DSpace :: Browsing by Author "Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa"

Browsing by Author "Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa"

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A corpus based comparative study of the use of interactional metadiscourse markers in master theses general conclusions
(University Of Oum El Bouaghi, 2019) kaies, soumia; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Recently, there has been an increased emphasis on the interpersonal function of metadiscourse features in academic texts. This means that research on writing in academic contexts began to focus on the rhetorical features, such as interactional metadiscourse, that writers use to present their voice in writing. Although several studies have favored research articles as an important genre to search the metadiscourse features, little attention has been drawn to the analysis of metadiscourse use in MA theses general conclusions across L1 and L2 languages. Besides, academic writers, especially EFL learners do not manifest these features in their writing. The current study, thus, aims to report a comparative based analysis of forty postgraduates' MA theses general conclusions compiled into two equal-sized corpora each representing one of two different universities, namely, Oum El Bouaghi and Iowa. To carry out the analysis, the study adopts Hyland's (2005) interpersonal model of metadiscourse to investigate how interactional meta-discourse markers are used by native and non-native students and how similar or different the two corpora regarding the use of those markers. The results showed that each group employed interactional metadiscourse markers differently. Additionally, Iowa students used more interactional markers than Oum El Bouaghi students. Still, the analysis reported on some similarities in the use of those markers between native and non-natives which is the same frequency order of hedges, attitudes and engagement in both corpora. Moreover, hedges acted as the leading category and engagement as the last one. Nevertheless, the statistical Chi Square results suggested that there is a significant difference in the use of those markers between natives and non-natives (p<0.05)
Evaluating pragmatic information in the Algerian EFL secondary school textbook at the crossroads
(Université De Larbi Ben M’hidi Oum EL Bouaghi, 2022) Guerfa, Chahinez; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
In the Algerian context, the textbook plays a pivotal role in supplying learners with various rules needed for communicating and understanding the target language. To this day, textbooks remain a major source if not the only source of formal language instruction at all levels. That is why, books designers focus on making pragmatic awareness and competence at the heart of the newly introduced manuals. Still, it is unknown if the pragmatic information existing in the textbook is satisfactory or not. Building up on this, the present study aims to investigate the amount of pragmatic information offered by "At the crossroads" secondary education schoolbook. This research uses a page-by-page analysis of the textbook following a quantitative study of the data according to the appearance of speech acts and explicit meta-pragmatic cues. The results indicate that the textbook offers a variety of speech acts and meta-pragmatic information, yet they are decontextualized and offered with little regards to formality, appropriateness and register. Furthermore, meta-pragmatic information is simplified and lacks several elements that should be there to explain speech acts use. Therefore, the textbook's input lacks situational and social appropriateness when it comes to conversation samples which may affect student's pragmatic awareness and communicative competence.
Exploring the role of teachers' questions in increasing students interaction
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2024) Hadjila, Rania; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Teacher's questions play a vital role in promoting student engagement, critical thinking, and active participation in the classroom. This dissertation aims to investigate teachers use and views towards thepse and impact of teachers' questions on student's interaction in the classroom. This study was conducted at Benbouzid Mohamed cherif secondary school, Dhalaa, Oum el Bouaghi. Two tools were employed in this study to gather data, a classroom observation, and a teacher interview with ten teachers of English at the school. The research findings show that the teacher's questions are believed to positively influence students' interaction. Every teacher uses different types of questions. Open-ended questions are the most used type of questions, they play a crucial role in promoting students' engagement and participation in the classroom. Teachers must be aware about the difficulties their students face during classroom interaction. To address these challenges, teachers can implement various techniques as providing clear instructions and guidance and creafing opportunities for individual reflection and feedback to allow students to express their thoughts and effectively.
