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Melanie Gobert

US Department of State, Fellow, Conference Organizer

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Melanie Gobert, EdD, worked in the Gulf region starting in 1993. She has presented and published widely on vocabulary learning, reading in a second language, educational technology, writing, and assessment. She was the editor of Perspectives, an ELT peer-reviewed journal from 2009-2014. She currently hosts the podcast TTELT: Teaching Tips for English Language Teaching on Spotify.

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University of California, Santa Barbara

University of British Columbia

Albert Bastardas-Boada

Universitat de Barcelona

Richard Bellamy

University College London

Kansas State University

The University of New South Wales

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

University of Pennsylvania

American University of Sharjah

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Papers by Melanie Gobert

Helping Gulf Arab Learners Negotiate the Linguistic Challenges Posed by English as a Medium of Instruction

English as a Medium of Instruction on the Arabian Peninsula

Book review: The new landscape of mobile learning (2014 Miller C.M Doering A (Eds.) Routledge

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 2014

Framing the Issue Accommodations in English language teaching refer to two different types of acc... more Framing the Issue Accommodations in English language teaching refer to two different types of accommodations in two different contexts. One type of accommodation is the accommodation of English language learners (ELLs) in the regular classroom and in the evaluation of achieving the standardized curriculum. The second type of accommodation is the accommodation of ELLs with disabilities in the classroom and in the evaluation of their learning. Accommodating these students is not only an issue in the United States and other English-speaking countries, but internationally, as there are currently almost 2 billion people learning English worldwide (Graddol, 2006). When ELL students are identified as having a learning disability (LD), they need the services that students with learning disabilities are entitled to, as well as the services designed to support ELLs (Eppolito, Lasser, & Klingner, 2013). In the US university system, students with learning disabilities are accommodated, but no accommodation is made for English language learners (Kanel, 2004). On the other hand, in the K-12 system in the United States, teachers and policy makers often conflate accommodation for ELLs with accommodation for students who are learning disabled (Schissel, 2014). Cawthorn (2010) calls upon the state to extend the accommodations provided to ELLs throughout their learning career. Educational Testing Services (ETS, 2009) defines ELLs as students who are still developing proficiency in English. English language learners in the United States now make up 9.1% of the public school population, or an estimated 4.4 million students (English Language Learners, 2014). One in nine students is an ELL and most are concentrated in the lower grades (ETS, 2009). The ELL population is now a common feature of historically population-stable states as well as key immigration states and there is a multitude of issues that arise when these students participate in high-stakes state accountability measures (Liu & Barrera, 2013). While many of the ELLs in the United States are Spanish-speaking, many speak a multitude of languages in the home (Liu & Barrera, 2013). These students' special needs as ELLs require a set of accommodations to participate fully in the regular

Transformation in English Language Education in the UAE

Education in the United Arab Emirates, 2019

This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)... more This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), what benchmark tests reveal about the level of English amongst Emirati students, the history and development of English language provision in K–12 and in Foundation programs in higher education in the UAE, and the growth of private schools with international curricula in English. The UAE has recently unified the K–12 Ministry of Education (MoE) with the previous Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which was responsible for higher education provided by both private and public tertiary educational institutions. The Ministry of Education began major K–12 educational reforms in 2008 because students coming from K–12 public education to higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for tertiary studies in the medium of English. This resulted in large amounts of funding for tertiary education being spent on Foundation preparatory programs. The MoE has recently developed a new school model, the Emirates School Model (ESM), to address this issue. In the ESM, scientific subjects and English are taught through the medium of English from licensed native English-speaking teachers while subjects such as Arabic and Islamic studies are taught in Arabic.

The Development of a Large Online Cross-Listed Course to Teach Life and Study Skills

English Language Teaching: Theory, Research and Pedagogy, 2022

The rapid shift to remote online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reth... more The rapid shift to remote online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rethink of how education was, is, and should be delivered. The Life and Future Skills course at a large tertiary higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates was equipped to make this change, having been previously amended to deliver the curriculum in a blended learning environment. This chapter recounts the timeline of the innovative changes in the curriculum and delivery of the course and some of the challenges and successes that occurred during this time of change.

