in level 3 had already completed their studies at level 1 and 2 where they had received instruction in listening, speaking, reading and writing in class and they passed the two level exit examinations which are generally conducted at the end of each semester. Therefore, it is assumed that the subjects in level 3 have already acquired the basics of writing skills. It should be noted that in Foundation level 1 and 2, students are exposed to general English where they are expected to study how to write about themselves, their family and daily activities. They are also expected to learn how to write descriptions (of places, for example). However, level 3, 4 and post Foundation students are taught academic writing- More information about this genre is given below. I have been teaching writing and grammar for one year at Shinas College and when a new group joins the class, I conduct an orientation program on the first day of their class where everybody is given a chance to introduce himself/herself to the class. At their brief introduction, they tend to mention what their parents do. Based on their responses, it can be inferred that these participants generally come from varying social backgrounds such as working, middle classes. The main occupations of the majority of people living in the North of Oman are farming, fishing, government or private sector, and business.

Subject selection and assignment

According to the college policy, a student who studies in a particular level should obtain minimum of 25 marks out of 50 from the four skills tested in the level exit examination (listening, speaking, reading and writing) to move to the next level. Level one, two and three generally consist of 20 groups each having 27-30 students with an approximate number of 500 to 550 students per level. After each level exit examination, the student registration department of the college allocates students to the groups of next level randomly using the students’ computerized data base. The students are not grouped according to any criterion such as based on their marks or any other performance in their previous level. However, the student registration department sees that each group gets equal number of female students because the number of female students is lesser than the number of male students. According to Nunan and Bailey (2009), this kind of sampling is named as Simple Random Sampling. Given this type of procedure used by the college for student selection for the next level, it can be assumed that student samples I am going to select for my study are randomly selected.

The sample will consists of both male and female students aged 18-20 years enrolled for diploma or higher diploma in Engineering, Information Technology or Business Studies offered by the Shinas College of Technology. The students’ home language is Arabic and English is studied as a foreign language in Oman’s school context. As stated in the context of the research problem, when the students who have already been randomly selected from a large student population join the college in the third semester (January-April, 2014), I will select two groups from the three or four groups I will be assigned by the Department of English to teach. The Department of English at my college generally assigns three to four groups consisting 30 students of each to a teacher. On flipping a coin, I will assign one group as the treatment and the other as the control group for my study.

Materials to be used in the study

As I discussed earlier, the majority of my students are not proficient in academic writing in the target language even though they had studied English in schools for several years and at the college for several months. I hypothesize that my students’ academic writing proficiency could be developed by using context-specific materials delivered through the process genre approach since this approach involves several stages which follow each other. However, the process genre approach is not linear, but rather recursive, which means the stages can appear anywhere in the process depending on the writers’ choices. Most proponents of the process approach (Yan, 2005; Williams, 2005; Shih, 1986; Geyser, 1996; Tessema, 2005; Zamel, 1983) agree that the number of stages can range from three to five and Pianko (1979) names the stages as composing behaviors.

Instructional materials in any given language program play a very important role and is generally considered the second most important factor in EFL classrooms after the teacher (Riazi, 2003). Evan and John (1998) state the following four reasons for using instructional materials:

1. as a source of language

2. as a learning support

3. for motivation and stimulation

4. for reference.

Given the pedagogical value of materials as indicated by Riazi (2003) and Evan and John (1988), I plan to use context-specific materials that will enhance my learners’ academic writing proficiency by engaging them in the process writing approach. The common assertion concerning the organization and presentation of materials should follow a logical order which helps learners take part in various stages of a task at hand. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) suggest that the process of material production for a specific language course involves a number of stages. Therefore, material production should be based on the syllabus while syllabus should reflect the language features of the target situation and learner needs (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Based on the course outline for level 3 students in my institution, I will prepare additional teaching materials in which I hope to follow a specific order for each writing topic to be covered in a given semester.