Exploring the use of the IRF pattern in EFL classroom discourse
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2024) Djakour, Hanane; Saoudi, Malak Takoua Noufous; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Classroom discourse involves the spoken interactions between teachers and students in a classroom setting. It includes conversations, discussions, and communication during learning activities. Good classroom discourse is key for learning, engaging students, and fostering a collaborative atmosphere. Studying classroom discourse helps understand teaching methods, student involvement, and how interactions shape the learning environment. The study focuses on three main research questions. Firstly, is the discourse used in EFL classrooms dialogic or monologic? Secondly, how do EFL teachers currently utilize the IRF pattern in classroom discourse? Lastly, what strategies can be employed to enhance the implementation of the IRF pattern in EFL classrooms? The purpose of this study was to explore whether there is interaction in the classroom or not, and how the IRF pattern fosters interaction. In this study, the data from classroom observations and audio recordings were analyzed qualitatively. The study’s findings showed that there is a dialogue and interactions between teachers and students. The discourse used in EFL classrooms is dialogic. To conclude, some recommendations were proposed to enhance the implementation of the IRF pattern in EFL classrooms. This includes the full understanding of IRF pattern, creating a supportive environment for students, addressing their concerns about making mistakes, and promoting active participation.
Investigating students and teachers attitudes towards plagiarism and the importance of citation strategies in academic writing: the case of master one students and teachers at the department of the english language Larbi Ben M'hidi University Oum El Bouaghi
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2023) Habchi, Kelthoum; Rouar, Kamilia; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Writing academically requires competency and consistency. The majority of English language learners face difficulties in writing academic papers that lead them to commit plagiarism. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate students' and teachers' attitudes towards plagiarism in academic writing and the importance of citation strategies to ensure academic integrity. Methodologically, both qualitative and quantitative approaches was adopted to meet our objectives. Two data- gathering tools, a questionnaire and an interview, were designed. Sixty master one students, at the English department at Larbi ben Mhidi university, Algeria, answered an online questionnaire. In addition, an interview with ten teachers at the same English department was conducted. After the analysis and interpretation of the collected data, the findings show that first year master's students' have an acceptable knowledge about plagiarism, but they are still unaware of its serious penalties. Students are aware of the exact meaning of citations and when they should be used, but practically, they cannot perform well. The overall findings of this study lead us to conclude that universities should raise students' awareness about plagiarism by ensuring enough training on citation strategies and providing free seminars and workshops on academic writing, plagiarism, and its penalties before using plagiarism checker tools and implementing strict rules.
Investigating students and teachers attitudes towards the effects of anxiety on EFL students test performance
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2023) Khellil, Chaima; Allag, Oumaima; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
This dissertation investigates the the attitudes of students and teachers towards the effects of anxiety on first year EFL students at Larbi Ben M’hidi University test performance; it aims at discovering the causes of anxiety and seeks to highlight the most effective academic strategies used to prevent and react against this psychological issue. Two assumptions underlay this study. First, Larbi Ben M'hidi 's students' anxiety during the exam is caused by the lack of students self-confidence. Second most effective academic strategies used to deal with students who suffer from anxiety during the exams is to provide them with psychological support to increase their self-confidence. This study was conducted on 89 participants from the aforementioned population; they were given an online questionnaire that targets a variety of factors to test the study assumptions. Besides, ten teachers from the same department were given a printed questionnaire; their productions were analyzed qualitatively and qualitatively as part of a descriptive design. Various results were obtained following the statistical analysis of the findings. The main results indicate that the most dominant causes of students' anxiety during the exam are the testing environment ( time, place,….), and lack of revision before exams. Furthermore, the best strategies that can help in reducing students’ test anxiety, from the teachers perspectives, is to plan private talk after classes and create a friendly atmosphere during classes.