Conference Organization as a Path to Professional Development

Conference organization is a large and complex task that offers many opportunities for profession... more Conference organization is a large and complex task that offers many opportunities for professional growth and development. Furthermore, many academics pursue organizing an international or regional conference as a means to promotion in professorial ranking at higher education institutions around the world. This chapter recounts numerous tasks that must be fulfilled in organizing a confer- ence and offers insight into the best way to form a conference committee to complete these tasks. It also offers some preventative advice for situations that may arise and advice for dealing with situations that may need immediate attention when orga- nizing a conference, and some perspectives on the future of professional academic conferences.

Innovation in Reading in the United Arab Emirates

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-13413-6_6, 2019

The United Nations ‘Building a Knowledge Society’ report (2003) revealed how little reading is do... more The United Nations ‘Building a Knowledge Society’ report (2003) revealed how little reading is done in the Arab region when compared to developed countries. This chapter recounts an extensive reading intervention programme in the form of a reading competition which encouraged students at a government tertiary vocational institution to read using the M-Reader website. Post-intervention data was collected from 83 of 179 participating students by survey and focus groups. Six teachers were also interviewed to determine the success of the reading competition in encouraging students to read. 87% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the competition motivated them to read. A further 82% felt that vocabulary acquisition was the skill most enhanced by extensive reading.

The Impact of Reading Graded Readers on Language Acquisition

Teaching, Learning, and Researching Reading, 2014

A non-randomized pretest posttest quasi-experimental design with reading graded readers in class ... more A non-randomized pretest posttest quasi-experimental design with reading graded readers in class as the independent variable was used to determine if reading graded readers improved students’ spelling, reading levels, vocabulary levels, and grammar. An independent samples t-test was used to compare the means on the pretests and posttests. The Written Spelling-Fourth Edition (TWS) (1994), the Edinburgh Extensive Reading Project Reading (EPER) Levels Test (a cloze test), the Receptive Vocabulary Levels Test (RVLT) (2001) (a multiple-choice test), and the Oxford Online Placement Test (OOPT) (2009) were used as the pre and posttests. The results of this study indicate that reading graded readers in class for approximately 15-20 minutes four times a week has a significant impact on the spelling and reading levels of UAE male students aged 18-30 at p<.05 (t(265)=1.93, p=.054 and t(221)=2.74, p=.006 respectively), the vocabulary levels at p<.06 (t(265)=1.93, p=.054), and increases the mean score of the treatment group on an English proficiency test by 4.4 points.

Book review: The new landscape of mobile learning

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Gulf Perspectives, Aug 31, 2014

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 2018

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires reasonable accommodations be provided to ind... more The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires reasonable accommodations be provided to individuals with disabilities. Accommodations for English language learners (ELLs) are modifications or adjustments used in teaching and assessment to enable them to succeed as a sub‐population group in the American school system. ELLs fall into two distinct sub‐groups: (1) ELLs without Learning Disabilities (LDs), and (2) ELLs with LDs. Many educational administrators conflate ELLs with Learning Disabled students. There is also a severe shortage of bilingual special educators to provide for both the linguistic needs and the special needs of ELLs with LDs. This entry attempts to clarify these issues and give recommendations for classroom teaching and testing accommodations appropriate for both sub‐groups.

Flash Cards, Realia, and Objects Framing the Issue

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching , 2018

Flash cards are also called "word cards" in learning English as a second language. Flash cards ha... more Flash cards are also called "word cards" in learning English as a second language. Flash cards have long been used by English-speaking elementary school students to learn phonics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Pictorial flash cards are typically used with low-level learners and young learners. A pictorial flashcard typically has the image on one side and the word on the reverse side. This can help children and low-level proficiency learners learn the word shape. Learning by using flash cards is tactile learning and also kinesthetic learning because body movement is involved. Research shows that the deliberate learning of vocabulary words is superior to incidental vocabulary word learning (e.g., Komachali & Khodareza, 2012; Heidari-Shahreza, Moinzadeh, & Barati, 2014), although both types of learning are complementary (Nation, 2008). Learning vocabulary from word cards means that learners are able to listen and read the word simultaneously, thus three learning modes are involved: tactile, aural, and oral. Learning from word cards directly develops the implicit knowledge that is necessary for fluent language use (Nation, 2008). In addition, in learning vocabulary deliberately by using flash cards, large numbers of words can be learned in a short time and they can be remembered for a very long time (Nation, 2008). Making the Case Over 100 years of research show how deliberate learning using flash cards can best be organized (Nation, 2008). First of all, learners must make sets of about 50 word cards the size of 2 cm by 4 cm from paper on index cards. They must be portable and easily carried around and they should be held together by a rubber band. Then, the learner writes the word to be learned on one side of the card and the translation on the other side. The learner then goes through the pack, trying to recall what was on the other side. If the word cannot be recalled, the learner turns The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching.

