An Investigation of English as Foreign Language Students' Attitudes Toward Improving Their Speaking Abilities at KRI Universities

The study examines English as Foreign Language (EFL) students’ attitude towards developing their speaking abilities at KRI University in order to better understand the disparities in speaking competency among undergraduates. The study utilized a quantitative approach and employed a 4-item interview survey to gather data for the study. The survey interview questionnaire was adopted from Wang, Kim, Bong, and Ahan (2013) and administered to 100 students in the departments of English of six universities in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. A semi-structured interview was developed for EFL students. The questionnaire was online and an open-ended one. The data from the participants was analyzed using thematic analysis with (SPSS) software. The finding revealed a perceived failure in EFL students' English-speaking skills and this was reported along with causes of the perceived difficulty. The finding also revealed a poor level of speaking ability among EFL undergraduates as well as little education in the skill at the university level. Apart from these, the study discovered some major challenges for EFL students such as lack of confidence, lack of planning, a demotivating atmosphere, incorrect word choice, poor gestures, and incorrect style which made the students not to be successful in their speaking abilities. The study suggested that EFL learners' competency should be securitized to strengthen their speaking abilities in the light of the results of the study. Speaking is a crucial ability in language acquisition and EFL teachers should help their students acquire it. As a means of improving students' communicative ability, task-based instruction should be utilized in educational institutions and universities. The implication of this paper is that speaking difficulties among EFL students in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region institution can be solved by putting greater focus on this ability. There are several issues to consider, including teachers, instructional methodologies, the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and assessment rules.

Use of Calculator in Primary Mathematics Classroom in Rural Sindh

The study was aimed to investigate how the use of calculator can enrich the teaching of primary mathematics of Grade Four. Moreover, it helped two participant teachers to use calculators to help their students improve their mathematical thinking. The research question 'How can a teachers use calculators in primary mathematics classroom to improve their students' problem solving and mathematical thinking' was employed to conduct the study in a private school of rural Sindh. A small-scale action research, consisting of pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention, was conducted to explore and understand the possibilities and challenges of using calculator in primary mathematics classrooms. The study lasted for eight weeks. The data was collected through various qualitative data collection tools such as observation, interview, tape-recording of the discussions and reflections of researcher and participant teachers. The study has identified the factors which facilitate or hinder students' problem solving and thinking process in primary mathematics classroom when calculator is incorporated in primary mathematics. The study reveals the results of the using calculator in teaching primary mathematics, its possible benefits and the expected challenges of incorporating calculator as learning tool in primary mathematics curriculum of Grade Four. This study has significant implication for implementation of the recent National Educational Policy (2009), which puts emphasis on mathematical thinking and problem solving as well as recommends the use of technology in mathematics classrooms.