Contextually-developed materials

Since the main objective of my study is to investigate the effects of a process genre approach in developing writing proficiency that will help students to perform better in examination settings, I will develop additional materials because the writing tasks suggested in the prescribed textbook- Ready to write: perfecting paragraphs fourth Ed, by Blanchard and Root (2010) are not adequate to provide students with ample opportunities in writing practice. Both psychological theories of skill acquisition and second language acquisition theories suggest that considerable practice is required to automatize a skill (DeKeyser, 2007). Moreover, practice in writing improves performance in writing. Therefore, given the theoretical underpinnings and the research evidence from studies conducted into skill acquisition by a number of researchers (Anderson, Fincham, & Douglass, 1997; Singley & Anderson, 1989), the additional writing activities I developed and used with the pilot study group were consistent with Ortega’s (2007) model for the design of activities. Moreover, the additional activities were found useful and engaging the students in the series of writing stages suggested in the process genre approach. In his model, Ortega proposes that the following three principles should be considered when designing activities for EFL learners to practice in class:

1. Practice should be interactive in which learners can practice either in pairs or in groups.

2. Practice should be meaningful in a way that it engages learners personally and cognitively in the practice events.

3. There should be a focus on task-essential forms.

When applied to writing, Ortega’s model implies that teachers should design interactive activities in which the writing teacher exposes his students to various writing strategies such as outlining, drafting, or free writing (Lavelle & Bushrow, 2007; Spack, 1988). The nature of these ‘exposures’ should be predetermined by the students’ level of general and academic writing. The topics for developing modules will be selected from the prescribed textbook-Ready to write: perfecting paragraphs by Blanchard and Root (2010). Based on the delivery plan which will be issued by the English Language Center of Shinas College of Technology for level 3 writing, I will prepare additional tasks for the topics stated below:

1. Getting organized: The key to good writing.

2. Understanding paragraphs.

3. Expressing your opinion.

4. Writing personal and Business letters.

5. Comparing and contrasting.

6. Analyzing causes and effects.

7. Description and comparison: Bar graphs and charts.

In designing academic writing tasks, I will follow a process genre approach by including the stages such as pre-writing, composing, pre-reading and revising, peer-editing and teacher feedback. Moreover, I will maintain the principles stated above such as providing context to the learner in a meaningful way, providing forms and functions relevant to the activities, and making the content of the activity related to different kinds of writing such as comparing and contrasting, expressing an opinion, analyzing data and personal and business letters. In addition to the factors mentioned above, I will specifically consider my students’ current and future language needs, their interests and language ability levels in the target language.

Research instruments

For this study, four research instruments will be used as follows:

1. Writing pretest: Writing pretest will be developed and administered before the instruction begins for both the experimental and control groups by the researcher to measure the subjects’ current ability in writing. Pretest answer scripts will be marked by two raters from the Department of English Language.

2. Mid-semester examination: The question papers for the mid-semester are prepared by the testing unit of the Department of English. After the mid-semester examination, written answer scripts will be rated by two raters. After the two raters have finished rating, inter-rater reliability will be calculated using Person Product Moment (SPSS 11.0, 2010).

3. Semester-end examination: As in number 2, the same procedure will be followed to gather data from the experimental and control groups.

4. Treatment instruments: I will use context-specific materials and process genre approach with the experimental group to help students improve their academic writing proficiency in English. At the end of the treatment, I will investigate whether there is any impact of the treatment instrument on the dependent variable.

Finally, the results obtained from the four the research instruments will be analyzed to determine if the independent variables (process genre approach and context-specific materials) could have any effect on the dependent variable (academic writing proficiency of the subjects). A pilot study of the current research was conducted during the third semester of 2013 (April –July) at the Shinas College of Technology with a group of Foundation Level students who were at the same level as the subjects of the study. The pilot study included the four research instruments as mentioned above and at the end of the study, the data were analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine whether the process genre approach had an impact on the students’ writing performance in an examination setting. The findings indicated statistically significant (F- 20.30, P < 0.001) differences across the three tests; the pretest, the mid-semester and the semester-end examinations. Therefore, based on the findings of the pilot study, it can be concluded that the process genre approach is effective in enhancing students’ academic writing proficiency that will help them perform better in examination settings in English Foreign Language (EFL) programs in the context of Oman’s technological education.

