Ghada Awada

The Impact of WebQuest and Gender on Writing Achievement in Professional Business English

This article reports the results of an experimental study that examined the relative effectiveness of the WebQuest (WQ) technological model in improving the English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) writing proficiency of a cohort of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners who were enrolled in a certified university professional business program in Lebanon. The study looked into the question of whether WebQuest is perceived as a significant and efficacious teaching tool. The study is based on the assumptions that language instructors can use the WQ as a useful source of authentic materials that enrich the content and exercises of the regular English for Specific Purposes (ESP) textbooks. The study employed an experimental pretest-posttest control group design. Descriptive statistics were calculated on performance scores of learners in the control and experimental groups, and by gender, following which a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) test was conducted in order to address the questions raised in the study regarding the effect of the treatment conditions, gender, and the interaction between treatment and gender. The results of the study showed no WQI significant treatment effects, and no significant interaction effects of treatment and gender on writing achievement. It was also found that females outperformed males.

Impact of Google Earth and ePals Models on Perceptions, Research and Oral Presentation Skills

The article reports the findings of a study that investigated the relative effectiveness of the Google Earth and ePals tools in enhancing geographical research and speaking skills of learners enrolled in Study Skills class in a university in Lebanon and on increasing their levels of motivation for conducting research and delivering presentations. The study is based on the assumptions that the integration of Google Earth and ePals provides an excellent opportunity for teachers to improve students’ presentation and research skills. Another assumption is that female learners will report a more significant progress than their male counterparts. The study used the pre-test post-test control design. Descriptive statistics were computed, and a series of independent sample and paired samples t-tests and a content analysis of the qualitative data reporting the participants’ perceptions of their Google Earth and ePals experience were undertaken. The results of the study indicated that the use of Google Earth and ePals significantly improved the geographical research and oral presentation skills as well as their perceptions towards learning. However, no significant difference in the achievements of males and females was indicated. Implications and further research to examine the interaction of the treatment effects with other contextual variables were reported.

Effect of WhatsApp on critique writing proficiency and perceptions toward learning

Abstract This article reports the results of an experimental study on the effectiveness of mobile technology (WhatsApp) in improving the critique writing skills of English as a Foreign Language learners and increasing their motivation for learning. The participants (n = 52) are Average-English proficient learners enrolled in two writing courses given at two English-medium universities. The study employed the factorial mixed methods pretest-posttest control group experimental design whereby two intact Sophomore Rhetoric classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. The experimental conditions included the integration of the WhatsApp application into the experimental group class, whereas participants in the control group were given the regular Sophomore Rhetoric instruction with no WhatsApp mediation. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and two Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) tests were used to address the questions raised in the study. Qualitative data using 2 questionnaires including open-ended question and quantitative data using Pretests and posttests were collected. Results indicated that the use of the WhatsApp mediation was more effective than the regular instruction in improving the critique writing proficiency of the participants and in increasing their motivation for learning.

Lebanon’s 2011 ICT education reform strategy and action plan: Curriculum success or abeyance

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of Lebanon’s Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan (LERSAP) set in 2011 as a form of the educational reform the curriculum underwent through focusing on promoting and employing the information communication technology (ICT) tools. The LERSAP was launched to equip teachers with the expertise and competencies adopted to bridge the disparity between the 1997 curriculum guidelines, general and instructional objectives on the one hand and the curriculum implementation, textbooks, and pedagogical practices on the other hand. The general objectives, introductions, instructional objectives, and activities for grades 3, 6, and 9 of the Lebanese English language curriculum were analyzed using the qualitative design implemented to serve the purposes of the study and to build on the approaches that inform about the theoretical/conceptual and empirical literature on education in Lebanon. The findings of the study indicated that the synthesis of the extant literature underscored the positive effect of the ICT tools in general and that of the WebQuest, Wiki, Google Drive, and Window Live Movie Maker models in particular on improving the pedagogical practices of the teachers and on enhancing the learners’ skills as well as increasing the motivation of the learners.

Effect of the Paideia Seminar on the Comprehension of Poetry and Reading Anxiety.

This article reports the results of an experimental study on the relative effectiveness of the Paideia Seminar in improving the comprehension of poetry and decreasing reading anxiety. The participants (n = 50) were English as a foreign language (EFL) ninth grade learners enrolled in classrooms at a public school in Lebanon. The study employed a pre-test – post-test control group design whereby two intact classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. The results indicated that the use of Paideia Seminar was more effective than regular reading instruction in improving the reading comprehension achievement of the experimental group participants and in decreasing reading anxiety. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

A call for curriculum reform to combat refugees crisis: the case of Lebanon

ABSTRACT The study was set to elicit teachers’ perceptions of adopting a new curriculum integrating Human Rights Education (HRE) into most school subjects and developing textbooks which could address the mainstreaming of the Syrian children into the Lebanese schools especially after the influx of more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees who migrated to Lebanon due to the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011. The present study employed a descriptive qualitative methodology design. Thus, the policy context and current HRE literature were assessed and reported along with the responses to a survey developed by BEMIS, a national body established in 2001 to promote and develop capacity and support inclusion and integration of ethnic minorities in Scotland. The BEMIS survey was conducted as a mapping exercise eliciting data required to help address the study questions. The study findings yielded recommendations that underscored the necessity of developing new curriculum and textbooks integrating HRE focused on accepting diversity, building peace culture, democracy and citizenship as well as utilizing the whole-school approach and the transformative model.