GIST – Education and Learning Research Journal

Reviewers

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Gist would like to thank the following reviewers for their valuable comments and thoughtful revision

Jessica Bohorquez, Birkbeck, University of London, Colombia

Jhonatan Vásquez Guarnizo, UPTC, Colombia

Edgar Emmanuell Garcia Ponce, Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico

Enrique Vez López, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico

Ronald Alejandro García Vargas, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia

Jonathan Delgado, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Colombia

Mohammad Kazemian, Islamic Azad University, Iran

Lina María Londoño Metaute, Universidad Católica Luis Amigó, Colombia

A Comparative Linguistic Analysis of English and Spanish Phonological System

Juan Carlos Silva Valencia — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

This paper analyzes a few significant differences between Spanish and English in relation to phonological patterns. First, a short introduction is given about these two languages, and it is briefly explained in what linguistic aspects they are similar or different. Then, each of these linguistic features is analyzed in detail, clearly establishing the differences existing between Spanish and English. The specific phonological features that are addressed on this academic paper are vowel and consonant phonemes, diphthongs and triphthongs, as well as syllable and sentence stress. Furthermore, several pronunciation difficulties for Spanish speakers are discussed. Finally, some didactic implications are considered so that teachers can help their students of either language learn the second one considering important linguistic features.

EDITORIAL

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

EFL Teachers' Stress and Coping Strategies: the case of public primary schools in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia

Teshale Ayalew , Getachew Seyoum Woldemariam, Adege Alemu — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

EFL teachers usually experience stress as a result of environmental and personal factors. However, the problem and its triggering factors appear to be overlooked in the study context. Thus, the goal of this study is to look into EFL teachers' stress, the factors that contribute to it, and coping strategies used in public primary schools in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Mixed methods design, cluster sampling, and judgemental sampling techniques were used in the investigation. A total of 100 EFL teachers took part in it. Data was collected using a questionnaire and an interview, and descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. The findings demonstrate that the majority of the teachers have experienced stress and that all of the posited factors have a substantial association with the problem. The major finding is that stress negatively affects EFL teachers' working behavior. In light of this finding, it is suggested that coping strategies training be provided. The study has pedagogical implications as it suggests that emotional intelligence and stress coping techniques be included in EFL teaching methodology courses. Finally, because the sample is too small to generalize to various situations, more research on a large scale is suggested to understand the magnitude of the problem's expansion in the region.

The Effects of Pronunciation Anxiety and Motivation on English Learners’ Willingness to Communicate

Zahra Alimorad, Farshad Adib — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The present quantitative study intended to investigate the effect of Iranian EFL learners' pronunciation anxiety (PA) and pronunciation motivation (PM) on their L2 willingness to communicate (L2 WTC) in English classes. Additionally, it aimed at identifying which of these two independent variables (PA or PM) could better predict their L2 WTC. To these aims, a convenient sample of 134 upper-intermediate EFL learners were recruited from two private language institutes in one of the large cities of Iran. Their proficiency level had already been determined by the institutes using written and oral placement tests. To gather the necessary data, three questionnaires, namely, Baran-Lucarz's (2017) PA, and PM, and Simić’s (2014) WTC questionnaires were used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to answer the research question of the study. Findings indicated that both variables under study, PA and PM, had significant correlations with learners’ L2 WTC. However, although results suggested that both independent variables predicted the learners' L2 WTC, PA was found to be a stronger predictor. Implications of the study findings and suggestions for further research are also offered.

An investigation of Prospective Teachers’ Reasons for Preferring Teaching as a Progression: Turkish Context

Halil İbrahim Kaya, Murat Korucuk — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

This study aimed to reveal the reasons for choosing the teaching profession of pedagogical formation education certificate program students and to examine the differences in the reasons for choosing teaching according to gender, place of residence, high school, monthly income of the family, parental education level and order of preference variables. The survey model was used. The universe consisted of approximately 250 pedagogical formation education certificate program students studying at a University in Eastern Anatolia in Turkey in 2022. The sample consists of 158 randomly selected pedagogical formation education certificate program students. The “Reasons for Choosing Teaching as a Career Scale”, which was developped by Lai, Chan, Ko, and So in 2005 and adapted into Turkish by Balyer and Özcan in 2014, was used as a data collection tool. As a result of the study, it was seen that the level of choosing to teach for internal reasons of pedagogical formation education certificate program students was higher than the level of choice for external reasons and the level of being affected by (others). In addition, it was concluded that the reasons for choosing the teaching profession of pedagogical formation education certificate program students differed according to gender, place of residence, income, order of preference, and education level of parents.

A Creative Nonfiction Narrative Inquiry into an EFL Online Learning Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Angeliki Ypsilanti, Ioannis Karras — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

University libraries globally launch coronavirus memory archival projects inviting the documentation of personal experience. Elicitations such as journal entries and oral history interviews fall under the category of life-writing. This Narrative Inquiry focuses on creative nonfiction stories produced by an online high school community and edited by the EFL teacher during the first full lockdown in Greece. The shift to distance education caused students to use ELF as a means of contrasting their local archival endeavors with global ones. The EFL teacher as researcher used mentor texts, collected the coronavirus stories on e-me online platform, engaged the online members in a peer-reviewing process and reauthored a collective narrative. Narrative writing analysis was employed to reflect the teacher’s initiative to commemorate a student community’s physical disconnectedness from onsite learning. The use of e-me for this collaborative venture offers practical implications for EFL practitioners such as going beyond the bounds of the traditional curriculum whilst identifying self-regulation as indication of resilience among students experiencing unprecedented circumstances.

Student Motivation in CORONAPOLIS: Effects of Transactional Distance Perceptions on EFL Undergraduate Students’ Motivation

Ayşegül Takkaç Tulgar — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The concept of Transactional Distance (TD) experienced in distance education has been recorded as a focal point in many studies examining its effects in various dimensions in different courses. However, there is scarcity of research on TD in relation to learner motivation in language learning. This exploratory case study investigated TD perceptions of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) undergraduates participating in distance education courses held at a Turkish university within the boundaries of CORONAPOLIS, an imaginary city which is under the threat and destructive effects of Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study examined the effects of TD perceptions on the motivation of 87 EFL students. The data were collected through the participants’ informal self-reports and open-ended questions. The results of the content analysis showed that the participants had varying perceptions of the dimensions of TD; dialogue, structure and autonomy. The results also showed that they had different motivational experiences in relation to their perceptions. In the light of the results, some pedagogical implications are made.