Transformation in English Language Education in the UAE

Education in the United Arab Emirates, 2019

This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)... more This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), what benchmark tests reveal about the level of English amongst Emirati students, the history and development of English language provision in K-12 and in Foundation programs in higher education in the UAE, and the growth of private schools with international curricula in English. The UAE has recently unified the K-12 Ministry of Education (MoE) with the previous Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which was responsible for higher education provided by both private and public tertiary educational institutions. The Ministry of Education began major K-12 educational reforms in 2008 because students coming from K-12 public education to higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for tertiary studies in the medium of English. This resulted in large amounts of funding for tertiary education being spent on Foundation preparatory programs. The MoE has recently developed a new school model, the Emirates School Model (ESM), to address this issue. In the ESM, scientific subjects and English are taught through the medium of English from licensed native English-speaking teachers while subjects such as Arabic and Islamic studies are taught in Arabic.

Cultivating Phonological and Orthographic Awareness in Arab Learners of English

Teaching and Learning in the Arab World, 2011

Despite the inclusion of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ES... more Despite the inclusion of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and
English as a Second Language (ESL) in the national primary and
secondary school curriculum in most Gulf Arabic speaking countries
since the early 70s, tertiary teachers have long remarked the poor
reading standards of high school graduates (Al Kitbi, 2006; Cobb,
2007). Many Gulf Arab nationals cannot obtain terminal degrees
because of their inability to demonstrate an effective reading ability
in English on external standardized benchmark exams such as the
International English Language Testing System (IELTS, 2006; 2007;
2008). Phonological awareness is not only necessary for success in
reading achievement in English (Ehri, 2005; Lesaux & Siegel, 2003),
but it is a precursor of reading ability. This chapter describes a
quantitative pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study that was used
to determine if direct phonics instruction would increase the
phonological and orthographic awareness of 18 to 25-year-old
students studying in a tertiary foundation program in English in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research suggests that phonics
training of sixteen weeks duration does not significantly improve
students’ performance on a measure of phonological awareness.

Taboo Topics in the ESL Classroom in the Gulf Region

Many teachers, having little knowledge of the area or Islam, arrive from around the world to teac... more Many teachers, having little knowledge of the area or Islam, arrive from around the world to teach in the rich oil and gas region of the Gulf Cooperation Council with its burgeoning youthful population and intense K-12 educational reform in the aftermath of two Gulf wars. Topics such as war and AIDs that are included in critical pedagogy and other topics that are prohibited in Islam, such as the consumption of alcohol and pork, used as innocuous grammar or vocabulary examples in textbooks are often considered inappropriate by students or administrators. What is considered taboo in Gulf region classrooms; the dilemma between intercultural communication, critical pedagogy, and cognitive dissonance; and recommendations for including critical pedagogy in a classroom context will be discussed in this chapter. Teachers are encouraged to teach critical pedagogy, but discouraged from teaching target language cultural values that may conflict with students' values because this could impede language development. The purpose of this chapter is to inform new teachers in the region or teachers thinking of entering employment in the region about topics which may be considered inappropriate for classroom language teaching in the GCC region.