Investigating students’ attitudes towards the use of subtitled english movies to enhance content comprehension and vocabulary recognition
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2018) Mansouri, Abdelhakim; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
One of the fundamentals of learning any foreign language is the acquisition of vocabulary and the ability to understand the content of the target language. However, failure to understand the text or the material and the lack of vocabulary stock are common problems among EFL students. As a result they try to make use of some strategies as subtitled English movies. The main aim of this research is to investigate students? attitudes towards the use of subtitled English movies to enhance content comprehension and vocabulary recognition. A questionnaire was administered to first year students of English at Larbi Ben M'Hidi University, Oum El Bouaghi to collect data. The results obtained from this study confirmed our hypothesis that learners have positive attitudes towards the usefulness of subtitled English movies on enhancing content comprehension and vocabulary recognition. Thus, using subtitled English movies as a learning tool deserves more attention in the context of EFL learning and teaching.
Investigating teachers' and learners' attitudes towards the use of pedagogical humour in educational settings
(Université Oum El Bouaghi, 2021) Sifi, Siham; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
L'humour joue un rôle clé dans la transmission des connaissances aux étudiants. C'est une condition courante qui a également un impact considérable sur les résultats scolaires des étudiants. C'est généralement une manière particulière qui aide l'enseignant dans son travail et rend l'élève plus attentif dans ses études. Cependant, de nombreux milieux éducatifs manquent de cette technique valorisée. Par conséquent, l'incorporation de l'humour dans le processus d'enseignement-apprentissage devient nécessaire. Ainsi, ces changements conduiront à une magnifique réalisation. Cette recherche vise à enquêter sur les attitudes des élèves et des enseignants envers l'utilisation de l'humour pédagogique au niveau des élèves de troisième année de toutes les branches de l'école secondaire Rachid Sadaoui à Khenchela. Une méthode descriptive a été choisie pour étudier l'humour afin de prouver sa fiabilité et sa validité. Ainsi, deux séries de questionnaires ont été administrées aux enseignants et aux élèves dans le but de recueillir des informations. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de plusieurs sources et analysées quantitativement à l'aide de SPSS. Un total de 71 élèves et 15 enseignants ont été recrutés pour cette étude. Les résultats montrent que les enseignants et les élèves concernés étaient conscients de l'importance de l'humour et de ses avantages illimités. Cependant, ils ont reconnu que l'école n'était qu'une corvée et qu'ils recevaient rarement un sens de l'humour. En fin de compte, le résultat souligne la validité de nos hypothèses selon lesquelles les enseignants et les élèves auraient des attitudes positives envers l'utilisation de l'humour pédagogique en classe. Par conséquent, une implication de ceci est la possibilité que l'utilisation de l'humour pédagogique de manière appropriée et adéquate pendant les conférences aideront à créer l'environnement scolaire exactement demandé.
Investigating teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of written corrective feedback on students’ writing accuracy
(Oum-El-Bouaghi, 2020) Rouina, Ikram; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Writing is considered as a crucial component of the language learning process. EFL students face some difficulties when developing this skill. These difficulties lead students to make many errors. Therefore, through the use of two questionnaires, the ultimate goal of this study was to investigate both teachers' and students' attitudes towards the effectiveness of teachers' written corrective feedback in enhancing EFL students' writing accuracy. So, we hypothesized that both EFL teachers and students would believe that teachers' feedback has a significant role in improving students' writing accuracy. The first questionnaire was administered to ten teachers of written expression at the department of English, University of Oum el Bouaghi. The second questionnaire was delivered to fifty three (53) first-year LMD students at the same department. The results of the teachers' questionnaire showed that the majority of teachers find their written corrective feedback very helpful in the EFL writing classrooms. They said that this feedback is useful because it helps students to enhance their writing since it's available to be rechecked anytime, and because it motivates students to work more. The findings of the students' questionnaire also revealed that the majority of the students liked receiving teachers' feedback, and found it useful in improving their writing. Briefly, the results indicated that teachers and students have positive attitudes towards teachers' written corrective feedback.
