Game-Based Student Response Systems: The Impact of Kahoot in a Chilean Vocational Higher Education EFL Classroom
Notwithstanding the widespread use of technology in everyday life, there is scant empirical evidence of its impact on students' academic learning, particularly in EFL settings. This study sought to determine the impact of a digital game-based student response system called Kahoot on students' English language learning at a Chilean vocational higher-education EFL classroom. To this end, a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was set up. A survey was also administered to explore students' perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of Kahoot in the EFL classroom. The results of the quasi-experiment showed a statistically significant difference in scores of a low-stakes test for students who used Kahoot versus students who did not. Additionally, the results from the survey indicated that students' perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of Kahoot were found to be highly positive, which contributed to creating a better classroom environment and fostered a better academic performance
An interrogation of the role of critical thinking in English language pedagogy in Chile
The present study aims to critically interrogate the role of Critical Thinking (CT) in English language education in Chile through the analysis of teacher educators' and postgraduate students' perceptions and understandings of CT in relation to their academic trajectories through university. Five postgraduate students and five teacher educators from three different Masters of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (MTEFL) programs agreed to take part in the research. Informed by a qualitative paradigm, semi-structured interviews were conducted aimed mainly at (1) unpacking teacher educators' and postgraduate students' understandings of CT; (2) investigating postgraduates' views of the place of critical thinking in their English teacher education training; (3) examining the ways in which teacher educators deal with CT in their pedagogies; and (4) identifying students' preparedness to approach reading and writing critically, as viewed by both groups of participants. Analysis of responses revealed, on the one hand, students' recognition of CT skills as necessary to succeed in academic life and, on the other, great concerns for the limited importance accorded to teaching these skills in teacher education courses. Teacher educators' responses generally showed an increasing interest in trying to incorporate the teaching of CT skills in their pedagogies, but admitted to an overall lack of consistency in the implementation process. The paper concludes with critical questions about the perceived pedagogical mismatches between teacher educators' and postgraduate students' perceptions of the role of CT in their academic journeys, and about the role of Chilean teacher education programs in addressing these issues.
International Students' Perceptions of and Attitudes towards their Chinese Accented English in Academic Contexts
Dominant processes of economic and cultural globalization have accelerated the use of English as a medium of instruction and precipitated diverse, yet intersected global student mobility, which have resulted in varied forms and uses of English in academic contexts. The present study reports on the findings of research into the attitudes and perceptions of a group of Chinese students studying English as an Additional Language (EAL) towards the legitimacy of non-native speaker (NNS) accents, including their own, as used in cross-cultural interactions in academic contexts. The research aims at unpacking students' views of their Chinese accented English to better understand the ways in which their attitudes towards English accents help negotiate and sustain their ethnic identities in academic contexts. Drawing on a qualitative paradigm, the study utilized in-depth interviews with a sample of four participants. The results suggested that intelligibility is highly regarded at least at the cognitive level, which gives their idiolectal varieties of English greater legitimacy. However, such a hard-developed belief is seriously thwarted by their lived experiences of discrimination over their accented speech, which pushes them back, yet again, to a position of perceived inferiority that hinders their active participation in their academic contexts.
On the portrayal of indigenous peoples in English language teaching coursebooks used in Chile: a critical visual literacy/socio‑semiotic study
This research critically examines the multifaceted role of English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks beyond mere language learning objectives. Specifcally, the study focuses on how these coursebooks often project universal cultural values that, though seemingly bland, can perpetuate power dynamics leading to various forms of inequality. Drawing on a qualitative methodology that amalgamates socio-semiotic analysis and critical visual literacy, the investigation scrutinizes the portrayal of indigenous peoples within 12 EFL coursebooks used in state-run and subsidized schools across Chile. Furthermore, the research explores the viewpoints and attitudes of seven EFL teachers towards the visual representations of indigenous peoples compared to non-indigenous individuals depicted in the same coursebooks. The fndings suggest that indigenous peoples are often depicted as stereotypical remnants of the past, oversimplifying their intricate cultural attributes and presenting them as disconnected from contemporary society. Moreover, the study identifes the failure of coursebook publishers in acknowledging the richness and diversity of indigenous cultures, thereby perpetuating cultural stereotypes and contributing to the process of otherising, which reinforces a sense of separation between the majority ("us") and the indigenous minority ("them").
Multimodality as a “third space” for English as an additional language or dialect teaching: early career teachers’ use and integration of technology in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms
This research reports on a qualitative study that examines early career teachers’ preparedness for the pedagogical use and integration of (digital) technology in culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) classrooms. In particular, it explores and unpacks teachers’ views of and experiences with the affordances of technology and feelings of preparedness to create a multimodal “third space” in the classroom that leverages the practices that learners have developed in the “first space” of their homes and communities and what they must develop in “the second space” of school. In-depth semi-structured interviews with eight mainstream secondary school teachers in Sydney addressed three broad dimensions: (i) their feelings of preparedness to implement multimodal classroom practice for English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) students; (ii) their challenges and experiences with digital technology in creating a multimodal “third space”; and (iii) the teachers’ observed and perceived benefits of a multimodal “third space” to support the needs of EAL/D learners. Analysis of interview data revealed that although teachers reported sufficient knowledge of and confidence with digital technology and acknowledged the potential of multimodal environments for supporting EAL/D learners’ needs, they do not appear to be pedagogically prepared to deliver multimodal classroom practice due to the lack of preparation in initial teacher education (ITE) courses and an overcrowded curriculum, which do not always allow for the creation of third spaces in the classroom.