Language Educational Department

EFL Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions and Engagement with the English Language Teachers’ Oral Corrective Feedback in Spoken Classroom

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

EFL Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions and Engagement with the English Language Teachers’ Oral Corrective Feedback in Spoken Classroom Megbaru, Motbaynor This study aimed at exploring undergraduate students‟ perceptions and engagement with their teacher‟s oral corrective feedback in an EFL spoken classroom at Bahir Dar University. Guided by a pragmatist view of research, this study employed mixed-methods case study design to collect qualitative and quantitative data from a class of participants (N=11) taking the course “Spoken English I” in their second semester. To this end, audio-recorded classroom observation, close-ended questionnaire, and students‟ interview were utilized. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (questionnaire) and thematic analysis (interview and observation transcripts). The findings demonstrated the teacher‟s utilization of various OCF types (predominantly recasts) following students‟ spoken errors in the classroom. Regarding student engagement, the participants not only listened to and processed the feedback but also tried to refine their speech. Emotionally, most of them felt encouraged and please with the OCF they received while some reported experiencing frustration following the feedback. While recasts achieved the highest student repair rate (81.8%), followed by metalinguistic feedback (66.7%), explicit feedback and repetition did not trigger any student repair. As for the errors, the findings revealed that grammar errors had the highest repair rate (90.9%), whereas lexical errors were the least repaired (14.3%). Interestingly, the use of double feedback moves and non-verbal signals were parts of the OCF practice. The participants largely perceived OCF as an essential tool to improve their grammatical accuracy and oral performance during speaking despite some negative affective-filters such as anxiety, which deterred participation in the feedback. Finally, the study outlined practical and pedagogical implications, along with specific recommendations focused on enhancing teachers‟ classroom practice, refining teacher-training programs, and suggesting avenues for future research.

Effects of Explicit Text Structure Instruction on Upper Primary Students’ Expository Writing, Use of Transitional Devices, and Text Structure Identification

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Effects of Explicit Text Structure Instruction on Upper Primary Students’ Expository Writing, Use of Transitional Devices, and Text Structure Identification Andualem, Tesfa The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of explicit text structure instruction on the expository text writing of grade seven EFL students in Debre Markos City, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Using a quasi-experimental research design, two intact groups of learners were randomly selected from two government schools, Dibza and Biruh Tesfa Primary Schools, and assigned as the treatment (n = 44) and control (n = 39) groups, respectively. The participants in the experimental group received explicit text structure instruction in two phases. In contrast, the participants in the control group followed the conventional instruction provided in the curriculum. The required data were collected through tests and classroom observations and analyzed using quantitative methods. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze pre-test data while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and percentages were used for the posttest data. The results from the independent samples t-test showed that the two groups did not exhibit significant differences across all study variables. However, by controlling for the pretest scores, the analysis of the posttest data using ANCOVA revealed that the experimental group achieved statistically significantly higher results than the control group in text structure identification (p < .001, η² = 0.34), simple descriptive paragraph writing (p < .001, η² = 0.28), and cause-and-effect paragraph writing (p < .001, η² = 0.37), with large effect sizes. An analysis of the participants’ texts also revealed that the experimental group surpassed the control group in the inclusion of main ideas and supporting details, as well as in word choice, in their simple descriptive (p < .001, η² = 0.57; p < .05, η² = 0.07) and cause-and-effect paragraphs (p < .001, η² = 0.43; p < .001, η² = 0.35), with medium to large effect sizes. Substantial improvements were also observed in the topic sentence quality of their simple descriptive paragraphs (p < .05), with a medium effect size (η² = 0.06). Moreover, the study revealed that the groups significantly differed in their posttest scores for transition word use (p < .05), with a medium effect size (η² = 0.07). Based on these results, it can be concluded that explicit text structure instruction is highly effective in improving grade seven EFL students’ expository text writing. In light of the findings, it is recommended that future studies focus on all expository text structures or those not covered in the present study and investigate the efficacy of TSI on students' expository writing in wider and more diverse contexts, such as different sample sizes, grade levels, school facilities, and locations. Furthermore, practical applications of the findings are directed to curriculum developers, textbook writers, and English teachers.

Effects of Explicit Text Structure Instruction on Upper Primary Students’ Expository Writing, Use of Transitional Devices, and Text Structure Identification

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Effects of Web-Based Academic Projects on EFL Students Writing Performance,Critical Thinking Skills and Writing Motivation

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Effects of Web-Based Academic Projects on EFL Students Writing Performance,Critical Thinking Skills and Writing Motivation Yirga, Tseganesh The main objective of the study was to examine the effects of Web-based academic projects on EFL students’ writing performance, critical thinking skills and their motivation towards writing. A single group quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 35 second year English major students (30 males and 5 females) enrolled in advanced English course at Woldia University. Comprehensive sampling technique was used to select participants. Test was used to collect data about learners’ writing performance and their critical thinking skills in writing before and after intervention. Questionnaire was used to collect data about learners’ writing motivation before and after intervention. Textual analysis, students’ diary analysis and focus group discussion were also employed as data gathering instruments in order to triangulate the data obtained through test and questionnaire. The data obtained through students’ tests were analyzed quantitatively using one-way repeated measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), as well as the data obtained through students’ questionnaires were analyzed using paired sample t-test. On the other hand, the data gathered using textual analysis, focus group discussion and students’ diary analysis were analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. Specifically, Google Docs was employed in this study among other academic Web-based writing applications. Hence, the results obtained from the MANOVA test indicated a significant difference in learners’ writing performance and critical thinking skills before and after the intervention which, F (10, 11) =9.013b P= .01 Wilks’ Lambda = .217, ηp2=.783, observed power =1.000. Similarly, the result obtained through using the paired sample t-test showed significance difference between learners’ writing motivation before and after intervention, particularly the highest mean difference was found in self-efficacy dimension in which its MD=-0.474 (t =- 7.794, p<.05). Likewise, the findings obtained through using the thematic analysis strengthen the statistical findings. Overall, the results of the study suggest that collaborative writing using academic web-based projects specifically, via Google Docs positively influenced students’ writing performance, critical thinking skills, and their motivation towards writing. Therefore, EFL teachers can employ academic Web-based projects besides the face-to-face collaborative writing approach as a means to develop their students’ writing performance and critical thinking skills, and increase their students’ motivation towards writing through considering the necessary conditions in using it in to account.