Reading Loss in Arabic Language During COVID-19 in the UAE and Proposed Solutions:The Perspectives of Primary-Grade Arabic Language Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the field of education worldwide,including in the United Arab Emirates.Teachers and students had to adapt to remote learning and virtual classrooms,leading to various challenges in maintaining educational standards.The sudden transition to remote teaching could have a negative impact on students’reading abilities,especially in the Arabic language.To gain insight into the unique challenges encountered by Arabic language teachers in the UAE,a survey was conducted to explore their assessment of teaching quality,student-teacher interaction,and learning outcomes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.The results of the survey revealed a significant decline of student reading abilities and identified several major issues in online Arabic language teaching.These issues included limited interaction between students and teachers,challenges in monitoring students’class participation and performance,and challenges in effectively assessing students’reading skills.The results also demonstrated some other challenges faced by Arabic language teachers,including a lack of preparedness,a lack of subscription to relevant platforms,and a lack of resources for online learning.Several solutions to these challenges are proposed,including reevaluating the balance between depth and breadth in the curriculum,integrating language skills into the curriculum more effectively,providing more comprehensive teacher professional development,implementing student grouping strategies,utilizing retired and expert teachers in specific content areas,allocating time for interventions,and improving support from both teachers and parents to ensure the quality of online learning.

Research on the Status Quo and Improvement Needs of Foreign Language Teachers’ Teaching Competence in Curriculum-Based Ideological Education in Xinjiang Colleges and Universities

This study investigated the status quo and further improvement needs of foreign language teachers’teaching competence in curriculum-based ideological education(CIE)in Xinjiang colleges and universities.The results show that the teachers’teaching competence in CIE is generally good,with the“cultivating quality”being the highest and the“scientific research quality”the lowest;there still exist several problems,such as teachers’lack of theoretical knowledge in CIE,lack of teaching resources,and insufficient abilities in teaching design and research.It is hoped that with the support and efforts from university administrations,teachers can improve their teaching competence in CIE through various approaches adopted and multiple measures taken,thus optimizing their teaching effectiveness,promoting the construction of CIE in Xinjiang colleges and universities in the new era,and contributing to Xinjiang’s high-quality development.

Development and validation of a novel questionnaire regarding vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia

AIM:To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a knowledge,attitude,and practice questionnaire related to vision screening(KAP-VST)among preschool teachers in Malaysia.METHODS:The questionnaire was developed through a literature review and discussions with experts.Content and face validation were conducted by a panel of experts(n=10)and preschool teachers(n=10),respectively.A pilot study was conducted for construct validation(n=161)and test-retest reliability(n=60)of the newly developed questionnaire.RESULTS:Based on the content and face validation,71 items were generated,and 68 items were selected after exploratory factor analysis.The content validity index for items(I-CVI)score ranged from 0.8-1.0,and the content validity index for scale(S-CVI)/Ave was 0.99.Internal consistency was KR^(2)0=0.93 for knowledge,Cronbach’s alpha=0.758 for attitude,and Cronbach’s alpha=0.856 for practice.CONCLUSION:The KAP-VST is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing knowledge,attitude,and practice in relation to vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia.

Systematizing Teacher Development:A Review of Foreign Language Teacher Learning

Foreign language teaching practice is developing rapidly,but research on foreign language teacher learning is currently relatively fragmented and unstructured.The book Foreign Language Teacher Learning,written by Professor Kang Yan from Capital Normal University,published in September 2022,makes a systematic introduction to foreign language teacher learning,which to some extent makes up for this shortcoming.Her book presents the lineage of foreign language teacher learning research at home and abroad,analyzes both theoretical and practical aspects,reviews the cuttingedge research results,and foresees the future development trend,painting a complete research picture for researchers in the field of foreign language teaching and teacher education as well as front-line teachers interested in foreign language teacher learning.This is an important inspiration for conducting foreign language teacher learning research in the future.And this paper makes a review of the book from aspects such as its content,major characteristics,contributions and limitations.

