Advanced Education

ENHANCING MANUSCRIPT QUALITY: COMMON MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH PAPERS

Zoia Kornieva — 2024-08-14

This editorial offers a comprehensive guide for researchers planning to publish in high-impact education journals. It identifies common pitfalls in manuscript submissions and provides practical recommendations to overcome them. The paper emphasizes the importance of aligning with a journal's aims and scope, adhering to submission guidelines, and effectively structuring the manuscript using the IMRAD model. It also addresses weaknesses in various manuscript sections and underlines the significance of citing up-to-date sources, detailed methodological descriptions, ethical considerations, and a logical flow between sections. It concludes that respectful communication in response letters to reviewers significantly impacts the publication decision. Additionally, it offers valuable strategies to improve publication success in high-impact education journals.

COVERT SIMULTANEOUS POST-EDITING IN ONLINE ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ SIGHT TRANSLATION

Leonid Mykolayovych Chernovaty — 2024-08-14

This first attempt aims to determine the extent of students’ covert use of machine translation (MT) in the online assessment of their sight translation, the strategies of such use, and its signs. The study is based on the analysis of target texts (TT) of specialised online sight translation from Ukrainian into English by 13 BA and 10 MA students. The procedure involved the comparison of the students' TTs with their MT counterparts. Signs of covert MT were found in 46% of the BA and 30% of the MA students’ translations. The main method of this covert MT use is "simultaneous post-editing", i.e., the immediate oral post-editing of the MT text generated by the students on their screens and hidden from the assessor, while they deliver their supposedly original TTs. Simultaneous post-editing strategies range from replacing individual lexemes with their synonyms, adding and deleting elements, changing the syntactic functions of words or phrases, rearranging sentence fragments, transforming their structure, to applying several of these strategies simultaneously. Other methods of concealment include alternating MT systems in translating the same source text, as well as artificially slowing down the process of reading the TT from the screen, accompanied by pauses in the relevant text fragments to perform certain mental operations. In order to increase objectivity, the author recommends a delayed assessment of students' online interpreting recordings. The research perspective is to study the didactic potential of simultaneous post-editing as a procedure for developing general interpreting skills.

ONLINE FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING BASED ON TELECOLLABORATIVE TASKS AND PROJECTS

Ricardo Casañ-Pitarch — 2024-08-14

The development of new forms of technology has resulted in new methodologies and approaches in pedagogical practices, particularly within the field of foreign language education. This is especially useful in foreign language teaching because it allows students geographically distant to interact remotely. Moreover, the integration of task-based and project-oriented approaches implies a substantial increase in the quality and volume of communicative exchanges in virtual learning environments. This study aims to undertake a comparative analysis of two distinct online groups engaged in the same English B2 level course, although with different pedagogical strategies. While one group engages in collaborative, communicative tasks and a collective project, the other focuses on the individual completion of exercises and drills. Pre- and post-tests were administered to participants of both groups to gauge their linguistic progression. The findings reveal that the group involved in interactive tasks and collaborative projects demonstrated superior advancements in language proficiency. Furthermore, these participants reported an enhanced sense of confidence in their communicative competencies within professional contexts. The study concludes that integrating project-based learning and telecollaborative practices holds considerable potential to enhance the efficacy of foreign language instruction.

UKRAINIAN PHD STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD AI LANGUAGE PROCESSING TOOLS IN THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Natalie Kramar — 2024-08-14

Mastering academic writing skills in English is essential for future researchers. At present, AI language processing tools provide high-quality, accessible, and fast assistance for translation, editing, and stylistic enhancement of scientific texts. However, their use within English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses generates mixed reactions among educators and raises ethical concerns. Our study aimed to explore the predominant perceptions of AI language processing tools by PhD students of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) from the viewpoint of their integration into the academic English course taught in the first year of their PhD studies. The study involved 52 PhD students from various NASU institutes. They completed a survey with both closed-ended and open-ended questions regarding their previous and expected use of online translators, writing enhancement tools, and ChatGPT for research writing purposes. The results of the survey show that NASU PhD students have extensive experience with online translators, but are less familiar with writing enhancement tools and less certain about their potential use in the future. Almost a third of the respondents expressed reservations about using ChatGPT for academic writing due to academic integrity concerns. Most of the respondents (66%) agree that the basics of ethical use of AI writing and editing tools should be incorporated into EAP courses. One subgroup of the participants (n = 11) took part in a small-scale additional intervention focused on writing enhancement tools. They were asked to apply Grammarly, QuillBot, and ChatGPT to edit their course projects (presentations of the current state of their dissertation research) and compare these tools according to various criteria. The feedback provided by this subgroup indicates that they were most satisfied with the quality of editing provided by ChatGPT but found Grammarly and QuillBot easier to use and more suitable for superficial grammar checks. We found out that the AI tools helped participants achieve improvements primarily in such aspects as the use of articles, punctuation, use of prepositions, and elimination of redundancy. The study has significant pedagogical implications, promoting the wider use of AI tools in the context of teaching English for Academic Purposes and addressing appropriate teaching techniques and methods.