Investigating the influence of blogging on EFL students’ writing fluency, accuracy and complexity
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2018) Mesili, Yousra; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Writing is one of the must-have skills that every EFL student needs to master. However, most of EFL students face many writing difficulties. In today's world, there are lots of new helpful methods in language teaching in general and teaching writing in particular as blogging. This research reports on a quasi-experimental study regarding the effect of blogging on students' writing performance. It examines improvements in writing fluency, accuracy and complexity achieved by using Blog free writes among a group of students, with reliance on a short English Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) program. Forty two 1st year LMD students at Larbi Ben M'hidi University participated in the study. Findings from this study confirmed our hypothesis and revealed the effectiveness of using blog vs. pen-and-paper based writing on improving the participants' writing skills. Accordingly, the study supports the previous research done in the field that blogging has the potential of becoming an effective tool for enhancing writing fluency, accuracy, and complexity.
Investigating the use of grammatical cohesive devices in Algerian EFL students’ essays
(Université De Larbi Ben M’hidi Oum EL Bouaghi, 2022) Hamel, Rafia; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
EFL university students are required to have good writing skills and produce well-developed essays for their academic success. Good essays are not merely a set of random sentences and ideas put together; they are rather linguistic units. Essays ought to have a smooth flow of ideas and unity between sentences. Grammatical cohesive devices are regarded as crucial to help establish the smooth flow of ideas and the logical organization of sentences. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the use of grammatical cohesive devices used by Algerian EFL third year students at the department of English at L'arbi Ben M'hidi University. To achieve this aim, a deep analysis of these grammatical ties, used in thirty written essays, is conducted. The frequencies of the four categories of the grammatical cohesive devices in the corpus were demonstrated using AntConc software. The data were classified according to Halliday & Hasan (1976) taxonomy. The results showed that third years students use some grammatical cohesive devices extensively; there is no diversity in terms of use of the devices used. This might be due to the lack of knowledge, familiarity and awareness of these crucial linguistic ties. Consequently, some pedagogical implications are provided, and some suggestions for further research are proposed.
Risks of interference of the french sound system on the english pronunciation of the vowels (a, o, u, i, and e): the case of third year primary school pupils at Ziadi Batou school Constantine Algeria
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2023) Belhaloufi, Sihem; Allali, Amel; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Learning foreign languages is a long journey that is characterized by a lot of obstacles; one of them is the attempt to master the accurate pronunciation of the foreign language without which the learning process would be incomplete. The current study is concerned with identifying, analyzing and describing pronunciation errors made by 3rd year EFL learners at Ziadi Batou primary school. The ultimate goal is to highlight the pronunciation errors made at the level of the English vowels: a, e, o, u, and I, as a result of the interference of the French sound system. Only one group, thirty-two, pupils out of five other groups is selected randomly as the sample of the study. We hypothesized that most of the pronunciation errors that learners make while pronouncing English words are due to the interference of the French sound system. After carrying a detailed descriptive analysis (oral corpus analysis) of participants’ recordings while reading twenty words containing the targeted vowels, the results obtained confirmed that the French sound system has a significant impact on the pronunciations of the learners i.e. differences between English and French sound systems hinder learning while similarities facilitate learning and make it easier. This research may help raise teachers awareness about what difficulties learners are experiencing while trying to cope and adapt with two foreign languages at a time, specially that it is the first time in Algeria that English is taught simultaneously with French at primary schools.
The Effect of explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices on students paragraph quality
(University Of Oum El Bouaghi, 2019) Boukra, Ghania; Dafri, Donia; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
Althought many students may succeed in expressing ideas, they fail to connect them using accurate cohesive ties to produce a cohesive piece of writing. It seems that students' failure is due to the absence of explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices. The current study investigates the effects of the explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices on students' paragraph writing quality. It aims to determine whether students who receive the explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices produce better paragraphs than those who donot. Thus, it was hypothesized that the explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices has a positive effect on students' paragraph quality. The hypothesis was verified through a quantitative research (exactly, quazi experimental research). The data was collected from fourty first year EFL students at l'Arbi Ben Mhidi University, Oum El Bouaghi, Algeria. They were divided into two groups: twenty students were assigned to the experimental group and taught the gammatical cohesive devices explicitly, while the other twenty were assigned to the control group and received no instruction. The post-test scores of the experimental group were compared not only with those of students in the control group, but also with their pre-test scores. The findings of our study revealed that the explicit instruction of grammatical cohesive devices improved students' paragraph quality.