The Influence of Preschool Teachers’Social Skills on Job Burnout:A Moderated Mediation Model

Background:Teacher burnout is a serious issue in the field of education,particularly in early childhood education,where teachers face high levels of work stress and emotional labor,leading to emotional exhaustion and job burnout.However,past research has not sufficiently explored the mechanisms of social skills,empathy,and mindfulness in mitigating teacher burnout.Therefore,this study aims to investigate the relationship between preschool teachers’social skills,empathy,and mindfulness with job burnout,in order to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for reducing teacher burnout.Methods:This research utilized a convenience sampling approach to target preschool teachers for a questionnaire survey.A total of 1109 questionnaires were collected.To ensure the quality of the data,we excluded questionnaires that were not carefully filled out in terms of lie scale questions,those with abnormal demographic variables,and outliers identified based on response time.Ultimately,901 valid questionnaires were obtained,achieving a valid response rate of 81.2%.Participants’levels of social skills,empathy,mindfulness,and job burnout were assessed using the Social Skills Scale(SKS),Empathy Scale(Measure of Empathy,ME),Mindful Attention Awareness Scale(MAAS),and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey(MBI-ES),respectively.Data analysis was conducted using SPSS.Results:After controlling for gender,age,teaching experience,educational level,grade taught,and location of the kindergarten,the study found:(1)There is a negative correlation between preschool teachers’social skills and the level of job burnout(r=−0.238);(2)Empathy has a dual-track effect on job burnout,where cognitive empathy negatively affects job burnout(r=−0.245),while emotional empathy has a positive effect(r=0.045);(3)Cognitive empathy partially mediates the relationship between social skills and job burnout(β=−0.124);(4)Mindfulness significantly impacts social skills,cognitive empathy,and job burnout(r=0.278;r=0.286;r=−0.539),and plays a moderating role in the mediation model(β=0.003;β=−0.023).Conclusion:These findings provide theoretical support for the development of burnout prevention and intervention strategies targeted at preschool teachers.They also point out new directions for future research and potential intervention targets,suggesting that enhancing preschool teachers’social skills and cognitive empathy,as well as increasing their mindfulness level,can help them cope with work-related stress and emotional labor,thereby alleviating job burnout.

Language teachers should develop students' vocabulary learning skills

It is self-evident that vocabulary work is the most essential and necessary task in foreign language accepition. English language teachers should develop students’ vocabulary learning skills.

Critically Evaluate Foreign Language Teachers Training in Culture and Intercultural Communication

The aim of foreign language teaching in the contemporary is to develop foreign language talents who own intercultural competence.Thus,it is necessary to improve teachers’cultural quality and intercultural awareness.The paper explores some relevant training courses on culture and intercultural awareness,and discusses the deficiency of these courses.

Intercultural Language Education and the Challenges Chinese College English Teachers Face

Currently,intercultural language education is a topic which receives much interest due to the rise of globalization,but theories and practice in this field are on the preliminary stage of development in China.To understand ILE better,its background,theory basis,goals,related researches are reviewed and analyzed.Since ILE is relatively new in China,language teachers are facing new challenges in developing intercultural teaching competence to achieve the success of language education.Such challenges consist of understanding the language itself,the difficulty in understanding and teaching culture,designing practical classroom activities and selecting content.

外语教师发展的有效策略——评介Jack C.Richards所著Professional Development for Language Teachers:Strategies for Teacher Learning

J.C.Richards教授在英语语言教学和教师培训领域的实践经历与理论研究,对其本人关于"语言教师发展"思想体系的构建起到了积极的促进作用。他于2005年出版的Professional Development for Language Teachers:Strategies for Teacher Learning(《语言教师专业发展:教师学习策略》)一书论述了"教师教育"的本质,分析了关于"教师发展"的六个重要观点,尤其是对语言教师发展策略进行系统性阐述,以章节形式对十一种发展策略进行全面细致的介绍,并附有具体事例、教师反思、参考书目等。该书是作者对英语语言教师发展领域的理论研究及实践经验的总结,其内容及框架在注重理论知识的科学性和系统性的同时,也突出了实践操作的必要性和可行性,可以作为我国外语教师开展职业发展、提升职业素质的有益参考。

