Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skills)

Virtual Languaculture Task Implementation as a Mediator between EFL Teachers’ Digital Literacy and EFL Learners’ Speaking Fluency and Accuracy

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University, Arak, Iran

Abstract

   COPYRIGHTS ©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publisher.




This study set out to explore the efficacy of EFL teachers' digital literacy in improving language learners' speaking fluency and accuracy through the development of virtual languaculture tasks. To this end, 52 male and 68 female EFL teachers from different areas of Kurdistan province participated in the study by completing a digital literacy scale developed by Ng (2012). Moreover, three groups of teachers, 12 high and 12 low-digitally literate teachers who used virtual languaculture tasks and 10 teachers who used traditional teaching methods participated in semi-structured interviews, and their teachings were observed for 8 sessions. Besides, by conducting an IELTS speaking test, 121 male and 122 female EFL learners of the three groups of teachers were selected to participate in this study. After conducting 16-session treatments, a speaking test was used as the posttest.  The qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed via MAXQDA and SPSS. The results of one-way between-groups multivariate analysis of variance indicated the efficacy of the implementation of languaculture tasks in developing students' speaking fluency and accuracy. On the other hand, the qualitative phase of the study showed that being digitally literate influenced the development, implementation, variety, and complexity of languaculture tasks. Moreover, the attained results supported the superiority of the languaculture task as a mediator between instructors' digital literacy and learners' verbal ability. Accordingly, enhancing teachers' digital literacy and learners' critical languaculture awareness are suggested as useful strategies to improve language learners' speaking fluency and accuracy. 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References
Agar, M. (1994). The intercultural frame. International journal of intercultural relations, 18(2), 221-237.
Anisimova, E. (2020). Digital literacy of future preschool teachers. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 11(1), 230-253.
Anjum, M. H., Kayani, M. M., & Jumani, N. B. (2019). The effect of task-based language learning (TBLL) on developing speaking skills of secondary school learners in Pakistan. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(2), 283-291.
Arslan, A. (2022). The effect of pre-service teachers' digital literacy levels on their attitude for digital writing: structural equation model study. European Journal of Education Studies, 9(7), 138-165.
Aslam, S., Saleem, A., Akram, H., Parveen, K., & Hali, A. U. (2021). The challenges of teaching and learning in the COVID-19 pandemic: The readiness of Pakistan. Academia Letters, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2678
Aslan, S. (2021). Analysis of digital literacy self-efficacy levels of pre-service teachers.
International Journal of Technology in Education (IJTE), 4(1), 57-67. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.47
Ata, R., & Yıldırım, K. (2019). Turkish pre-service teachers’ perceptions of digital citizenship in education programs. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 18, 419-436.
Bezir, A., Ghania, K. (2018). The Effect of Teachers Feedback on Improving Students’ Speaking Accuracy Accuracy (Doctoral dissertation, Abdelhafid Boussouf University centre-Mila).
Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives handbook: Cognitive domain. McKay.
Díaz, A. R. (2011). Developing a languaculture agenda in Australian higher education language programs. (Doctoral dissertation, Griffith University, Australia). https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2934
Duong, T. M. (2014). An investigation into effects of role-play in an EFL speaking course. Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 4(2), 81-91.
Ellis, R. (2005). Principles of instructed language learning. Asian EFL Journal, 7(3), 1-16.
Ellis, R. (2019). Towards a modular language curriculum for using tasks. Language Teaching Research, 23(4), 454-475.
Ellis, R., & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). Analyzing learner language. Oxford University Press.
Esfandiari, R. (2019). Iranian EFL Teachers’ Digital Literacy in Academic Settings: Teacher Professionalism in the Digital Age. Journal of Foreign Language Research, 9(3), 691-720.
Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13 (1): 93-106.
Ferris, D. (2002). Treatment of error in second language student writing. University of Michigan Press.
Foster, P., & Skehan, P. (1996). The influence of planning and task type on second language performance. Studies in Second language acquisition, 18(3), 299-323.
Friedrich, P. (1989). Language, ideology, and political economy. American Anthropologist, 91, 295-312.
Ghasedi, P., Mashhady, H., Okati, F., & Fallah, N. (2018). Efficacy of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Pushed Negotiations in Boosting Speaking. Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice, 11(23), 21-44.
Gilster, P. (1997). Digital literacy. John Wiley.
Global Alliance to Monitor Learning. (2018). Draft report on a global framework on digital literacy skills. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. https://gaml.cite.hku.hk
Harris, T. E. (1974). Contact interactions on a lattice. The Annals of Probability, 2(6), 969-988.
Kazemi, A., & Moradi, A. (2019). The influence of concept mapping and rehearsal on speaking accuracy and complexity. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 6(1), 1597463.
König, J., Jäger-Biela, D. J., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608-622.
Kusumawardani, V., Santoso, N. R., & Herawati, D. M. (2020). Youtube As a Media Expression of Transgender Women. ASPIRATION Journal, 1(1), 99-112.
Latham-Koenig, C., Oxenden, C., & Seligson, P. (2013). English file. Oxford University Press.
Li, L., Worch, E., Zhou, Y., & Aguiton, R. (2015). How and why digital generation teachers use technology in the classroom: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 1-9.
Li, M., & Yu, Z. (2022). Teachers’ satisfaction, role, and digital literacy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability, 14(3), 1121. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031121
 