The Effectiveness of using instructional rubrics in improving learners' paragraph quality
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2024) Admam, Hadil Ghofrane; Bakha, Islem; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
The present study focuses on the improvement of paragraph writing through the use of instructional rubrics. Writing is a hard skill to master, but at the same time, it should be done in a good style, and correct way. The use of instructional rubrics by the learners and teachers is considered a helpful way to produce meaningful written assignments, especially paragraphs. This research aims to investigate the efficiency of using instructional rubrics to improve learners' paragraph writing, evaluate the impact of rubric-based feedback on learner understanding of writing expectations and improvement in writing skills. It also attempts to shed light on the urgent need for teachers to adopt new ways to teaching paragraph writing. To achieve these aims, we hypothesize that the use of instructional rubrics will improve learners’ paragraph writing. This research is based on a quasi-experimental study with 80 secondary school students at Ben Belkacem Douda secondary school at Ain Mlila. The participants were divided into two groups, experimental and control group. The experiment was conducted through three stages, pre-test for the whole sample, five treatment sessions for the experimental group only, and the post-test for the whole sample. The results obtained from the study showed that instructional rubrics improved students paragraph writing abilities. Hence, the findings confirm the hypothesis that when students use instructional rubrics, their paragraph writing will improve. These findings suggest that educators should integrate instructional rubrics into their teaching strategies to provide clear expectations and specific feedback, thereby improving students' writing skills and fostering a more effective learning environment.
The Impact of listening comprehension difficulties on EFL students’ motivation
(Université De Larbi Ben M’hidi Oum EL Bouaghi, 2022) Hamri, Bouchra Ikram; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
This present research is conducted to investigate the impact of listening comprehension difficulties on EFL students' motivation. To fulfill such a purpose, 39 third year EFL students at Larbi Ben M'hidi University, Oum El Bouaghi were randomly selected to be our sample and to answer our questionnaire. The questionnaire is composed of 12 questions, divided into two main parts (listening comprehension and motivation). The results of the questionnaire highlight that when facing problems and factors related mostly to the accent and speed of the native speakers' dialogues, third year EFL students may be rendered and demotivated during listening comprehension activities in the classroom. Alongside that, the results reveal that the classroom climate, the way listening exercises are conducted, and teachers' pleasant interactions with students have a great impact on how motivated the students remain. Therefore, this study also aims to bring about the most convenient strategies and techniques to ensure the ideal classroom experience for listening comprehension activities.
The Impact of the Halo effect on the teachers’ assessment of the students’ achievement
(University of Oum El Bouaghi, 2023) Boukraa, Nihed; Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa
The teacher's assessment of the learners' progress may be susceptible to various factors including the halo effect which refers to the tendency to shape an overall judgement based on a positive characteristic of the person. Accordingly, this study aims at investigating the impact of the halo effect as a cognitive bias on the teacher's assessment of the students' learning outcome. To this end, an experimental design was conducted to explore the cause-effect relationship between the two variables. Therefore, thirty-one fourth year pupils at Mahmoud Filali Middle School in Constantine and five middle school teachers were selected to be the sample of this study. In the pre-test phase, the teachers graded the pupils' test papers before any kind of intervention of the halo effect. In the post-test phase, the same teachers corrected the same test papers after the inclusion of some of the halo effect' features such as: name, picture, and personality traits. As a final step, the pre-test and post-test results were analysed using the statistical programme SPSS. The findings demonstrate that the halo effect has a significant influence on the teachers' assessment of the students' work. Ultimately, it is recommended to emphasise the need for awareness and training among educators to obtain more equitable evaluation and to mitigate the halo effect's impact on the teacher's assessment of the students.

Browsing by Author "Benzitouni, Amina Ouafa"

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