The Perceptions of Chinese ELT Stakeholders on the Employment of Foreign English Language Teachers

This article reports on part of the findings of an investigation into the perceptions of Chinese English as a foreign language(EFL)education stakeholders on native-speakerism.Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 26 students,14 teachers and eight EFL program administrators from six Chinese universities.The analysis of data reveals that the three groups of participants as an entirety expected their universities to hire native English speaker teachers(NESTs),particularly those from Britain and/or America and a certain proportion of them expressed preference for white native English speaker(NES)teachers.The vast majority of the students and teachers were also found to be unaware of workplace inequalities between NNESTs and local Chinese EFL teachers,contending that NESTs deserve better treatment.Although many administrators displayed critical awareness on this issue,they argued that the inequalities need tolerating for the well-being of their EFL programs.All these findings are indicative of the persistence of native-speakerism among Chinese ELT stakeholders and by extension the tenacity of this chauvinistic ideology across the terrain of EFL education in China.

A Study on the Lack of Junior Middle School English Teachers’Language Awareness

This paper aims to take 20 Haikou XX Middle School English teachers as research subjects to investigate their language awareness by a questionnaire.According to the data,it can be seen that they seldom apply linguistic knowledge in classroom teaching.Their phonetic appearances are poor and pay too much attention to grammar teaching.Also,they rarely teach social cultural knowledge during teaching.And they still have a teacher-centered teaching concept.In case of enhancing their language awareness,teachers should change the tendency of paying too much attention to grammar and vocabulary knowledge,prevent the tendency of excessive emphasis on imitation,and advocate the learning model which combines language knowledge teaching and skills training.What’s more,teachers should cultivate students’cultural awareness and combine language and culture in teaching English.Finally,teachers should establish a student-centered teaching concept,and help students develop positive emotions to learn English.

The Effect of Language Proficiency on the Teaching Knowledge Acquisition of English Student Teachers——Comparison of Three Repetitive Lessons

Based on the framework of classroom teaching learning process analysis, this study explores the relationship between language proficiency and the acquisition of teaching knowledge in the sample of three English repetitive lessons in senior high school by two English student teachers. After quantitative and qualitative analysis, it was found that the higher the level of language, the greater the improvement of teaching knowledge;the student with high language level has made rapid progress in teaching design, slow progress in teaching management and student learning, while the progress of the student with low language level is slow in all aspects. This study has important reference value for pre-service foreign language teacher education.

Teachers’Characteristics and Teaching Styles as Determinants of Students’Achievement in Senior Secondary Schools Civics and English Language in Osun State,Nigeria

The study examined the status of senior secondary schools’students’achievement in Civic Education and English Language in Osun State.It also investigated the Civic Education and English Language teachers’characteristics in the state and determined the teaching styles of Civic Education and English Language teachers in the study areas and finally assessed the influence of teachers’characteristics and teaching styles on students’achievement in secondary schools Civic Education and English Language.The study adopted Discriminant Analysis.The study sample consisted of 600 senior secondary school students,30 Civics teachers,and 30 English Language teachers that were selected using multi-stage sampling procedure.Four instruments were constructed and validated before use.Three research questions were asked and answered while one hypothesis was tested and verified.The results among others showed that more than 50%of the students that participated in the study had high status of achievement in Civic Education while more than 40%of English Language students that participated in the study had low status of achievement.The study also showed that teachers’characteristics pertinent to both Civic Education teachers and English Language teachers were,effective discipline skills(Civics,M=1.20,SD=0.407;English,M=1.40,SD=0.498)and good communication with parents(Civics,M=1.43,SD=0.504;English,M=1.40,SD=0.498).In addition,there was significant influence of teachers’characteristics and teaching styles on students’achievement in Civics and English Language in senior secondary schools(X^2(2)=16.37,p<0.05).The study concluded that teachers’characteristics and teaching styles are major determinants of students’achievement in Civic Education and English Language.