Activities for Recycling Vocabulary

Words are the building blocks of language learning. When infants connect their first vocabulary w... more Words are the building blocks of language learning. When infants connect their first vocabulary word to a concrete object, it is the “Eureka!” moment of language acquisition. Yet, vocabulary seems to have lost its preeminence in the communicative language teaching classroom. Vocabulary learning became “incidental,” a byproduct of comprehensible input, and would “take care of itself” (Read, 2004) and according to Akbari (2012) is usually considered “an impediment that should be overcome quickly so that students can focus on the main teaching point of the lesson, which is usually grammar” (p.10). Teachers, adopting the model in ESL course books, teach vocabulary as a pre-reading task with perhaps a crossword puzzle or vocabulary gap fill for reinforcement at the end of a reading activity. Unfortunately with this methodology, Al-Masrai and Milton’s (2012) research indicates that Saudi students vocabulary only increases from 2000-3000 words upon entry to university to 5000 words nearer graduation. However, research shows that vocabulary must be repeated, or recycled, at least 7 times before it is remembered (Nation, 2001). Vocabulary studies reviewed by Nation (1990 as cited in Sökmen, 1997) provided a range of 5-16 encounters with a word before it is acquired. Yet, most course books repeat less than half of the words in the book more than 2-3 times (Sökmen, 1997). Additionally, modern research in the cognitive domain indicates that new information (i.e. vocabulary in a second language) must be revisited, with longer time lags in between in order for it to move from short-term memory to long-term storage (Sökmen, 1997; Nation, 2001, 2008). For example, it is better to study new words when first introduced for 30-40 minutes, followed by 10-12 minutes the next day, then 10-12 minutes three days later, and so on, subsequently revisiting the words one week later, then two weeks later, and so forth, for a few minutes each time. Vocabulary recycling activities not only aid students in acquiring vocabulary which improves their scores on reading proficiency tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Preliminary English Test (PET) (Cobb, 2007), but the activities may also increase the amount of students’ productive vocabulary which can lead to higher scores on standardized speaking and writing tests.

Motivating Reluctant Readers

by Melanie Gobert and Helene Demirci

Gamification was used to encourage students to read more in an extensive reading pilot study. Dat... more Gamification was used to encourage students to read more in an extensive reading pilot study. Data was collected through questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews. Wigfield and Guthrie's (1995) L1 English Reading Motivational Framework was used to attempt to discover if the gamification of extensive reading increased students' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for reading. Students self-reported that their vocabulary, reading speed, comprehension, grammar, spelling, and writing all improved during the period of extensive reading.

Language Learner Literature and Identity

THE FIFTH ANNUAL GULF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SOCIETY SYMPOSIUM LOCATING THE NATIONAL IN THE INTERNATIONAL: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE , 2014

In this research study, second language English students from an Arabic speaking background in th... more In this research study, second language English students from an Arabic speaking background in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) read graded language literature from their own culture. The study results reveal that students are interested in reading indigenous literature. Indigenous literature is literature from one’s own culture and reading it promotes a sense of identity and belonging. Reading indigenous literature in the native language aids in the consolidation of an integrated identity between two languages and
cultures. Data was collected through discussion board postings and discourse analysis was used to analyze the data.

Collocational Knowledge of Gulf Arab Students

Grammar Correction in ESL Writing Classrooms

Teaching Writing Mechanics to Gulf Arab Students

Both the Process Approach and the Product Approach to writing are inadequate for teaching writing... more Both the Process Approach and the Product Approach to writing are inadequate for teaching writing to Gulf Arabic students because both approaches assume that students are competent writers in their native language. A combined approach that emphasizes both process and product is necessary to fully address the specific L1 language difficulties faced by Gulf Arabic students in learning to write English.

Helping Gulf Arab Learners Negotiate the Linguistic Challenges Posed by English as a Medium of Instruction

English as a Medium of Instruction on the Arabian Peninsula

Book review: The new landscape of mobile learning (2014 Miller C.M Doering A (Eds.) Routledge

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 2014

Framing the Issue Accommodations in English language teaching refer to two different types of acc... more Framing the Issue Accommodations in English language teaching refer to two different types of accommodations in two different contexts. One type of accommodation is the accommodation of English language learners (ELLs) in the regular classroom and in the evaluation of achieving the standardized curriculum. The second type of accommodation is the accommodation of ELLs with disabilities in the classroom and in the evaluation of their learning. Accommodating these students is not only an issue in the United States and other English-speaking countries, but internationally, as there are currently almost 2 billion people learning English worldwide (Graddol, 2006). When ELL students are identified as having a learning disability (LD), they need the services that students with learning disabilities are entitled to, as well as the services designed to support ELLs (Eppolito, Lasser, & Klingner, 2013). In the US university system, students with learning disabilities are accommodated, but no accommodation is made for English language learners (Kanel, 2004). On the other hand, in the K-12 system in the United States, teachers and policy makers often conflate accommodation for ELLs with accommodation for students who are learning disabled (Schissel, 2014). Cawthorn (2010) calls upon the state to extend the accommodations provided to ELLs throughout their learning career. Educational Testing Services (ETS, 2009) defines ELLs as students who are still developing proficiency in English. English language learners in the United States now make up 9.1% of the public school population, or an estimated 4.4 million students (English Language Learners, 2014). One in nine students is an ELL and most are concentrated in the lower grades (ETS, 2009). The ELL population is now a common feature of historically population-stable states as well as key immigration states and there is a multitude of issues that arise when these students participate in high-stakes state accountability measures (Liu & Barrera, 2013). While many of the ELLs in the United States are Spanish-speaking, many speak a multitude of languages in the home (Liu & Barrera, 2013). These students' special needs as ELLs require a set of accommodations to participate fully in the regular

