Niger is a French-speaking country with a history of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in its middle and high schools. The teachers providing instruction in these programs have been trained in different ways including university-based programs, out of country programs, or no training at all. This study sought to examine the beliefs of Nigerien EFL teachers and analyze the relationship between their beliefs and their training. All EFL teachers in Niger were surveyed to understand their beliefs related to teaching. We found that training was related to teacher beliefs. As Niger determines how best to allocate its limited educational resources this study provides some indication of how training connects to teacher beliefs

The purpose of this study is to ponder some theoretical considerations concerning a predominant phenomenon of mental translation (MT) observed by second language teachers and learners in learning and using a second/foreign language. The sample available to the researcher consists of seven female adult learners speaking different languages. The choice of the sample is not related to the age level of the learners, but their English level (5-6) according to the Canadian Language Benchmarks. The research instruments used in this study are two compositions written on two occasions, during 2013-2015 and in 2016, a personal questionnaire, a strategy questionnaire, and a structured face-to-face interview. The results show that learners use mental translation as a strategy to compare and establish similarities and differences between first language (L1) and second language (L2). The learners create a translational zone where they put the results of the comparisons between L1 and L2 (MT product). The MT product becomes a procedural knowledge, stored in the long-term memory. To write in L2, the learners retrieve the information from their translational zone automatically and without awareness. The type of errors made in both written compositions shows how the influence of the mother tongue prevails despite the time living in the second language country, or the study within an academic system or with tutors. The use of mental translation as a strategy and as a product can explain the errors made by the learners in the second language and the prevalence of the influence of L1 in learning and using L2

This investigation examined the influence perceptions play in the transfer decisions of community college students. Studying this problem provided insight which facilitated the transition from two- to four-year university and helped retention efforts. A quantitative method was used, employing an anonymous Likert survey. Two hundred and eight Early Childhood Education students received an invitation to participate in the research project via a link to the anonymous survey. Thirty-two percent of the urban community college students invited to participate did so. A descriptive picture of the participant sample was painted using frequency tests. Analysis of the relationships between the dependent variable (the decision to transfer) and the independent variables (perceptions) was completed using Kruskal-Wallis tests, and the correctness of these outcomes was established using Pearson correlations. Finally, multiple regressions were used to ascertain the predictability of a researcher-created transition/barrier perception model. The Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed there was a statistically significant relationship between students’ perceptions and their decision to transfer. Furthermore, the Pearson correlations confirmed the Kruskal-Wallis findings. The results of the regressions indicated the model created by the researcher was a predictor for community college students’ transfer decisions. In the end, the data reinforced the idea perceptions of urban community college students impact their decision to transition into a four-year private university.

Although most people acknowledge the importance of interactions in class, it is commonly seensome students still rarely actively participate in face-to-face interactions, especially those from a Confucian cultural background. Previous research focused on many factors to understand this phenomenon, yet social anxiousness has not been given enough attention as a possible reason. This correlational study on 93 Chinese undergraduates attempted to investigate the influences of social anxiousness on students’ interactions in class, using Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) by Leary (1983), and a self-reported measure of students’ interaction in class developed by the researchers. Results indicated that both students’ social anxiousness and negative attitudes toward the needs of interactions in class significantly influenced their classroom interactions.

Using current events to help preservice teachers understand the world they live in encourages preservice teachers to learn about global issues. It also encourages them to develop skills in analytical thinking and reflective judgment by reading and discussing complex real-life scenarios. A semester-long pen-pal project was crafted to help understand how preservice teachers develop intercultural competence, critical empathy, and become less ethnocentric. Twenty-Six American early childhood preservice teachers in Midwestern state were randomly paired with Turkish early childhood preserivce teachers as their pen-pals. The findings of this qualitative study revealed American preservice teachers had learning curves, but many eventually came to unpack their privileges and preconceived notions, as well as expend their worldviews. Implications of how to assist preservice teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students are addressed.