Investigating the writing proficiency of pre-service English as a Second Language teachers:Making use of distinguishing features

This research aims to investigate the writing proficiency of Hong Kong pre-service ESL teachers,in particular how their writing proficiency differs as characterized by distinguishing features inherent in such teachers' writing performances. Over 120 pre-service ESL teachers from various programmes in local universities in Hong Kong were recruited for the study. Results showed that the higher their writing level,the better they performed in a set task as well as in grammatical range and accuracy. The different programmes they enrolled in could affect the number of cohesive devices they tended to use. Mode and years of study had an effect on task achievement and number of cohesive device. Pre-service teachers enrolled in the teacher training programmes on a part-time basis outperformed those enrolled on a full-time basis. Teachers with more teacher training outperformed newly admitted pre-service teachers.The results of this study could provide empirical evidence for identifying different levels of writing proficiency for Hong Kong pre-service ESL teachers. On this basis,the link between the writing proficiency of pre-service ESL teachers and their assessment of student scripts could be subsequently established in a follow-up study to explore their differences in scoring focuses and strategies when scoring students' writings. This could further contribute to teacher evaluation,teacher training concerning language proficiency,and the improvement of teachers' assessment literacy in high-stakes and L2 classroom writing assessment.

Teachers' Perspective on Language Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition

"Teaching how to learn"has become very popular nowadays,and it is also very important to explore language learn ing strategies(LLS) in second language acquisition(SLA). Teachers' perspective will greatly affect the result of strategy instruction and training and how to help students acquire second language effectively is worthy researching.

A Study of International Chinese Language Teachers’Stereotypes of International Students

Teachers’stereotypes of students affect teaching behaviour.Correctly perceiving stereotypes of international students helps teachers to understand the student population more deeply and adopt effective teaching behaviour.This study focuses on the stereotypes of international Chinese language teachers towards international students in Chinese universities and its impact on teachers’classroom management and students’classroom performance.Summarizing the findings,we conclude that international Chinese language teachers have both positive and negative stereotypes of the international student body,and that negative stereotypes account for more than positive stereotypes.On this basis,this study further discusses the importance of international Chinese language teachers being aware of the existence of stereotypes of international students,and makes suggestions to strengthen the positive influences and weaken the negative ones.

Curriculum Discourse and Foreign Language Teachers'Professional Development

The significance and status of the teachers'professional development make the education system and the society pay more and more attentions.The article elaborates the internal contact of curriculum discourse and teachers'professional development from a few respects such as the rationality of curriculum discourse,the long-term nature of the teachers'professional development and many factors affecting the teachers'professional development.The article also analyzes the external and internal factors influencing Tibet foreign language teachers'professional development,and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures in the light of these problems.

Beliefs about Language Learning Held by Pre-service Teachers:A case study

Language learning beliefs play a very important role in influencing learners' attitudes,motivations and also shape their experiences and actions in classroom.Successful learners develop insightful beliefs about language learning process,their own abilities and the use of effective strategies.However language learning beliefs can be different because of individual learner differences and contextual diversity.This study aimed at exploring beliefs about language learning held by pre-service teachers.159 pre-service teachers majoring in English at Qianan Normal College for Nationalities participated in the study.A 34-item questionnaire adapted from Horwitz's(1987) BALLI was used to collect the data.The results were reported and discussed from the following five aspects:1) beliefs about foreign language aptitude,2) beliefs about difficulty of language learning,3) beliefs about nature of language learning,4) beliefs about learning and communication strategies,and 5) beliefs about motivation and expectations.Suggestions on pedagogical implications and for future research were also indicated.

A Study on English Teachers'Roles in Language Teaching

With the teaching reform becoming deepened, people have recognized that the roles of teachers should be constantly enriched and re-defined. English teachers must go out of the rigid teaching model to adapt to the development of teaching approach, and then play new roles and become modern English teachers with good quality. This, in turn, further promotes English teaching reform. The realization of the shift of the roles of teachers in class has become an inevitable tendency.