Transformation in English Language Education in the UAE

Education in the United Arab Emirates, 2019

This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)... more This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), what benchmark tests reveal about the level of English amongst Emirati students, the history and development of English language provision in K–12 and in Foundation programs in higher education in the UAE, and the growth of private schools with international curricula in English. The UAE has recently unified the K–12 Ministry of Education (MoE) with the previous Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which was responsible for higher education provided by both private and public tertiary educational institutions. The Ministry of Education began major K–12 educational reforms in 2008 because students coming from K–12 public education to higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for tertiary studies in the medium of English. This resulted in large amounts of funding for tertiary education being spent on Foundation preparatory programs. The MoE has recently developed a new school model, the Emirates School Model (ESM), to address this issue. In the ESM, scientific subjects and English are taught through the medium of English from licensed native English-speaking teachers while subjects such as Arabic and Islamic studies are taught in Arabic.

The Development of a Large Online Cross-Listed Course to Teach Life and Study Skills

English Language Teaching: Theory, Research and Pedagogy, 2022

The rapid shift to remote online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reth... more The rapid shift to remote online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rethink of how education was, is, and should be delivered. The Life and Future Skills course at a large tertiary higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates was equipped to make this change, having been previously amended to deliver the curriculum in a blended learning environment. This chapter recounts the timeline of the innovative changes in the curriculum and delivery of the course and some of the challenges and successes that occurred during this time of change.

Conference Organization as a Path to Professional Development

Conference organization is a large and complex task that offers many opportunities for profession... more Conference organization is a large and complex task that offers many opportunities for professional growth and development. Furthermore, many academics pursue organizing an international or regional conference as a means to promotion in professorial ranking at higher education institutions around the world. This chapter recounts numerous tasks that must be fulfilled in organizing a confer- ence and offers insight into the best way to form a conference committee to complete these tasks. It also offers some preventative advice for situations that may arise and advice for dealing with situations that may need immediate attention when orga- nizing a conference, and some perspectives on the future of professional academic conferences.

Innovation in Reading in the United Arab Emirates

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-13413-6_6, 2019

The United Nations ‘Building a Knowledge Society’ report (2003) revealed how little reading is do... more The United Nations ‘Building a Knowledge Society’ report (2003) revealed how little reading is done in the Arab region when compared to developed countries. This chapter recounts an extensive reading intervention programme in the form of a reading competition which encouraged students at a government tertiary vocational institution to read using the M-Reader website. Post-intervention data was collected from 83 of 179 participating students by survey and focus groups. Six teachers were also interviewed to determine the success of the reading competition in encouraging students to read. 87% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the competition motivated them to read. A further 82% felt that vocabulary acquisition was the skill most enhanced by extensive reading.

The Impact of Reading Graded Readers on Language Acquisition

Teaching, Learning, and Researching Reading, 2014

A non-randomized pretest posttest quasi-experimental design with reading graded readers in class ... more A non-randomized pretest posttest quasi-experimental design with reading graded readers in class as the independent variable was used to determine if reading graded readers improved students’ spelling, reading levels, vocabulary levels, and grammar. An independent samples t-test was used to compare the means on the pretests and posttests. The Written Spelling-Fourth Edition (TWS) (1994), the Edinburgh Extensive Reading Project Reading (EPER) Levels Test (a cloze test), the Receptive Vocabulary Levels Test (RVLT) (2001) (a multiple-choice test), and the Oxford Online Placement Test (OOPT) (2009) were used as the pre and posttests. The results of this study indicate that reading graded readers in class for approximately 15-20 minutes four times a week has a significant impact on the spelling and reading levels of UAE male students aged 18-30 at p<.05 (t(265)=1.93, p=.054 and t(221)=2.74, p=.006 respectively), the vocabulary levels at p<.06 (t(265)=1.93, p=.054), and increases the mean score of the treatment group on an English proficiency test by 4.4 points.