Liaw, M., & English, K. (2017). Technologies for Teaching and Learning L2 Reading. In C. Chapelle & S. Sauro (Eds.), The handbook of technology in second language teaching and learning (pp. 62-76). Wiley‐Blackwell.
Lopez, J. I., Becerra, A. P., & Ramirez-Avila, M. R. (2021). EFL speaking fluency through authentic verbal production. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, 6(1), 37-55.
Martin, A. (2005). DigEuLit–a European framework for digital literacy: a progress report. Journal of eLiteracy, 2(2), 130-136.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Mohazabieh, S., Sahragard, R., Rassaei, E., Zamanian, M. (2021). The Joint Effects of Teacher-led and Collaborative Planning Conditions and Task Complexity on L2 Oral Production. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 13(28), 219-244.
https://doi.org/10.22034/ELT.2021.46449.2401
Mulyadi, D., Aimah, S., Arifani, Y., & Singh, C. K. S. (2022). Boosting EFL learners’ listening comprehension through a developed mobile learning application: Effectiveness and practicality. Applied Research on English Language, 11(3), 37-56.
Mulyadi, D., Wijayatiningsih, T. D., Singh, C. K. S., & Prastikawati, E. F. (2021). Effects of Technology Enhanced Task-Based Language Teaching on Learners' Listening Comprehension and Speaking Performance. International Journal of Instruction, 14(3), 717-736.
Nair, V., & Yunus, M. M. (2021). A systematic review of digital storytelling in improving speaking skills. Sustainability, 13(17), 9829.
New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social factors. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92.
Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Computers & Education, 59(3), 1065-1078.
Nova, M. (2020). Videoconferencing for Speaking Assessment Medium: Alternative or Drawback. Journal of English Education and Applied Linguistics, 9(2), 111-128.
Rajabi, M., Ghasemtabar, A., & Mahdavi Nasab, Y. (2022). Investigating the relationship between teachers' digital literacy and their views on the usability of Student Educational Network (SHAD software). Technology of Education Journal (TEJ), 16(4), 695-706.
Richards, K. (2003). Qualitative inquiry in TESOL. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Risager, K. (2005). Languaculture as a Key Concept in Language and Culture Pedagogy. In S. May, M. Franken, & R. Barnard (Eds.), LED2003, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Language, Education and Diversity, University of Waitako.
Sadaf, A., & Gezer, T. (2020). Exploring factors that influence teachers’ intentions to integrate digital literacy using the decomposed theory of planned behavior. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 36(2), 124-145.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford University Press.
Sulasmi, E. (2022). Primary School Teachers’ Digital Literacy: An Analysis on Teachers’ Skills in Using Technological Devices. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 3(2), 140-145.
Sutiah, S., Slamet, S., Shafqat, A., & Supriyono, S. (2020). Implementation of distance learning during the covid-19 pandemic in faculty of education and teacher training. Cypriot Journal of Educational Science, 15(1), 1204-1214.
Syafiq, A. N., Rahmawati, A., Anwari, A., & Oktaviana, T. (2021). Increasing speaking skill through YouTube videos as English learning material during online learning during the pandemic covid-19. Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies, 3(1), 50-55.
Syakur, A., Sugirin, S., Margana, M., Junining, E., & Sabat, Y. (2020). Improving English Language Speaking Skills Using “Absyak” On-Line Learning Model for Second Semester in Higher Education. Budapest International Research and Critics in Linguistics and Education (BirLE) Journal, 3(2), 684-694.
Tavakoli, P., & Foster, P. (2008). Task design and second language performance: The effect
of narrative type on learner output. Language Learning, 58, 439–473.
Utami, B. N. P. (2021). The use of media and technology to enhance English speaking skill during pandemic of COVID-19 era. International Conference on Education of Suryakancana, 2021 (pp. 17-26).
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, F., Guo, R., Hu, M., & GU, X. (2017). Investigating the Factors Influencing the Use of ICT in Education: A Content Analysis. International Conference of Educational Innovation through Technology (EITT), 2017 (pp. 27-31).
Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skills)
Volume 42, Issue 2
May 2023
Pages 149-171
Files
History
  • Receive Date: 12 February 2023
  • Revise Date: 29 May 2023
  • Accept Date: 05 June 2023
Share
How to cite
Statistics