THE USE OF ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION IN MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS IN JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEACHING

Olha Luchenko — 2024-08-14

Purpose. This article examines the use of English medium instruction (EMI) for teaching Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) by non-native speakers with a focus on multilingual classrooms. It also explores teachers’ positive and negative beliefs about using EMI in classroom settings for JFL instruction. Methods and procedure. 274 non-native Japanese language teachers from around the world (57 countries) voluntarily participated in a survey, answering a questionnaire on Google Forms and Jotform. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. The research instrument was piloted before the main study and was found to be effective and adequate to elicit the desired data. The research questions aimed to identify whether there were any relationships between the use of EMI and the multilingual classroom. Findings. The results showed a clear correlation between the extensive use of EMI and the multilingual character of JFL classrooms. Translanguaging turned out to be a common practice adopted by non-native Japanese teachers regardless of the primary language of instruction. The article concludes that EMI can be a valuable tool for JFL instruction in multilingual classrooms. Based on the investigation of the teachers’ beliefs, the results showed a changing positive attitude towards English employed in JFL classrooms. Implications for research and practice. The findings can be used to further investigate EMI in JFL instructional practices in multilingual classrooms, improve the quality of JFL instruction and facilitate the integration of multilingual education into foreign language teaching. Future research can explore the effectiveness of EMI in different JFL contexts and investigate the impact of EMI on students’ language learning outcomes.

INSTAGRAM IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Eva Maierová — 2024-08-14

The purpose of the study is to explore the potential of integrating Instagram in university-level English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses, focusing on Business English for Advanced Students. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines qualitative data from observing the completion of Instagram-based assignments and subsequent semi-structured group interviews with quantitative data from a five-point Likert scale questionnaire distributed to the students who participated in the study. The research sample consisted of twenty-six undergraduate students from the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, who completed four Instagram-based tasks related to communication, international marketing, promoting Slovakia, and success, which were linked to topics covered in the course during the winter semester of the academic year 2020/2021. The findings show that Instagram can be used effectively in ESAP courses mainly due to its popularity, visual appeal of posts, and, most importantly, as a platform that serves as a powerful marketing tool. The results indicate that the implementation of Instagram activities was positively perceived by most students, with high levels of agreement regarding the relevance, engagement, and creativity of the tasks. The study highlights the potential benefits of using Instagram in ESAP, providing insights into effective language learning through authentic, business-related tasks. Ultimately, integrating Instagram into ESAP can enable students to develop the language skills and competencies needed in real business contexts.

TEACHER MULTILINGUAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM: IMPLICATIONS FOR COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Viktoriia Osidak — 2024-08-14

The CEFR and the Companion Volume to the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001, 2020), as the main language policy documents in Europe, intend to improve the standard of language teaching, learning and assessment. These documents among other things proclaim students’ diverse linguistic repertoire as an asset in the language classroom. In this light, the promotion of multilingual education initiatives and enhancing students’ plurilingualism is an educational requirement. Teachers, language teachers included, are seen as agents of change who can foster multilingual approaches in their language classrooms (Krulatz et al., 2022). Although previous studies have found that many language teachers hold favourable views on multilingualism, they face challenges when implementing multilingual approaches in the (foreign) language classroom. Teachers’ beliefs on multilingualism in (foreign) language teaching and learning and how these impact their teaching practices have not been investigated in the Ukrainian education context, which has always been multilingual. The purpose of the article is to share and discuss the results of a quantitative study designed to investigate Ukrainian teacher beliefs in learning English and whether these beliefs are reflected in teaching practices. Data were collected using an online questionnaire administered to 73 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from 12 Ukrainian universities. The research questions were ascertained using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The collected insights helped to identify areas that require a more careful consideration in the multilingual education in Ukraine. The outcomes reveal complex and uneven relationships between teacher multilingual beliefs and the implementation of multilingual practices in EFL classrooms in Ukraine, with discrepancies in their perceptions and practices. The main finding suggests that the majority of Ukrainian language teachers have a favorable perception of multilingualism, yet they lack the required expertise and confidence to effectively build on their students' linguistic resources in teaching English. In addition, there are some critical gaps in teacher understanding of fundamental concerns about multilingualism. Suggestions will be made for a scenario-based approach to a teacher professional development course.