Book review: The new landscape of mobile learning

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Gulf Perspectives, Aug 31, 2014

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 2018

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires reasonable accommodations be provided to ind... more The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires reasonable accommodations be provided to individuals with disabilities. Accommodations for English language learners (ELLs) are modifications or adjustments used in teaching and assessment to enable them to succeed as a sub‐population group in the American school system. ELLs fall into two distinct sub‐groups: (1) ELLs without Learning Disabilities (LDs), and (2) ELLs with LDs. Many educational administrators conflate ELLs with Learning Disabled students. There is also a severe shortage of bilingual special educators to provide for both the linguistic needs and the special needs of ELLs with LDs. This entry attempts to clarify these issues and give recommendations for classroom teaching and testing accommodations appropriate for both sub‐groups.

Flash Cards, Realia, and Objects Framing the Issue

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching , 2018

Flash cards are also called "word cards" in learning English as a second language. Flash cards ha... more Flash cards are also called "word cards" in learning English as a second language. Flash cards have long been used by English-speaking elementary school students to learn phonics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Pictorial flash cards are typically used with low-level learners and young learners. A pictorial flashcard typically has the image on one side and the word on the reverse side. This can help children and low-level proficiency learners learn the word shape. Learning by using flash cards is tactile learning and also kinesthetic learning because body movement is involved. Research shows that the deliberate learning of vocabulary words is superior to incidental vocabulary word learning (e.g., Komachali & Khodareza, 2012; Heidari-Shahreza, Moinzadeh, & Barati, 2014), although both types of learning are complementary (Nation, 2008). Learning vocabulary from word cards means that learners are able to listen and read the word simultaneously, thus three learning modes are involved: tactile, aural, and oral. Learning from word cards directly develops the implicit knowledge that is necessary for fluent language use (Nation, 2008). In addition, in learning vocabulary deliberately by using flash cards, large numbers of words can be learned in a short time and they can be remembered for a very long time (Nation, 2008). Making the Case Over 100 years of research show how deliberate learning using flash cards can best be organized (Nation, 2008). First of all, learners must make sets of about 50 word cards the size of 2 cm by 4 cm from paper on index cards. They must be portable and easily carried around and they should be held together by a rubber band. Then, the learner writes the word to be learned on one side of the card and the translation on the other side. The learner then goes through the pack, trying to recall what was on the other side. If the word cannot be recalled, the learner turns The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching.

Transformation in English Language Education in the UAE

Education in the United Arab Emirates, 2019

This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)... more This chapter explores the need for English as a Second Language in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), what benchmark tests reveal about the level of English amongst Emirati students, the history and development of English language provision in K-12 and in Foundation programs in higher education in the UAE, and the growth of private schools with international curricula in English. The UAE has recently unified the K-12 Ministry of Education (MoE) with the previous Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which was responsible for higher education provided by both private and public tertiary educational institutions. The Ministry of Education began major K-12 educational reforms in 2008 because students coming from K-12 public education to higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for tertiary studies in the medium of English. This resulted in large amounts of funding for tertiary education being spent on Foundation preparatory programs. The MoE has recently developed a new school model, the Emirates School Model (ESM), to address this issue. In the ESM, scientific subjects and English are taught through the medium of English from licensed native English-speaking teachers while subjects such as Arabic and Islamic studies are taught in Arabic.

Cultivating Phonological and Orthographic Awareness in Arab Learners of English

Teaching and Learning in the Arab World, 2011

Despite the inclusion of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ES... more Despite the inclusion of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and
English as a Second Language (ESL) in the national primary and
secondary school curriculum in most Gulf Arabic speaking countries
since the early 70s, tertiary teachers have long remarked the poor
reading standards of high school graduates (Al Kitbi, 2006; Cobb,
2007). Many Gulf Arab nationals cannot obtain terminal degrees
because of their inability to demonstrate an effective reading ability
in English on external standardized benchmark exams such as the
International English Language Testing System (IELTS, 2006; 2007;
2008). Phonological awareness is not only necessary for success in
reading achievement in English (Ehri, 2005; Lesaux & Siegel, 2003),
but it is a precursor of reading ability. This chapter describes a
quantitative pretest/posttest quasi-experimental study that was used
to determine if direct phonics instruction would increase the
phonological and orthographic awareness of 18 to 25-year-old
students studying in a tertiary foundation program in English in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research suggests that phonics
training of sixteen weeks duration does not significantly improve
students’ performance on a measure of phonological awareness.

