20 February 2024

The Journal of Teaching English With Technology (TEWT) New Issue

The Editors in Chief would like to announce some exciting recent news in this Issue-one message!

Teaching English with Technology, 24(1), 2024, 1, http://www.tewtjournal.org

FROM THE EDITORS

by Christopher Alexander and Jarosław Krajka

University of Nicosia, Cyprus/ Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland

alexander.c @ unic.ac.cy & jarek.krajka @ gmail.com


The Editors in Chief would like to announce some of the recent news in this Issue One message:

1. TEwT’s support of Palestinian researcher Ms Hidayat Abu Elhawa

2024 marks the 24th year of operation of the Journal of Teaching English with Technology (TEwT). It was the vision of the founder of the Journal, Dr Jarosław Krajka, to create an egalitarian forum for the sharing of cuttingedge, peer-reviewed research to the wider international community of predominantly TESOL and CALL practitioners. Moreover, the idea to support underprivileged researchers still holds strong today as a central tenet of TEwT with for instance TEwT’s decision to lead in this current issue with the paper of Ms Hidayat Abu Elhawa, who is the Palestinian main author of that article. In October 2023, Palestine was once again engulfed in war, severely disrupting the everyday life of its citizens. The conflict wreaked havoc on the country’s routine activities, and turmoil and violence became a recurring theme in the educational environment of schools and universities. Hidayat is also a PhD in TESOL student at the University of Nicosia, with Dr Christopher Alexander and Dr Jarosław Krajka serving as her first and second supervisors. Therefore, in spite of all the daily challenges Hidayat faces, including even being randomly shot or killed, Hidayat has still managed to stay focused and share her PhD case-study research findings to the TESOL and CALL community at large. She therefore serves as a shining example to us all. Consequently, if you would like to show your solidarity for Hidayat, please disseminate and/or cite her paper.

2. ‘Do your PhD in TESOL at the University of Nicosia with the Editors in Chief of TEwT as supervisors’

Even though the TEwT Editors in Chief are already supervising many PhDin TESOL students at the University of Nicosia (click here to see the PhD in TESOL programme), this initiative is now being announced formally. We are particularly interested in AI-related studies. For more information, contact Dr Christopher Alexander on [email protected].

3. Rising Scopus CiteScore midyear review

From humble beginnings, TEwT has consistently been expanding its presence, and in more recent years it has been steadily achieving higher Scopus CiteScores. For instance, TEwT’s 2022 yearly ranking CiteScore was 3.2, and its last updated CiteScore on 05 January 2024, was 3.9. We therefore expect that TEwT’s next yearly ranking and percentile in May 2024 will likely increase considerably

4. Fast-tracking AI-related articles

As of 2024, all AI-related submissions will be screened and reviewed within 2 to 4 weeks. Moreover, accepted papers will be prioritised for immediate publication in the next issue. We are particularly interested in papers that look at the impact of large language models in TESOL and the implications of such
models for reimagining assessment. Issue 1, 2024, comprises five papers by authors from well-known educational institutions in Palestine, Cyprus, Poland, Indonesia, United States of America, Singapore, Australia and Vietnam. Paper One was written by Hidayat Abu Elhawa of Al-Istiqlal University, Palestine; Christopher Alexander of the University of Nicosia, Cyprus; and Jarosław Krajka of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland. This qualitative case study explored the beliefs and perceptions of five teachers of English as a foreign language who worked at a Palestinian university that transitioned to online emergency remote teaching during the 16-month-long halt to face-to-face instruction forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data throughout the school closure period, and findings derived by thematic analysis showed that the teachers, including three with no experience in teaching online, faced challenges but eventually adapted to the situation. The data revealed agreement and divergence among the teachers regarding the benefits and downsides of moving their courses online. The authors of Paper Two were Ngo Cong-Lem of Monash University, Australia and Dalat University, Vietnam; Tin Nghi Tran of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Vietnam; and Tat Thang Nguyen of Dalat University, Vietnam. This study examined the perceptions and responses of Vietnamese teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to academic integrity concerns that arise from the use of AI, specifically chatbots like ChatGPT, in foreign language education. The study employed an open-ended survey to collect data from 31 Vietnamese EFL teachers who were asked to share their views on AI-based academic dishonesty, identify perceived causes, outline consequences for students engaging in AI-based plagiarism, and articulate their pedagogical responses to the issue. The study found that teachers primarily attributed students’ AI-driven plagiarism to a deficiency in original ideas, poor learning attitudes and motivation, and students’ linguistic competencies.

In Paper Three, Gwendolyn Williams (Auburn University, USA), Hyeon-Jean Yoo (Tennessee State University, USA) and Mary Diamond (Auburn Global) report upon a qualitative study that examined the lived experience of 50 English language instructors who transitioned from in-person teaching to online instruction during the COVID pandemic of 2020. The purpose of this study focused on the contrast between systematic online English language teacher preparation and rapid migration to identify strategies that can facilitate sudden shifts in instructional contexts. Paper Four, by Renol Aprico Siregar, Fransiskus Dinang Raja, Pupung Purnawarman and Ika Lestari Damayanti (Indonesia University of Education), presents a study which addresses the overlooked aspect of evaluating pre-service teachers’ preparedness for technology-based instruction. Focusing on EFL preservice teachers at a remote university, it explores their readiness to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching while navigating associated challenges. Employing a mixed-method design, data were collected through a Likert scale questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Participants included pre-service EFL teachers enrolled in an English education programme at a university in East Nusa Tenggara. The findings highlight the region’s pre-service teachers’ readiness to incorporate technology, despite encountering barriers such as inadequate knowledge, perception, confidence, financial constraints, limited student access, and inadequate facilities. The final paper in Issue 1, 2024, by Fei Victor Lim and Weimin Toh of National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, is a systematic review of research studies published from 2010 to 2021 on the use of apps for learning in the secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Relevant information was extracted such as the studies’ country/region, research design, sample size, students’ age, and names of apps to conduct a thematic analysis to associate the types of apps and their learning outcomes. The findings suggest that quiz apps support vocabulary acquisition, puzzle apps support vocabulary and grammar learning, platform apps support reading and writing development, augmented reality apps support increased engagement, and virtual reality apps support development
of listening and speaking skills.

We therefore wish you good reading!