Does Service-Learning Training Make a Difference?
An Exploratory Study of Jordanian EFL Teachers' Performance in and Attitudes towards Writing
Keywords:
EFL teachers; service-learning, writing performanceAbstract
This study examines the potential effect of service-learning training on 38 EFL teachers from the public schools of the North-Eastern Badia Directorate of Education, Mafraq, Jordan. A quasi-experimental design was used, and the participants were randomly assigned into an experimental group (n=18) and a control group (n=20). The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the overall writing performance of the experimental group and that of the control group in favor of the former. The results also revealed that the use of service-learning training helped teachers form positive attitudes toward EFL writing.
References
Abu Jaleel, A. (2001). An Investigation of Strategies of Teaching Writing for Ninth and Tenth Graders in Irbid Schools. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Albert, L., Gardner, J., Hollander, E., & Zlotkowski, E. (2000). Linking Citizenship through Service Learning: A National Imperative (Teleconference Video and Print Resource Packet). University of South Carolina: National Resource Centre for the First-year Experience and Students in Transition.
Al-Damiree, R., & Bataineh, R.F. (2016). Vocabulary Knowledge and Syntactic Awareness as Potential Catalysts for Reading Comprehension among Young Jordanian EFL Students. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 4(1), 53-59.
Al-Hamad, R.F., Al-Jamal, D.A., & Bataineh, R.F. (2019). The Effect of MALL Instruction on Teens' Writing Performance. Digital Education Review, 35, 289-298. Retrieved 21 March 2021 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1220122.pdf.
Al-Quran, M. (2002). The Class-function Confusion in the Complex Sentence Structure: A Study of EFL Student Composition Errors. Dirasat (Humanities and Social Science), 20(3), 821-835.
Al-Sharah, N. (1988). An Analysis of the Problems of Discourse in the Writing of English Majors at Yarmouk University. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Anderson, J., & Guest, K. (1995). Linking Campus and Community: Service Leadership in Teacher Education at Seattle University. In B. Gomez (Ed.), Integrating Service-Learning into Teacher Education: Why and How? (pp.11-30). Washington, D.C.: Council of Chief State Officers.
Anderson, J.B., & Pickeral, T. (1998). Challenges and Strategies for Success with Service-Learning in Preservice Teacher Education. Service Learning, General. Paper 17. Retrieved 27 June 2021 from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/232749828.pdf.
Bani Younis, R. (1997). Assessing Student’s Receptivity to their Instructors’ Responses in their Foreign Language Writing at both Public and Private Universities in Jordan. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Bani Younis, R., & Bataineh, R.F. (2016). To Dictogloss or not to Dictogloss: Potential Effects on Jordanian EFL Learners’ Writing Performance. Apples – Journal of Applied Language Studies, 10(2), 45–63. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17011/apples/urn. 201610114330.
Bataineh, R.F, Al-Hamad, R.F., & Al-Jamal, D.A. (2018). Gender and EFL Writing: Does WhatsApp Make a Difference? Teaching English with Technology, 18(2), 21-33. Retrieved 21 March 2021 from https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=645561.
Bataineh, R.F. (1993). English Syntax: Problems of Acquisition. A Cross-Sectional Study of the Written Compositions of Jordanian Learners of English as a Second Language. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Bataineh, R.F., & Mayyas, M.B. (2017). The Utility of Blended Learning in EFL Reading and Grammar: A Case for Moodle. Teaching English with Technology, 7(3), 35-49. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1149423.
Bataineh, R.F., & Obeiah, S.F. (2016). The Effect of Scaffolding and Portfolio Assessment on Jordanian EFL Learners’ Writing. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 6(1), 12-19. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v6i1.2643.
Bataineh, R.F., & Salah, N.A. (2017). The Effectiveness of Drama-Based Instruction in Jordanian EFL Students’ Writing Performance, TESOL International Journal, 12(2), 103-118. Retrieved 21 May 2021 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1247797.pdf.
Bell, J., & Burnaby, B. (1984). A Handbook for ESL Literacy. Toronto, Canada: OISE Press in Association with Hodder and Stoughton.
Billig, S.H. (2000). Research on K-12 School-Based Service-Learning: The Evidence Builds. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(9), 658-664.
Billig, S.H. (2009). Community Service and Service-Learning. In R. Shweder, T. Bidell, A. Dailey, S. Dixon, P. Miller, & J. Modell (Eds.), The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion (pp. 187-189). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Billig, S.H. (2017). Service and Service-Learning in International Baccalaureate High Schools: An International Comparison of Outcomes and Moderators. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 5(1), 57-83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37333/001c.29755.
