Ghazi Ghaith

The Relationship between Perceptions of Teaching Concerns, Teacher Efficacy, and Selected Teacher Characteristics.

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between teacher characteristics (gender, grade level taught, experience), personal and general teacher efficacy, and the perception of teaching concerns. Participants included 292 Lebanese teachers from diverse school backgrounds with a wide range of teaching experience. They completed a standard teacher efficacy questionnaire and another questionnaire that assessed their concerns about their professional practice. Results indicated that experience and personal efficacy were negatively related to the perception of teaching concerns whereas gender, grade level taught, and general efficacy were not related to the perception of any of the categories of teaching concerns. The results also revealed that beginning teachers and those with low sense of personal efficacy were concerned about the task of teaching and the impact they make as teachers more than their highly experienced and more personally efficacious counterparts. Implications for teacher development and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Effects of the Learning Together Model of Cooperative Learning on English as a Foreign Language Reading Achievement, Academic Self-Esteem, and Feelings of School Alienation

Abstract This study investigated the effects of the Learning Together cooperative learning model in improving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading achievement and academic self-esteem and in decreasing feelings of school alienation. Fifty-six Lebanese high school learners of EFL participated in the study, and a pretest-posttest control group experimental design was employed. The results indicated no statistically significant differences between the control and experimental groups on the dependent variables of academic self-esteem and feelings of school alienation. However, the results revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group on the variable of EFL reading achievement. The author discusses pedagogical implications and suggests recommendations for further research.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN READING ATTITUDES, ACHIEVEMENT, AND LEARNERS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR JIGSAW II COOPERATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

This study investigated the relationship between reading attitudes, achievement, and learners perceptions of their Jigsaw II cooperative learning (CL) experience. One hundred eleven (n = 111) eighth grade students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) enrolled in four sections in two branches of a middle school in Lebanon participated in the study. The participants completed two questionnaires and a semantic differential scale that assessed their reading attitudes and perception of their Jigsaw II CL experience. In addition, the participants took a pretest and a posttest specifically designed for the purpose of the study. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were computed and two multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) tests were conducted in order to address the questions raised in the study. Results indicated that reading attitudes and reading achievement were positively internally related, but not related to the perception of the Jigsaw II cooperative experience. Furthermore, the results revealed certain statistically significant differences between high and low achievers and between males and females across the variables of reading attitudes, achievement, and perception of the Jigsaw II cooperative experience. The results are discussed in light of previous research findings and with reference to the cultural context of the present study.

Effect of Religion, First Foreign Language, and Gender on the Perception of the Utility of Language

This study investigates the linguistic attitudes of college students in Lebanon towards the languages that help define the multilingual character of the country, namely, Arabic, French, and English. One hundred seventy-six (n = 176) students completed a 31-item questionnaire that assessed their attitudes towards the utility of each of the 3 languages. The results of the study show that students perceived the foreign languages, French and English, as more useful than the native language, Arabic, in the domains of science, technology, and business. In addition, although the study shows no statistically significant differences in the attitudes of male and female students, it shows that the variables of religion and first foreign language studied at school influenced the linguistic attitudes of the participants. The results are discussed in light of the religious and socioeconomic composition of the Lebanese society.

An Exploratory Study of the Achievement of the Twenty-First Century Skills in Higher Education.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey study of the achievement of twenty‐first century skills in higher education.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a quantitative survey design.Findings – The findings indicate that the basic scientific and technological skills of reading critically and writing persuasively as well as accessing and using information efficiently have been achieved to a great extent in the context of the study; whereas, mathematical and scientific skills and global awareness and cross‐cultural issues still need more attention. Variations in the level of mastery as well as gender differences in the achievement of certain skills clusters were also identified and discussed in light of the robustness of the theory of the “universal digital native”.Research limitations/implications – The results cannot be generalized into other contexts and the data were basically self‐reported and not corroborated by evidence from triangulated sources.Practical i...

An integrated approach to foreign language learning in Lebanon

This article describes the procedures followed in developing a theme‐based English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum to be implemented nation‐wide in the Republic of Lebanon. The description covers the procedures followed in forming curricular objectives, developing perspectives on instruction, setting criteria for material selection and adaptation, and devising evaluation guidelines. These objectives were grounded in some national policy initiatives and based on a variety of curricular plans. Similarly, the perspectives on instruction, material development, and evaluation guidelines were developed based on widely accepted theoretical views and effective applications in foreign language education.

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.

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.