Taboo Topics in the ESL Classroom in the Gulf Region

Many teachers, having little knowledge of the area or Islam, arrive from around the world to teac... more Many teachers, having little knowledge of the area or Islam, arrive from around the world to teach in the rich oil and gas region of the Gulf Cooperation Council with its burgeoning youthful population and intense K-12 educational reform in the aftermath of two Gulf wars. Topics such as war and AIDs that are included in critical pedagogy and other topics that are prohibited in Islam, such as the consumption of alcohol and pork, used as innocuous grammar or vocabulary examples in textbooks are often considered inappropriate by students or administrators. What is considered taboo in Gulf region classrooms; the dilemma between intercultural communication, critical pedagogy, and cognitive dissonance; and recommendations for including critical pedagogy in a classroom context will be discussed in this chapter. Teachers are encouraged to teach critical pedagogy, but discouraged from teaching target language cultural values that may conflict with students' values because this could impede language development. The purpose of this chapter is to inform new teachers in the region or teachers thinking of entering employment in the region about topics which may be considered inappropriate for classroom language teaching in the GCC region.

Activities for Recycling Vocabulary

Words are the building blocks of language learning. When infants connect their first vocabulary w... more Words are the building blocks of language learning. When infants connect their first vocabulary word to a concrete object, it is the “Eureka!” moment of language acquisition. Yet, vocabulary seems to have lost its preeminence in the communicative language teaching classroom. Vocabulary learning became “incidental,” a byproduct of comprehensible input, and would “take care of itself” (Read, 2004) and according to Akbari (2012) is usually considered “an impediment that should be overcome quickly so that students can focus on the main teaching point of the lesson, which is usually grammar” (p.10). Teachers, adopting the model in ESL course books, teach vocabulary as a pre-reading task with perhaps a crossword puzzle or vocabulary gap fill for reinforcement at the end of a reading activity. Unfortunately with this methodology, Al-Masrai and Milton’s (2012) research indicates that Saudi students vocabulary only increases from 2000-3000 words upon entry to university to 5000 words nearer graduation. However, research shows that vocabulary must be repeated, or recycled, at least 7 times before it is remembered (Nation, 2001). Vocabulary studies reviewed by Nation (1990 as cited in Sökmen, 1997) provided a range of 5-16 encounters with a word before it is acquired. Yet, most course books repeat less than half of the words in the book more than 2-3 times (Sökmen, 1997). Additionally, modern research in the cognitive domain indicates that new information (i.e. vocabulary in a second language) must be revisited, with longer time lags in between in order for it to move from short-term memory to long-term storage (Sökmen, 1997; Nation, 2001, 2008). For example, it is better to study new words when first introduced for 30-40 minutes, followed by 10-12 minutes the next day, then 10-12 minutes three days later, and so on, subsequently revisiting the words one week later, then two weeks later, and so forth, for a few minutes each time. Vocabulary recycling activities not only aid students in acquiring vocabulary which improves their scores on reading proficiency tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Preliminary English Test (PET) (Cobb, 2007), but the activities may also increase the amount of students’ productive vocabulary which can lead to higher scores on standardized speaking and writing tests.

Motivating Reluctant Readers

by Melanie Gobert and Helene Demirci

Gamification was used to encourage students to read more in an extensive reading pilot study. Dat... more Gamification was used to encourage students to read more in an extensive reading pilot study. Data was collected through questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews. Wigfield and Guthrie's (1995) L1 English Reading Motivational Framework was used to attempt to discover if the gamification of extensive reading increased students' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for reading. Students self-reported that their vocabulary, reading speed, comprehension, grammar, spelling, and writing all improved during the period of extensive reading.