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PORTFOLIOS IN FOSTERING STUDENT COURSE ENGAGEMENT

Ivana Cimermanova — 2024-08-14

Reflective learning is an important factor that has a positive impact on students’ learning efficacy. The study aims to bring insight into the use of e-portfolios as a means and tool to promote reflection in the classroom and build self-reflection habits, plan learning activities and build learning autonomy. Mahara e-portfolio was used during the period of eight months with a group of secondary school students in Croatia (n = 57) who filled in the student course engagement questionnaire consisting of 23 Likert-scale items before and after this period. The questionnaire data are categorized into four categories, dimensions: skills engagement, participation/ interaction engagement, emotional engagement and performance engagement. Students systematically worked with Mahara, and based on the data collected that were analysed using Statistica software, no positive impact on students’ engagement was proved. Even though the quantitative results are relatively neutral, the observations and discussions with teachers and students indicate a positive impact on motivation. Building autonomy and using tools for reflection and self-reflection should become necessary components of university pre-service teacher education.

BEHIND THE COMPUTER SCREEN: PERSPECTIVES ON INFORMATION ETHICS AMONG MUSIC EDUCATION STUDENTS

Levent ÜNLÜ — 2024-08-14

This study aims to understand the views and attitudes of students in the Music Education department at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University Faculty of Education regarding informatics ethics. This research was conducted using a general survey model quantitative research design. The universe of the study comprised students in the Music Education department at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University Faculty of Education. The selected sample, consisting of 73 students who volunteered to participate during the 2023-2024 Academic Year, was used for data collection. An information form created by the researchers and the "Real-Life Situation Scenarios with Informatics Ethics" (RLSSIE) Scale were employed in the data collection process. Overall, the students were found to have moderate views and attitudes toward information ethics. Demographic factors such as gender, age, and class level were observed to have a significant impact on ethical evaluations. Additionally, evaluations based on different scenarios revealed that participants were generally sensitive to ethical values. The influence of factors like residence and income perception on ethical views and attitudes was limited. Notably, participants who connected to the internet via mobile phones had higher ethical views and attitude scores compared to those using computers and tablets. However, the study observed that internet usage quotas did not have a significant impact on general ethical attitudes. The findings indicate that information ethics topics play a crucial role in overall ethical evaluations and suggest that individuals have a broad perspective.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PEDAGOGY: CULTIVATING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Sonny Gad Attipoe — 2024-08-14

The present study explores the integration of critical thinking skills concepts in agricultural project management instruction at the undergraduate level, using the traditional classroom theoretical approach and a blended learning model. The study, encompassing 118 undergraduate students, compares the effectiveness of these methods in enhancing students' understanding, measured through examination scores, group presentations, and students’ overall perceptions of the use of the methods. Students achieved a mean examination score of 64.82% under the traditional approach and 72.66% for the blended learning approach. Statistical analysis, including a t-test, revealed significant differences favoring the blended approach. Additionally, performance assessments using six criteria during presentations yielded varied mean scores. ANOVA analysis showed a significant difference among the groups, and post hoc tests highlighted distinctions between specific groups’ means, emphasizing the effectiveness of blended learning in enhancing students understanding. Students' perceptions, gathered through a 5-point Likert scale, underscored satisfaction with the blended approach due to its flexibility, catering to diverse learning styles, and fostering critical thinking skills. We recommend institutions strengthen project management instruction by adopting blended learning, emphasizing critical thinking, and prioritizing continuous assessment and student-centric approaches since they cultivate an engaging learning experience, preparing students for managing future complexities on projects.