The Catholic Church is the oldest religious institution in the West and the biggest Christian denomination in Australia. Its success is partly due to its sustained efforts to supply missionaries across the globe. While the traditional missionary paradigm involved Europe-born religious workers being sent to colonies, this flow has been reversed in…

This mixed-method study examines Ecuadorian preservice English as a foreign language teachers' cognition regarding pronunciation models and targets, identity, and confidence. Data were gathered through a self-reported, anonymous online questionnaire. Factor analysis and Spearman's correlations were conducted on the quantitative data, and content…

This is a reflective piece theorizing my personal and academic experiences working with preservice teachers who are pursuing a Teaching English as a Second Language Certificate with immersion experience participating in a study abroad program teaching English to university students in Ecuador. Teaching predominantly white students as a woman of…

Purpose: This research aimed to identify the levels of stress students experience, the different sources that generate them and the relationship between the stress levels and the students' gender. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods design was used, focusing on the quantitative stage. The qualitative section was designed to obtain…

The present study examined factors affecting shyness in EFL classrooms. To this end, a sample of 124 students majoring in TEFL at Universidad Nacional de Educación in Ecuador was selected to respond to a standardized Shyness Scale (SS) and a Shyness Factors Questionnaire (SFQ). Employing a descriptive research design, the researcher used…

New instructional models for learning are emerging as alternatives to traditional education. Gamified instruction is touted as a motivational alternative for learning that increases learner autonomy, but research is lacking into its educational merit beyond those claims. This study measured the extent to which a gamified English as a foreign…

The study was aimed at determining the essential factors that motivate Ecuadorian university students' English learning. The study adopted an explanatory sequential mixed methods design by means of the administration of online questionnaires to 2077 students and 109 English instructors. The initial quantitative study results were further explained…

The aim of this study was to explore indigenous teachers' and indigenous and mestizo student teachers' beliefs about social justice and English language learning in the Ecuadorian context. Based on data collected through interviews and one focus group session, it was found that many indigenous believe English might be a convenient tool for…

Purpose: This study investigated how cooperative learning (CL) enhanced 21st century skills and knowledge to assure English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' employability. Design/methodology/approach: This mixed experimental study comprised a sample of 64 students enrolled in an EFL program at a private university in Ecuador. The experimental…

Drawing from Critical Latinx Indigeneities, this study explored how Kichwa Saraguro families are (re)creating their Indigeneity and reclaiming their Kichwa language in rural areas of Wisconsin. Using a subset of data gathered through ethnographic work, we report on interviews with 10 members of the Saraguro community as they described the…

This study sought to explore the power of self-generated drawing to improve reading comprehension of English language learners in a university setting. Fourteen undergraduate students, divided into control and experimental groups, read a chapter from a graded reader. The experimental group was instructed to construct self-generated drawings as…

The main objective of this qualitative case study was to analyze the feasibility of integrating an e-tandem mode into the language curriculum for the English major at the Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi (UTC). We selected purposeful sampling that permitted us to deliberately choose participants. So, this study was conducted by eleven pre-service…

Research on pre-service and novice teachers shows that their school learning experiences play a role in developing their pedagogical beliefs. However, whether these experiences continue to influence teachers' beliefs as they become more experienced requires further investigation. This study aimed to examine how the school language learning…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes around the world, especially in the education field where classes were shifted to only distance learning. This radical transformation could have affected students' level of engagement and motivation; therefore, it might also have had some influence on their performance. This study correlates English as a…

The current work was based on a project that aimed to enhance the English-speaking skill development in tenth graders of a public high school in Ambato, a city of the Andean Region of Ecuador. The population involved 145 students who were surveyed to detect their impression about the use of Communication Games in the English as a Foreign Language…