Billig, S.H., Northup, J., & Jaramillo, D. (2012). Evaluation of the Seattle Youth Engagement Zone. Denver, Colorado: RMC Research Corporation.
Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Bringle, R.G., & Hatcher, J.A. (1995). A Service Learning Curriculum for Faculty. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2, 112-122.
Cheng, W., & Warren, M. (2005). Peer Assessment of Oral Proficiency. Language Testing, 22, 93-121.
Deane, P., Odendahl, N., Quinlan, T., Fowles, M., Welsh, C., & Bivens-Tatum, J. (2008). Cognitive Models of Writing: Writing Proficiency as a Complex Integrated Skill. Princeton, New Jersey: ETS (Research Report RR-08-55). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j. 2333-8504.2008.tb02141.x.
Deane, P. (2010). The Skills Underlying Writing Expertise: Implications for K-12 Writing Assessment. Princeton, New Jersey: Educational Testing Services.
Duncan, A.M. (1991). Write Makes Might: A Case for the Neglected Skill. Retrieved 13 September 2020 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED341239.pdf.
Erickson, J.A., & Anderson, J.B. (1997). Learning with the Community: Concepts and Models for Service-learning in Teacher Education. Washington, D.C.: American Association for Higher Education.
Fernandez-Balboa, J.M. (1998). The Practice of Critical Pedagogy: Critical Self-Reflection as Praxis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 9(2), 47-53.
Fredericks, L. (2012). Evaluation of Youth Service America’s STEMester of Service. Denver, Colorado: RMC Research Corporation.
Furco, A., & Root, S. (2010). Research Demonstrates the Value of service-Learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 16-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/27755635.
Melchior, A. (1999). National Evaluation of Learn and Serve America. Waltham, Massachusetts: Brandeis University.
Moon, J. (2008). L2 Children and Writing: A Neglected Skill? ELT Journal, 62(4), 398-400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn039.
Newkirk, T., & Kent, R. (2007). Teaching the Neglected "R": Rethinking Writing Instruction in Secondary Classrooms. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Northup, J. (2011). Evaluation of Schools of Success. Denver, Colorado: RMC Research Corporation.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
NYLC (2008). K-12 Standards and Indicators of High-Quality Service Learning. St. Paul, Minnesota: National Youth Leadership Council.
Obeiah, S.F. & Bataineh, R.F. (2015). Does Scaffolding-Based Instruction Improve Writing Performance? The Case of Jordanian EFL Learners. Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature, 39(2), 106-123. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll. 2015. 39.2.106.
Oliver, H.T. (1997). Taking Action in Rural Mississippi: Uniting Academic Studies and Community Service through Project D.R.E.A.M.S. Paper presented at the Annual International Conference of the International Partnership for Service-Learning, Kingston, Jamaica.
Olness, R. (2007). Using Literature to Enhance Content Area Instruction. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Paulus, T. M. (1999). The Effect of Peer and Teacher Feedback on Student Writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8, 265-289.
Perry, J. (1997) Antecedents of Public Service Motivation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 7(2), 181-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart. a024345
Robinson, G., & Barnett, L. (1996). Service Learning and Community Colleges: Where we are. Survey Report AACC-SR-96-1. Washington, DC: American Association of Community Colleges. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 394 612).
Sagaria, M.A.D., & Burrows, J.M. (1995). Higher Education Urban Community Service: From Periphery to Core? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Stanton, T.K. (1994). The Experience of Faculty Participants in an Instructional Development Seminar on Service-Learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 1, 7-20.
Steinke, P., & Fitch, P. (2007). Assessing Service-Learning. Research & Practice in Assessment, 1(2), 1-8.
Swick, K. (2001). Service Learning in Teacher Education: Building Learning Communities. The Clearing House, 74(5), 261-264.
The National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges (2003). The Neglected "R": The Need for a Writing Revolution. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, Retrieved 13 June 2020 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ ED475856.pdf.
Ur, P. (1996). A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wade, R.C., & Yarborough, D.B. (1997). Community Service-Learning in Student Teaching: Toward the Development of an Active Citizenry. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 4, 42-55.
Wang, Y.H., & Laio, H.C. (2008). The Application of Learning Portfolio Assessment for Students in the Technological and Vocational Education System. Asian EFL Journal, 10(2), 132-154.
Ward, S. (2000). Transforming the Instructor: Service-Learning Integrated into a Community College Curriculum. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED441531).
Zamel, V. (1985). Responding to Student Writing. TESOL Quarterly, 19(1), 79-101.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 International TESOL & Technology Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
