Journal of University of Human Development (JUHD), 2019
In recent years, the concept of edutainment has been introduced to the field of education. It is ... more In recent years, the concept of edutainment has been introduced to the field of education. It is a blended word which has been formed from education and entertainment. The lion aim of this blending is to enhance the process of education through entertainment materials. The researchers have applied this concept to investigate students' tendencies to use various entertaining materials in their learning process at the University of Halabja\ department of English language for the academic year (2018-2019). The aim of this study is to expose the value and need of edutainment in the process of learning among these students. To achieve this goal, the researchers grounded a theoretical background about some diverged entertainment devices and their impacts on students' learning achievements. Then, formed an academic questionnaire to detect the scope of the use of entertainment sources by these students and the knock of them over their learning achievements. At the end, they analyzed and sieved the results of this questionnaire and concluded the study with their proper recommendations.
The present study is entitled “The Role of Needs Analysis in Designing a Digital Syllabus for EFL... more The present study is entitled “The Role of Needs Analysis in Designing a Digital Syllabus for EFL Undergraduate Programs”. The main aim of this study is to explore the factors that should be considered in designing a digital syllabus for EFL undergraduate programs. Therefore, the study has set up two instruments to investigate the EFL undergraduate students’ views at Mosul University through a questionnaire. According to the outcomes and the interpretation that were made throughout this study, EFL teachers and students ratify the significance of the role of the needs analysis for any trend of new syllabus design. However, an inadequate consideration of the needs of EFL students has been taken. So, there are recommendations raised through this study for the universities around Iraq to guarantee more consideration for the needs of EFL student before designing and developing any new digital syllabuses. In addition, the capacity needed, and the required training for the adaptation of di...
This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker ... more This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker Horwitz’s model (1988), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, and they applied it to explore the views of Kurdish EFL university students concerning language learning. The study aims to investigate and expose their opinions regarding language learning generally, then English language more precisely. Its significance lies in exploring the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about language learning. It mainly answers the question, “what are the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about learning English?”. The researchers administered a Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire to seven universities to achieve this aim. The questionnaire includes several viewpoints regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation and expectations. They coll...
This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker ... more This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker Horwitz’s model (1988), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, and they applied it to explore the views of Kurdish EFL university students concerning language learning. The study aims to investigate and expose their opinions regarding language learning generally, then English language more precisely. Its significance lies in exploring the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about language learning. It mainly answers the question, “what are the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about learning English?”. The researchers administered a Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire to seven universities to achieve this aim. The questionnaire includes several viewpoints regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation and expectations. They coll...
The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and n... more The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose, two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme. The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of teaching it. Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus design.
Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of ... more Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of teaching and learning. Due to this widespread use of internet, the researcher, who was the head of English department at the University of Halabja, created a Moodle site to the department at the beginning of the academic year (2014-2015) to facilitate teaching\learning process at the department. UHDEL refers to University of Halabja\Department of English Language. At the end of the year, he conducted this research study to discover the attitudes of the students towards using this Moodle. To achieve this aim, the researcher designed a questionnaire in which the students were required to reflect on using this Moodle site in their learning. The major finding of the study is that the students use the Moodle site regularly and get a great benefit from it. Furthermore, they are satisfied in using it because they can use it easily to get the class materials and resources from their teachers.
Culture has been defined and viewed in different ways. These differences are due to its involveme... more Culture has been defined and viewed in different ways. These differences are due to its involvement with various facets of human life. Some of these definitions and viewpoints are related to the process of teaching/learning a language and understanding the habits of the native speakers of the language. In this regard, many linguists consider it the fifth language skill alongside the other four traditional skills that help language learners to master the language better. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the perceptions of Kurdish EFL university students concerning the role of English culture in learning the language. The researcher attempts to achieve this aim by providing a theoretical background about culture and culture as the fifth language skill and utilizing a questionnaire to a sample of senior undergraduate students selected for this purpose. The findings of the study show that cultural awareness has an essential role in the process of English language learning. H...
Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of ... more Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of teaching and learning. Due to this widespread use of internet, the researcher, who is the head of English department at the University of Halabja, created a Moodle site to the department at the beginning of the academic year (2014-2015) to facilitate teaching\ learning process at the department. The address of the Moodle site is (https://UHDEL2009.gnomio.com). UHDEL refers to University of Halabja\ Department of English Language. At the end of the year, he conducted this research study to discover the attitudes of the students towards using this Moodle. To achieve this aim, the researcher designed a questionnaire in which the students were required to reflect on using this Moodle site in their learning. The major finding of the study is that the students use the Moodle site regularly and get a great benefit from it. Furthermore, they are satisfied in using it because they can use it easily to get the class materials and resources from their teachers.
Students commonly make spelling mistakes, especially in exams. The researcher perceived this phen... more Students commonly make spelling mistakes, especially in exams. The researcher perceived this phenomenon throughout his teaching experience for about four years. That is why he decided to conduct this research study to investigate these mistakes and analyze them. To achieve this aim, he has given a theoretical background about English spelling and some commonly misspelled words. Then, he has taken a sample of the students’ exam sheets from the module he teaches. In these exam sheets, he found out the total number of words each student used to answer the questions and the number of misspelled words to determine the percentage of misspelled ones. Finally, he has drawn conclusions and recommendations on the basis of this analysis. The major findings of the study show that no exam sheet is free of spelling mistakes. This means that making spelling mistakes is not related to the level of the students because even the students who got high marks made certain spelling mistakes.
The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive
and n... more The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose, two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme. The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of teaching it. Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus design.
Journal of University of Human Development (JUHD), 2019
In recent years, the concept of edutainment has been introduced to the field of education. It is ... more In recent years, the concept of edutainment has been introduced to the field of education. It is a blended word which has been formed from education and entertainment. The lion aim of this blending is to enhance the process of education through entertainment materials. The researchers have applied this concept to investigate students' tendencies to use various entertaining materials in their learning process at the University of Halabja\ department of English language for the academic year (2018-2019). The aim of this study is to expose the value and need of edutainment in the process of learning among these students. To achieve this goal, the researchers grounded a theoretical background about some diverged entertainment devices and their impacts on students' learning achievements. Then, formed an academic questionnaire to detect the scope of the use of entertainment sources by these students and the knock of them over their learning achievements. At the end, they analyzed and sieved the results of this questionnaire and concluded the study with their proper recommendations.
The present study is entitled “The Role of Needs Analysis in Designing a Digital Syllabus for EFL... more The present study is entitled “The Role of Needs Analysis in Designing a Digital Syllabus for EFL Undergraduate Programs”. The main aim of this study is to explore the factors that should be considered in designing a digital syllabus for EFL undergraduate programs. Therefore, the study has set up two instruments to investigate the EFL undergraduate students’ views at Mosul University through a questionnaire. According to the outcomes and the interpretation that were made throughout this study, EFL teachers and students ratify the significance of the role of the needs analysis for any trend of new syllabus design. However, an inadequate consideration of the needs of EFL students has been taken. So, there are recommendations raised through this study for the universities around Iraq to guarantee more consideration for the needs of EFL student before designing and developing any new digital syllabuses. In addition, the capacity needed, and the required training for the adaptation of di...
This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker ... more This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker Horwitz’s model (1988), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, and they applied it to explore the views of Kurdish EFL university students concerning language learning. The study aims to investigate and expose their opinions regarding language learning generally, then English language more precisely. Its significance lies in exploring the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about language learning. It mainly answers the question, “what are the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about learning English?”. The researchers administered a Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire to seven universities to achieve this aim. The questionnaire includes several viewpoints regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation and expectations. They coll...
This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker ... more This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker Horwitz’s model (1988), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, and they applied it to explore the views of Kurdish EFL university students concerning language learning. The study aims to investigate and expose their opinions regarding language learning generally, then English language more precisely. Its significance lies in exploring the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about language learning. It mainly answers the question, “what are the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about learning English?”. The researchers administered a Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire to seven universities to achieve this aim. The questionnaire includes several viewpoints regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation and expectations. They coll...
