Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic... more Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic writing (AW) course for Level 2 Foundation Year Saudi EFL students. Needs analysis was based on a diagnostic test, structured questionnaires, and researcher's observation to obtain information on students’ language and skills needs, profile, levels of motivation, and learning styles and preferences. The results showed that the students did not have the writing proficiency for producing longer compositions and, therefore, the course should focus on appropriate language systems and skills to help learners with writing paragraphs based on two rhetorical strategies: cause and effect; and exemplification. The course content provides for the appropriate language systems and skills as voiced by the students and needed for writing these two types of paragraphs. The study also points to a course evaluation strategy that can be used for validation and future use of the proposed course.
The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production mod... more The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production model of teaching to experiment with the Task Based Learning approach. Action research framework was adopted to observe a writing class with a focus on developing the paragraph level skills of the Preparatory Year EFL students. Teacher notes, peer observation report, samples of students' writing and a short student survey were used to collect the data. The results revealed that the new approach though mostly successful and effective had a few issues in regard to activity management and feedback on students' performance. The study recommends a series of similar action research initiatives to further validate the newly used teaching approach as well as introduce other pedagogic approaches which have not been practiced so far.
Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focu... more Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focuses either on teachers' perceptions about its usefulness or the methodical frameworks. There are a few studies which report real-time incidence of a peer observed lesson. To fill this gap, the present study arranged a peer observation for a reading lesson on top-down processing skills to reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson as well as develop the reading literacy of the students. The peer observation method included a pre-observation stage with the teacher and the observer deciding on the modalities of observation. The second stage was the lesson which was peer observed followed by the post-lesson reflection stage. The results obtained through teachers' reflection on different aspects of the lesson and the peer observer's report revealed that most stages and activities of the lesson went as planned except for the final where issues of activity management, t...
Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how... more Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how pedagogic perceptions are revealed in students’ actual writing performance is relatively an under-researched area. This study aimed at finding out the relationships between teachers’ beliefs and textual evidence in regard to students’ use of cohesion in academic writing. Structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews were used to gauge teachers’ perceptions about the subject. Cohesion analysis of the samples of students’ academic essays was performed and collated with the teachers’ perceptions. The results revealed statistically significant correlations between pedagogic perceptions as well as between textual manifestations of cohesion use in the sample texts. Both agreement and disagreement were observed between what teachers believed about students’ ability to use cohesion as a text-forming resource and the textual analysis of cohesion. The study proposes a review of pedagogic pra...
The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production mod... more The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production model of teaching to experiment with the Task Based Learning approach. Action research framework was adopted to observe a writing class with a focus on developing the paragraph level skills of the Preparatory Year EFL students. Teacher notes, peer observation report, samples of students' writing and a short student survey were used to collect the data. The results revealed that the new approach though mostly successful and effective had a few issues in regard to activity management and feedback on students' performance. The study recommends a series of similar action research initiatives to further validate the newly used teaching approach as well as introduce other pedagogic approaches which have not been practiced so far.
Summative assessment of students' writing predicts not only the extent to which the course learni... more Summative assessment of students' writing predicts not only the extent to which the course learning objectives have been achieved but also reveals the relevance of the assessment design with the construct of writing being assessed. Any dichotomy between the assessment criteria and the construct of writing or between the assessment criteria and test scoring procedures can produce unreliable and invalid interpretations of the students' writing proficiency. Assuming cohesion as a measure of writing quality, the present study chose samples of academic writing which did not specify cohesion as a descriptor in the assessment scale. A cohesion index was, therefore, developed to investigate how cohesive devices created texture in the sample texts and correlated with the test scores. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric correlation analysis revealed that cohesive devices were positively associated with appropriate use to create texture; however, they only weakly correlated with the test scores. The findings imply that there is the need for developing assessment criteria which consistently measures the text-forming resources to reliably ascertain the writing proficiency of the students. The study recommends a research initiative based on an analytical assessment criteria to ensure a more accurate analysis of the role of cohesion in text-formation and writing quality.
Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focu... more Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focuses either on teachers' perceptions about its usefulness or the methodical frameworks. There are a few studies which report real-time incidence of a peer observed lesson. To fill this gap, the present study arranged a peer observation for a reading lesson on top-down processing skills to reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson as well as develop the reading literacy of the students. The peer observation method included a pre-observation stage with the teacher and the observer deciding on the modalities of observation. The second stage was the lesson which was peer observed followed by the post-lesson reflection stage. The results obtained through teachers' reflection on different aspects of the lesson and the peer observer's report revealed that most stages and activities of the lesson went as planned except for the final where issues of activity management, teacher feedback, and coherent lesson progression came up to the fore. The study has significance for EFL practitioners interested in initiating self-directed professional development through peer observation in particular and for researchers of professional development studies in general.
Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how... more Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how pedagogic perceptions are revealed in students' actual writing performance is relatively an under-researched area. This study aimed at finding out the relationships between teachers' beliefs and textual evidence in regard to students' use of cohesion in academic writing. Structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews were used to gauge teachers' perceptions about the subject. Cohesion analysis of the samples of students' academic essays was performed and collated with the teachers' perceptions. The results revealed statistically significant correlations between pedagogic perceptions as well as between textual manifestations of cohesion use in the sample texts. Both agreement and disagreement were observed between what teachers believed about students' ability to use cohesion as a text-forming resource and the textual analysis of cohesion. The study proposes a review of pedagogic practices with focus on academic writing literacy as well as a further research initiative with a larger sample to conduct a micro-level analysis of cohesion to be collated with both teachers' and students' beliefs.
International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (IJLLT), 2019
Assuming the importance of lexical competence as a crucial variable in learning English as a Fore... more Assuming the importance of lexical competence as a crucial variable in learning English as a Foreign Language, this paper attempts to discuss lexical collocations including the phrasal verbs from theoretical and pedagogical point of view. More specifically, the paper focuses on how collocations and phrasal verbs are composed in terms of their lexico-grammar and semanticity. The study also reveals learners' problems with the form, meaning, use and phonology of collocations and phrasal verbs. The paper concludes with the mention of some practical teaching measures based on awareness-raising and practical tasks as a solution to these issues. It is anticipated that these will provide EFL teachers an insight into the concept and use of collocations and phrasal verbs to make their teaching practice more effective.
Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic... more Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic writing (AW) course for Level 2 Foundation Year Saudi EFL students. Needs analysis was based on a diagnostic test, structured questionnaires, and researcher's observation to obtain information on students' language and skills needs, profile, levels of motivation, and learning styles and preferences. The results showed that the students did not have the writing proficiency for producing longer compositions and, therefore, the course should focus on appropriate language systems and skills to help learners with writing paragraphs based on two rhetorical strategies: cause and effect; and exemplification. The course content provides for the appropriate language systems and skills as voiced by the students and needed for writing these two types of paragraphs. The study also points to a course evaluation strategy that can be used for validation and future use of the proposed course.
Assuming cohesion as a non-structural resource of texture in text, the present study analyzed stu... more Assuming cohesion as a non-structural resource of texture in text, the present study analyzed students' academic essays to establish the role of cohesion in creating text. A survey was also conducted to gauge students' beliefs about their ability to use cohesive devices in writing. The results of the text analysis and the survey were then used to identify differences between students' linguistic knowledge and their actual use of the cohesion devices. The results revealed statistically significant relationships between the textual variables of cohesion to the extent that the sample texts had visibly dense texture. The results of the survey variables were also found to be statistically significant. In addition, there were gaps in students' understanding of the concept of cohesive devices and their actual use in the texts. The study recommends explicit teaching of cohesive devices rather than as grammatical entities as well as training in expanding the lexical base of the students to help them achieve discourse competence appropriate to the expectations of the academic discourse community.
Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic... more Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic writing (AW) course for Level 2 Foundation Year Saudi EFL students. Needs analysis was based on a diagnostic test, structured questionnaires, and researcher's observation to obtain information on students’ language and skills needs, profile, levels of motivation, and learning styles and preferences. The results showed that the students did not have the writing proficiency for producing longer compositions and, therefore, the course should focus on appropriate language systems and skills to help learners with writing paragraphs based on two rhetorical strategies: cause and effect; and exemplification. The course content provides for the appropriate language systems and skills as voiced by the students and needed for writing these two types of paragraphs. The study also points to a course evaluation strategy that can be used for validation and future use of the proposed course.
The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production mod... more The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production model of teaching to experiment with the Task Based Learning approach. Action research framework was adopted to observe a writing class with a focus on developing the paragraph level skills of the Preparatory Year EFL students. Teacher notes, peer observation report, samples of students' writing and a short student survey were used to collect the data. The results revealed that the new approach though mostly successful and effective had a few issues in regard to activity management and feedback on students' performance. The study recommends a series of similar action research initiatives to further validate the newly used teaching approach as well as introduce other pedagogic approaches which have not been practiced so far.
Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focu... more Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focuses either on teachers' perceptions about its usefulness or the methodical frameworks. There are a few studies which report real-time incidence of a peer observed lesson. To fill this gap, the present study arranged a peer observation for a reading lesson on top-down processing skills to reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson as well as develop the reading literacy of the students. The peer observation method included a pre-observation stage with the teacher and the observer deciding on the modalities of observation. The second stage was the lesson which was peer observed followed by the post-lesson reflection stage. The results obtained through teachers' reflection on different aspects of the lesson and the peer observer's report revealed that most stages and activities of the lesson went as planned except for the final where issues of activity management, t...
Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how... more Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how pedagogic perceptions are revealed in students’ actual writing performance is relatively an under-researched area. This study aimed at finding out the relationships between teachers’ beliefs and textual evidence in regard to students’ use of cohesion in academic writing. Structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews were used to gauge teachers’ perceptions about the subject. Cohesion analysis of the samples of students’ academic essays was performed and collated with the teachers’ perceptions. The results revealed statistically significant correlations between pedagogic perceptions as well as between textual manifestations of cohesion use in the sample texts. Both agreement and disagreement were observed between what teachers believed about students’ ability to use cohesion as a text-forming resource and the textual analysis of cohesion. The study proposes a review of pedagogic pra...
The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production mod... more The study attempted to move away from the more traditional Presentation, Practice, Production model of teaching to experiment with the Task Based Learning approach. Action research framework was adopted to observe a writing class with a focus on developing the paragraph level skills of the Preparatory Year EFL students. Teacher notes, peer observation report, samples of students' writing and a short student survey were used to collect the data. The results revealed that the new approach though mostly successful and effective had a few issues in regard to activity management and feedback on students' performance. The study recommends a series of similar action research initiatives to further validate the newly used teaching approach as well as introduce other pedagogic approaches which have not been practiced so far.
Summative assessment of students' writing predicts not only the extent to which the course learni... more Summative assessment of students' writing predicts not only the extent to which the course learning objectives have been achieved but also reveals the relevance of the assessment design with the construct of writing being assessed. Any dichotomy between the assessment criteria and the construct of writing or between the assessment criteria and test scoring procedures can produce unreliable and invalid interpretations of the students' writing proficiency. Assuming cohesion as a measure of writing quality, the present study chose samples of academic writing which did not specify cohesion as a descriptor in the assessment scale. A cohesion index was, therefore, developed to investigate how cohesive devices created texture in the sample texts and correlated with the test scores. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric correlation analysis revealed that cohesive devices were positively associated with appropriate use to create texture; however, they only weakly correlated with the test scores. The findings imply that there is the need for developing assessment criteria which consistently measures the text-forming resources to reliably ascertain the writing proficiency of the students. The study recommends a research initiative based on an analytical assessment criteria to ensure a more accurate analysis of the role of cohesion in text-formation and writing quality.
Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focu... more Most research on peer observation as a professional development intervention in EFL contexts focuses either on teachers' perceptions about its usefulness or the methodical frameworks. There are a few studies which report real-time incidence of a peer observed lesson. To fill this gap, the present study arranged a peer observation for a reading lesson on top-down processing skills to reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson as well as develop the reading literacy of the students. The peer observation method included a pre-observation stage with the teacher and the observer deciding on the modalities of observation. The second stage was the lesson which was peer observed followed by the post-lesson reflection stage. The results obtained through teachers' reflection on different aspects of the lesson and the peer observer's report revealed that most stages and activities of the lesson went as planned except for the final where issues of activity management, teacher feedback, and coherent lesson progression came up to the fore. The study has significance for EFL practitioners interested in initiating self-directed professional development through peer observation in particular and for researchers of professional development studies in general.
Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how... more Despite an extensive research base in the domain of analyses for academic writing, a study of how pedagogic perceptions are revealed in students' actual writing performance is relatively an under-researched area. This study aimed at finding out the relationships between teachers' beliefs and textual evidence in regard to students' use of cohesion in academic writing. Structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews were used to gauge teachers' perceptions about the subject. Cohesion analysis of the samples of students' academic essays was performed and collated with the teachers' perceptions. The results revealed statistically significant correlations between pedagogic perceptions as well as between textual manifestations of cohesion use in the sample texts. Both agreement and disagreement were observed between what teachers believed about students' ability to use cohesion as a text-forming resource and the textual analysis of cohesion. The study proposes a review of pedagogic practices with focus on academic writing literacy as well as a further research initiative with a larger sample to conduct a micro-level analysis of cohesion to be collated with both teachers' and students' beliefs.
International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (IJLLT), 2019
Assuming the importance of lexical competence as a crucial variable in learning English as a Fore... more Assuming the importance of lexical competence as a crucial variable in learning English as a Foreign Language, this paper attempts to discuss lexical collocations including the phrasal verbs from theoretical and pedagogical point of view. More specifically, the paper focuses on how collocations and phrasal verbs are composed in terms of their lexico-grammar and semanticity. The study also reveals learners' problems with the form, meaning, use and phonology of collocations and phrasal verbs. The paper concludes with the mention of some practical teaching measures based on awareness-raising and practical tasks as a solution to these issues. It is anticipated that these will provide EFL teachers an insight into the concept and use of collocations and phrasal verbs to make their teaching practice more effective.
Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic... more Using needs analysis as a research methodology, this study attempted to design a 20 hour academic writing (AW) course for Level 2 Foundation Year Saudi EFL students. Needs analysis was based on a diagnostic test, structured questionnaires, and researcher's observation to obtain information on students' language and skills needs, profile, levels of motivation, and learning styles and preferences. The results showed that the students did not have the writing proficiency for producing longer compositions and, therefore, the course should focus on appropriate language systems and skills to help learners with writing paragraphs based on two rhetorical strategies: cause and effect; and exemplification. The course content provides for the appropriate language systems and skills as voiced by the students and needed for writing these two types of paragraphs. The study also points to a course evaluation strategy that can be used for validation and future use of the proposed course.
Assuming cohesion as a non-structural resource of texture in text, the present study analyzed stu... more Assuming cohesion as a non-structural resource of texture in text, the present study analyzed students' academic essays to establish the role of cohesion in creating text. A survey was also conducted to gauge students' beliefs about their ability to use cohesive devices in writing. The results of the text analysis and the survey were then used to identify differences between students' linguistic knowledge and their actual use of the cohesion devices. The results revealed statistically significant relationships between the textual variables of cohesion to the extent that the sample texts had visibly dense texture. The results of the survey variables were also found to be statistically significant. In addition, there were gaps in students' understanding of the concept of cohesive devices and their actual use in the texts. The study recommends explicit teaching of cohesive devices rather than as grammatical entities as well as training in expanding the lexical base of the students to help them achieve discourse competence appropriate to the expectations of the academic discourse community.
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