No abstract

e purpose of this study was to recognise the perceptions of undergraduate students in diff erent levels of the English department as to their readiness to accept e-learning as the dominant learning paradigm at King Khalid University (KKU KKU), by probing the opinions of a sample of the EFL EFL students. Descriptive research, involving a survey and in-depth interviews, was utilised to recognise and analyse teachers and students' perceptions of their attitudes towards e-learning, their readiness to accept it, and the factors facilitating or inhibiting e-learning. Recognition of these factors for building and applying the instruments in this study was done based on an extensive review of pertinent literature, outlining the important models and theories underlying technology acceptance paradigms in education. Findings have demonstrated that informants in this study have identifi ed the facilitators and inhibitors of e-learning previously recognised in prior research. ey also showed that students are ready to accept technology implementation and to shift to an e-learning model of education.

This study explored efl students and faculty’s perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of online assessment and practice. A descriptive method was used, employing quantitative data collection and analyses from a sample of 400 students of different age categories and educational levels and another sample of 25 teachers in the English department. Results showed that students’ attitudes towards e-testing are generated by the test-takers’ perceptions of self-efficacy, enjoyment, usefulness, behavioural intentions to use web-based assessment, system satisfaction and system challenges in the order of the responses of the students. Furthermore, attitudes towards e-testing are generated by the students’ salient beliefs about the consequences of continued use and the evaluation of online testing technology. Web-based assessment and practice provided students with immediate feedback and automated scores that help students to have more control over their work and their effort. The findings from this study imply that creating web-based assessment technology awareness, motivation, and changing faculty and learners’ behaviours and attitudes is required for the success of e-testing adoption, implementation and diffusion in the future.

Abstract-Previously, researchers examined the effects of utilising monolingual dictionaries compared to bilingual and bilingualised dictionaries in an EFL learning environment as to their efficacy in improving culture-specific skills in translation. This study was set to investigate the comparative effects of using only monolingual dictionaries as opposed to using bilingualised dictionaries during vocabulary acquisition in a Translation course. Participants consisted of 60 Level II students of English. A test comprising 100 lowfrequency words and 100 sentences manipulating each word as a translational writing task was administered at the end of the semester. Three experimental groups, one studying vocabulary with monolingual dictionaries, another with bilingual dictionaries, and a third with bilingualised dictionaries were used for checking the efficacy with which any/all of the three types of dictionaries can best help students acquire new lexicon. The study tested participants on their comprehension of and ability to use these words using sentences of their own on translational writing tasks. Results suggest that bilingualised dictionaries are more effective than monolingual and bilingual dictionaries and that bilingualised dictionaries are more effective than monolingual dictionaries, the last two dictionaries being the least effective. Suggestions for further work and implications for ELT pedagogy have been forwarded at the end.

Abstract-This study has been designed to investigate the effects of using the Online Dictionary for presenting etymological analysis of new vocabulary items in hyperlinked words to students in an online environment, using the accompanying facilities of thesaurus, encyclopedia, and web on developing vocabulary building skills and inducing positive attitudes towards vocabulary learning in EFL students of the College of Languages and Translation, Abha. The study employs a triangulation of research methods, in which two groups studying Vocabulary II, one in traditional setting (control) and the other (experimental) via the Online Dictionary's etymological analysis feature in a Blackboard environment are examined for the development of vocabulary learning skills and their attitudes towards etymological analysis. The study bore out findings in favour of the new technique of vocabulary learning, i.e., etymological analysis, powered by the Online Dictionary in improving vocabulary learning and inducing to positive attitudes towards vocabulary instruction. The results are discussed in relation to the hypotheses and against the research backdrop presented in the review of the literature. The study ends on a set of pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.