The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and n... more The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose, two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme. The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of teaching it. Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus design.
Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of ... more Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of teaching and learning. Due to this widespread use of internet, the researcher, who was the head of English department at the University of Halabja, created a Moodle site to the department at the beginning of the academic year (2014-2015) to facilitate teaching\learning process at the department. UHDEL refers to University of Halabja\Department of English Language. At the end of the year, he conducted this research study to discover the attitudes of the students towards using this Moodle. To achieve this aim, the researcher designed a questionnaire in which the students were required to reflect on using this Moodle site in their learning. The major finding of the study is that the students use the Moodle site regularly and get a great benefit from it. Furthermore, they are satisfied in using it because they can use it easily to get the class materials and resources from their teachers.
Culture has been defined and viewed in different ways. These differences are due to its involveme... more Culture has been defined and viewed in different ways. These differences are due to its involvement with various facets of human life. Some of these definitions and viewpoints are related to the process of teaching/learning a language and understanding the habits of the native speakers of the language. In this regard, many linguists consider it the fifth language skill alongside the other four traditional skills that help language learners to master the language better. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the perceptions of Kurdish EFL university students concerning the role of English culture in learning the language. The researcher attempts to achieve this aim by providing a theoretical background about culture and culture as the fifth language skill and utilizing a questionnaire to a sample of senior undergraduate students selected for this purpose. The findings of the study show that cultural awareness has an essential role in the process of English language learning. H...
Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of ... more Nowadays internet is used extensively in different aspects of life, especially in the process of teaching and learning. Due to this widespread use of internet, the researcher, who is the head of English department at the University of Halabja, created a Moodle site to the department at the beginning of the academic year (2014-2015) to facilitate teaching\ learning process at the department. The address of the Moodle site is (https://UHDEL2009.gnomio.com). UHDEL refers to University of Halabja\ Department of English Language. At the end of the year, he conducted this research study to discover the attitudes of the students towards using this Moodle. To achieve this aim, the researcher designed a questionnaire in which the students were required to reflect on using this Moodle site in their learning. The major finding of the study is that the students use the Moodle site regularly and get a great benefit from it. Furthermore, they are satisfied in using it because they can use it easily to get the class materials and resources from their teachers.
Students commonly make spelling mistakes, especially in exams. The researcher perceived this phen... more Students commonly make spelling mistakes, especially in exams. The researcher perceived this phenomenon throughout his teaching experience for about four years. That is why he decided to conduct this research study to investigate these mistakes and analyze them. To achieve this aim, he has given a theoretical background about English spelling and some commonly misspelled words. Then, he has taken a sample of the students’ exam sheets from the module he teaches. In these exam sheets, he found out the total number of words each student used to answer the questions and the number of misspelled words to determine the percentage of misspelled ones. Finally, he has drawn conclusions and recommendations on the basis of this analysis. The major findings of the study show that no exam sheet is free of spelling mistakes. This means that making spelling mistakes is not related to the level of the students because even the students who got high marks made certain spelling mistakes.
The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive
and n... more The study aims at describing and analyzing the “Sunrise” programme and showing its positive and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose, two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme. The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of teaching it. Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus design.
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Papers by Omar F Ghafor
and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the
Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose,
two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other
one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme.
The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign
language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi
Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools
and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching
environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must
be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of
teaching it.
Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus
design.
and negative points. It also tries to assess and check the suitability of the programme to the
Kurdish learners and to the teaching environment of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. For this purpose,
two questionnaires were designed in this study; one of them is for the teachers and the other
one for the students as real users of “Sunrise” to evaluate the suitability of this programme.
The main finding of the study is that the “Sunrise” is an appropriate programme for foreign
language teaching and learning, but the teaching and learning environment in the Iraqi
Kurdistan Region is not completely appropriate for applying this programme; so the schools
and classrooms must be well-prepared and equipped with the teaching aids and teaching
environments which are necessary for applying it. Besides, more teacher training courses must
be administered to familiarize the teachers with this programme and the techniques of
teaching it.
Keywords: Programme assessment, Teaching environment, EFL, Applicability, Syllabus
design.