Procedures

The study will last for 12 weeks with a total of 54 hours classroom instruction. The study employs four research instruments such as pretest, mid-semester examination, semester-end examination and the treatment instrument to gather data. When the second semester begins, on the first day, I will explain to the class all information pertaining to my study such as the purpose, type of research, type of information that will be gathered, possible benefits, foreseeable risks and discomforts involved in agreeing to cooperate in this study. Moreover, I will tell them that the data gathered from them will be used for study purposes only and their participation is voluntary, that there is no penalty for refusing to participate, and that they may withdraw at any time without penalty. After getting their consent, I will ask them to sign a letter of consent (See Appendix 1). I will inform the students that I want to know their existing proficiency levels in writing for a research study and then I will conduct a pretest in which the students will be asked to write a paragraphs about the following; “Write a paragraph of about (75 to 100 words) a typical day in your life. Including a topic sentence, supporting details and a conclusion along with adverbs of frequency” These students have already studied how to write about themselves, about their family, daily activities and descriptions of places and processes in level 2. I will give the same topic for both treatment and control groups and rate their answers using the marking scheme for writing used in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (See Appendix 2) for the IELTS rubrics) and keep the data stored in my computer for future reference. The purpose of the pretest is to identify the existing language proficiency of the subjects who will be treated with a specific teaching approach and additional material over a period. The pretest results will be further used to determine whether the subjects of the two groups are at the same level of proficiency before treatment begins. I will develop and use context-specific additional teaching materials with the treatment group. Moreover, I will also use the process genre approach to instruct the treatment group while the control group will be taught using the prescribed textbook and the teaching methodology suggested in the text (Ready to Write -2 by Blanchard and Root) for one semester. In accordance with the examination rules and regulations of the Shinas College of Technology, written answers are marked by two examiners and the average of the scores given by the two examiners is taken as the final marks. After the mid-semester and semester-end examinations, with the permission of the level coordinator, I will submit the writing answer scripts of both treatment and control groups along with the IELTS test rubrics (See Appendix 2) to two raters from our department to rate the written answers. After the two raters evaluate the writing tasks in both examinations, an agreement between the two raters will be calculated using Pearson’s Product Moment (SPSS 11.0, 2010).

Data analysis and representation

Taking the research tools mentioned above into account, the data collected will be represented in tables, graphs, diagrams, and charts. The discussion of the data will mainly be based on the current literature on the topic and on the domain of language teaching. Quantitative data will be analyzed using One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). For statistical performance of data, I will use SPSS (11.0, 2010) statistical software.

As indicated by Seliger and Shohamy (1989), the possible factors that will affect the internal validity of my study will be mainly attrition and instrument/task sensitivity. With regard to the instrument/task sensitivity which refers to pre-testing procedure, I will conduct the writing pretests for both treatment and control groups on the first day and within the first week of the class as mentioned above.

Dealing with the data collection methodology, I will use four instruments in the study to collect data such as pretest, mid-semester, semester-end examinations and treatment instruments (process genre approach and context-specific materials).

Conclusion

I have outlined the research proposal for my doctoral thesis in Linguistics by referring to previous studies in the topic and then have described the research problem. I then stated the research hypotheses while formulating the research questions. After that, I presented the objectives of the research and described the context of the problem and then explained the type of the research. I then described the participants, followed by the research instruments and finally, the way the data will be represented and interpreted.

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Appendix 1: Participant consent form

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Title and researchers.

The title of this research is Academic writing issues of foundation level students: A case study of Omani students. My name is Sarath Withanarachchi Samaranayake from the University of South Africa, Department of Linguistics.

Reason for the research.