Language Learner Literature and Identity

THE FIFTH ANNUAL GULF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SOCIETY SYMPOSIUM LOCATING THE NATIONAL IN THE INTERNATIONAL: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE , 2014

In this research study, second language English students from an Arabic speaking background in th... more In this research study, second language English students from an Arabic speaking background in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) read graded language literature from their own culture. The study results reveal that students are interested in reading indigenous literature. Indigenous literature is literature from one’s own culture and reading it promotes a sense of identity and belonging. Reading indigenous literature in the native language aids in the consolidation of an integrated identity between two languages and
cultures. Data was collected through discussion board postings and discourse analysis was used to analyze the data.

Collocational Knowledge of Gulf Arab Students

Grammar Correction in ESL Writing Classrooms

Teaching Writing Mechanics to Gulf Arab Students

Both the Process Approach and the Product Approach to writing are inadequate for teaching writing... more Both the Process Approach and the Product Approach to writing are inadequate for teaching writing to Gulf Arabic students because both approaches assume that students are competent writers in their native language. A combined approach that emphasizes both process and product is necessary to fully address the specific L1 language difficulties faced by Gulf Arabic students in learning to write English.

Book Review Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in MENA

Arab Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2017

Book Review: Beliefs Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning

Independence: The Newsletter of the Learning Autonomy SIG IATEFL, 2019

Book Review: The New Landscape of Mobile Learning

Learning in Teaching in Higher Education in the Gulf, 2014

A review of the book The new landscape of mobile learning (2014; Miller, C.M. & Doering, A. (Eds... more

The Proceedings of the 26th Annual TESOL Arabia Conference and Exhibition 2022

The Proceedings of the 26th Annual TESOL Arabia Conference, 2023

This book has 13 chapters on topics presented at the 26th TESOL Arabia International Conference a... more This book has 13 chapters on topics presented at the 26th TESOL Arabia International Conference and Exhibition. The chapters range from teacher self-efficacy to understanding storytelling to morphological awareness in academic reading. It contains quasi-experimental studies, practical teaching application advice, and quantitative studies on language learning and teaching.

The Proceedings of the 24th and 25th Annual TESOL Arabia International Conference and Exhibition

by Melanie Gobert, Nour Al Okla, David Knott, Dilafruz Sulaymonova, Al-Mahanad Al-Badi, SIHAM MOHAMMED SALEH AL AAMRI, Salwa Said Al Anqoudi, Tony Cripps, Michelle Daly, Daniel B Jackson, III, Khaleda Ghareeb Al Mansoori, Heba S Toukhy, and Thomas Vivian

The Proceedings of the 24th and 25th Annual TESOL Arabia International Conference and Exhibition, 2021

This book has 23 chapters on topics presented at the 24th and 25th TESOL Arabia International Con... more This book has 23 chapters on topics presented at the 24th and 25th TESOL Arabia International Conference and Exhibition. The chapters range from philosophy in English language teaching to new concepts of translanguaging in education to using authentic literature in the classroom. It contains case studies, ethnographic studies, and quantitative studies on language learning and teaching.

Sand Huts and Salty Water

Sand Huts and Salty Water: The Story of Abu Dhabi's First Schoolteacher, 2016

This book was written by Ahmed Mansoor M. Kateeb, the first schoolteacher in Abu Dhabi. This book... more This book was written by Ahmed Mansoor M. Kateeb, the first schoolteacher in Abu Dhabi. This book is about a different time. It wasn’t a time of big airplanes and fancy airports. It was a time of ink and big blackboards. It was a time of long journeys and big lessons.It was a time of stories. And so, this book tells the story of education, the story of young students, in a small town by the salty Arabian gulf, who were determined to shape a better future for themselves and their families, and in doing so helped shape a city, and in doing so, shaped a nation.

This book was edited by Melanie Gobert, Higher Colleges of Technology.

Proceedings of the 3rd World Congress on Extensive Reading

Current Issues in Reading Writing and Visual Literacy

Current Issues in Reading Writing and Visual Literacy, 2015

This volume brings together a collection of papers presented at the 2014 World Congress of the In... more This volume brings together a collection of papers presented at the 2014 World Congress of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), held in Brisbane, Australia, and represents current research and practice from across the globe related to reading, writing and visual literacy. Given that globalisation has resulted in an increase in the pursuit of second language (often English) literacy for those who want to enhance their access to better education and employment options, the development of literacy skills cannot be left to chance. This book explores current efforts to tease out the variables involved in the development of literacies, and will inform educators and teacher trainers of ways to improve classroom pedagogies and increase learner literacy competencies.

From Rags to Riches–Foreword