International Journal of Research in English Education

Bangladesh is a monolingual country where Bangla is the official language for education, administration, media, literature, and cultural activities. The constitution of Bangladesh in 1972 recognized the undisputed status of Bangla as the state language of Bangladesh. Various measures have been taken by successive governments to ensure the widespread use of Bangla in all spheres of national life. In Parallel, English is being taught as a compulsory subject from class 1 throughout class 12. But the introduction of English as a compulsory subject from class 1 in the primary level has been condemned as an unnecessary burden on the infantile psyche which is already burdened with the stress of learning other subjects. The question thus raised is whether we need to teach all our population English compulsorily or selectively on the basis of needs analysis. I will try to find an answer to this question through the analysis of the use of English and Bangla in various domains of national life. This paper suggests that instead of teaching English compulsorily from primary education onward, a need-based English language teaching policy should be planned.

Metadiscourse markers are used as one of the tools which make writing more effective in social environment and are regarded as one of the most important features in communication among people for expressing the information through different linguistic expressions with cohesive and logical constructions. Accordingly, the present study aimed to identify interactive and interactional metadiscourse in a targeted sample of 100 English research articles written by Iranian writers utilizing Hyland’s taxonomy. The sample included the discussion sections of randomly selected articles with 70000 running words published between 2010 and 2016. The overall findings disclosed that, in interactive metadiscourse category, the use of transitions, frame markers, and evidentials in social science articles were more frequent than those in medical science texts. The results further revealed that the use of endophoric markers and code glosses were almost the same. In interactional metadiscourse corpora, however, the findings demonstrated that writers used hedges, boosters, and self-mentions more frequently in medical science articles compared to those in social sciences. Comparatively, the discussion sections in social science texts contained a higher percentage of engagement markers. It was also found out that there was no significant difference in the use of attitude markers in both disciplines. Notably, the social science authors seemingly preferred to employ interactive metadiscourse markers more, while the medical science authors used interactional metadiscourse markers more frequently in their research articles.

The present study was an attempt to illustrate the interaction between writers and readers. Conveying of the writers’ voice, stance, and interaction with reader was put forward within this paradigm. Being a good academic writer is highly related to the use of these strategies. Adopting a position and persuading readers of claims are very important. This study was aimed at showing the differences between Iranian and American M.A. EFL writers in using stance strategies (hedges, boosters, attitude markers, and self-mentions) in Introduction and Discussion sections of academic papers. The corpora for this study were 40 articles (20 for American native and 20 for Iranian nonnative writers) from different journals such as Journal of Research Studies in Education, English language Teaching, System, TESOL Quarterly, and ELT. The significance and frequency of items were calculated using SPSS software version 22. Such statistical tools as frequency, percentage, and Chi-square were utilized to analyze the collected data. The findings showed that there was no statistically significant difference between native and nonnative writers in using stance strategies although native writers tended to use hedges, attitude markers, and self-mentions comparatively more than nonnatives, whereas nonnative writers used a greater number of boosters.

Reading motivation is a well-researched topic in relation to first language literacy development due to its influence on both reading processes and outcomes. In second language reading, the role of motivation has not been as thoroughly explored. The aim of this review of literature is to highlight established studies as well as recent explorations in some recurring areas of first and second language reading motivation research. Focusing on reading in the English language, it provides an overview of the underlying components of reading motivation, and discusses internal and external factors that relate to students’ motivation to read. The article concludes by suggesting directions for further research in second language reading motivation, including conducting more qualitative studies, and exploring sociocultural influences and instructional practices that motivate or demotivate readers. The review is mainly intended for potential second language reading researchers and practitioners who are relatively new to the topic.

Technology can be a robust tool for converting learning. It can help assert and improve relationships between instructors and learners, change our methods to learning and collaboration, narrow long-standing availability gaps, and modify learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners. This study aimed at investigating the students’ perceptions and attitudes towards blended learning in the English Department at Hebron University (HU), learning whether the blended learning approach is suitable at HU or not, and investigating some teachers’ attitudes towards blended learning in the English Department. So as to collect data for analysis, a questionnaire was distributed to English-major students and an interview was conducted with professors in the English Department. The major findings of this quantitative and qualitative study have revealed that the blended learning approach has a great acceptance from the students, and the instructors have favorable views towards using it to ensure the success of the teaching/learning process.

The aim of this study was to examine Iranian EFL university students’ level of anxiety and their perceptions towards in-class activities during speaking courses and possible causes of apprehension. Moreover, this study investigated whether or not EFL university students’ gender differences affect their perceptions of foreign language speaking anxiety. To this end, data were collected from 175 Iranian EFL learners; 125 females and 50 males through Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) adopted from Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) followed by a structured interview. The findings showed that the level of females’ anxiety was significantly higher than that of males in impromptu speaking activities. Moreover, instructors could have an essential role in reducing the speaking anxiety. Results of the interviews confirmed the findings obtained through the questionnaire.

It is widely accepted that today’s technological world is moving in a much more speed than the past, which requires the skill of keeping up with the pace of change. This change and innovation is a must for all organizations. According to Shen (2008, p.73), this change is trickier in the educational context, where “the nature of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of those involved and the way that these are expressed in action” is of much significance. The need for innovation in education derives from the fact that they are, according to a study of the European Union reported in Popescu and Crenicean (2012, p.3982), “among the most important skills that employers seek.” Therefore, the book under review in this paper is about a topic that needs constant attention.