I am studying for my doctoral degree in Linguistics and I am collecting data from participants to enable me to better understand how I can help foundation level students to improve their academic writing proficiency.

Details of participation.

The research involves pretest, treatment instrument (use process genre approach to deliver context-specific materials), mid-semester and semester-end examination scores to determine whether the process genre approach had an impact on the performance in the examination settings. Please feel free to ask questions now if you have any.

CONSENT STATEMENT

1. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I may withdraw from the research

at any time, without giving any reason.

2. I am aware of what my participation will involve.

3. I understand that there are no risks involved in the participation of this study.

4. All questions that I have about the research have been satisfactorily answered.

I agree to participate.

Participant’s signature: __________________________________________

Participant’s name (please print): __________________________________

Tick this box if you would like to receive a summary of the results by e-mail:

E-mail: ______________________________ Date: __________

(Source: http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/ethics/participantconsentform.doc)

Appendix 2: Assessment scale for writing.

Assessment scale for writing-(Pretest and Mid-semester exam)

SCORE LEVEL CRITERIA

Content	6	Excellent to very good: Excellent to very good knowledge of subject; variety of ideas or arguments; independent and thorough treatment of topic; relevant to assigned topic; accurate detail.
	5	Good to average: Adequate knowledge of subject; variety of ideas/arguments above average; adequate treatment of topic; some detail, mostly relevant to topic.
	4-3	Fair to poor: Knowledge of subject is hardly adequate; limited variety of ideas/arguments; sufficient treatment of topic; lacking detail or extraneous material included.
	2-1	Very Poor: Knowledge of subject too little; hardly any or no variety of ideas/arguments; insufficient treatment of topic, or not enough to evaluate.
Organization	4	Excellent to very good: Fluent expression; ideas clearly stated and supported; well-organized; logically sequenced (coherent) connectives/ signal words/transitions appropriately used.
	3	Good to average: Somewhat irregular but main ideas are present; logically sequenced; connectives/ signal words/ transitions sometimes used inappropriately.
	2	Fair to poor: Irregular; loosely organized; main ideas are not always clear; connectives/signal words/ transitions used inappropriately.
	1	Very Poor: Non-fluent; ideas often confused or disconnected; lacks logical sequencing or development.
Vocabulary	3	Excellent to very good: Wide range of vocabulary; accurate word/phrases choice; appropriate register.
	2	Good to average: Adequate range of vocabulary; occasional errors of word form; meaning not obscured; register not always appropriate.
	1-2	Fair to poor: Limited range of vocabulary; frequent errors of word form; meaning confused or obscured; inappropriate register.
	1	Very Poor: Range of vocabulary too limited; meaning confused or obscured; or not enough to evaluate.
Language use	4	Excellent to very good: Confident handling of appropriate construction; hardly any errors of agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions; meaning never obscured.
	3	Good to average: Well-formed sentences, but constructions not always appropriate to task; some errors of agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions, meaning sometimes slightly obscured.
	2	Fair to poor: Not sufficient variety of constructions available; problems mainly in complex constructions; several errors of negation, agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions; meaning sometimes obscured.
	1	Very Poor: Major problems in sentence construction, frequent errors of negation, agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions; meaning often obscured.
Mechanics	3	Excellent to very good: Demonstrates mastery of conventions; hardly any errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization and paragraphing.
	2	Good to average: Occasional errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing but meaning not obscured.
	1	Fair to poor: Frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, poor handwriting, meaning confused or obscured.

Adapted from Jacob, et at. (1981)

Sunset over Augar in Shinas, Oman

2013-07-10T08:26:00.001-07:00

The apartment I stay in is located in Augar which is a small coastal town in the north of Oman, near the border between Oman and the UAE. Every morning, when I look out of the window, the eastern sky pleases my weary eyes with a spectacular sight of the rising sun. Similarly, in the afternoon, the western sky displays a stunning view of the sun set. My video camera could vividly capture one of these two natural phenomena one afternoon in 2013.