Online Learning via Microsoft TEAMS During the Covid-19 Pandemic as Perceived by Kuwaiti EFL learners

Covid-19 pandemic made a sudden shift of all ages to online learning and distance learning instructions. However, there is a paucity of research to address the possible impacts of the pedagogical shift integrated into new online platforms on learning, interaction, and assessment, especially in higher education settings from the vantage point of EFL students. Framed in a descriptive quantitative study, the main objective of this study includes two folds: a) to identify the possible effects of online learning via Microsoft TEAMS platform during the COVID-19 pandemic on assessment, interaction, and learning English as a foreign language from EFL students’ perception and b) to reveal the possible significant correlation between learning, interaction and online assessment via Microsoft TEAMs. Data were collected using a developed questionnaire consisting of 30 items focusing on three dimensions: interaction, learning, and assessment among 440 EFL students whose major was English at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait. At the significance level of 0.01, the results revealed the effect of online learning via Microsoft TEAMS during the COVID-19 pandemic on learning of English skills, students’ interaction and achievement assessment as perceived by the EFL students in the English Language Department in the CBE was rather high, moderate and moderate and moderate respectively. There is a strong/high statistically significant correlation between Interaction and Assessing (r = 0.538), interaction and Learning (r = 0.747). There is a statistically significant moderate correlation between Assessing and Learning (r = 0.467). This study is of some pedagogical and assessment ramifications for EFL contexts in the pandemic era.

Problems of Female Preservice Kuwaiti English Language Teachers During the Practicum Course

Knowledge of pre-service teachers' difficulties and the obstacles they face during their practicum is supremely important to designing and implementing a successful field experience. Based on this, the current study explored and discussed the most frequent problems that Kuwaiti English language pre-service teachers face during their practicum course. The purpose of this research is to learn more about the challenges and obstacles that female pre-service Kuwaiti English language teachers (n = 45) may experience throughout their practicum period. To achieve the intended outcomes, the study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female pre-service English language teachers at the college of Basic Education in Kuwait. The College of Basic Education plays a key role in providing qualified female teachers to the Ministry of Education through a training program that prepares potential English instructors to fulfil the career requirements of English instructors. According to the findings of the research, different issues have been aroused by the participants as they have complained about some aspects of the practicum course, including preparing lesson plans and workload, relationship with colleagues in the department, classroom management (especially dealing with students who have special cases), and academic supervisors. Interpretations of the results and recommendations are discussed in relation to the context of the study.

Students with disability perspectives towards inclusive education at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait: Barriers and challenges: اتجاهات الطلبة ذوي الإعاقة تجاه الدمج التعليمي في كلية التربية الأساسية في دولة الكويت: العوائق والتحديات

This research is a qualitative interpretive case study focuses on the perspectives of (6) students with physical and visual disability who study at college of basic education in Kuwait. It sought to elicit the “voice” of students with disabilities, seeking to identify their experiences of inclusive practice and any barriers to participation. The researchers conducted semi structured interviews. It was processed and analysed through data coding, categorising and emergence of themes. Participants of the current study showed a willingness towards the concept of inclusion with some concerns, which include the cultural, structural, and social barriers of implementing inclusive education. The results of this study emphasise the importance of increasing the knowledge of inclusion and how to deal with students with disability. Overall, recommendations include a need for training courses for the faculty members at the College of Basic Education in the field of disability and inclusion.

Barriers of the Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Classes from Pre-service Teachers’ Viewpoints

This study aims to investigate the barriers towards inclusion of children identified as having SEN in mainstream classes in Kuwait as seen by 452 pre-service teachers at the College of Basic Education. The researchers used a mixed-methods design that involved both an open-ended questionnaire and focus group. Each method investigated dimensions of the barriers towards inclusion in Kuwait as well as the SEN categories that participants believed would be most or least possible to include in mainstream classes. It was found that there are five different dimensions of possible barriers to inclusion: barriers from teachers, social barriers, academic barriers, physical barriers, and psychological barriers. It also found that the SEN categories seen as most possible to include were: moderate intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities, and giftedness, respectively. On the other hand, the SEN categories seen as least possible to include were: severe needs, severe intellectual disability, and autism. The study suggested that the government should institute new courses to prepare pre-service teachers for the challenges, revealed by this research, which prospective teachers expect to face when teaching in inclusive schools. This could help teachers build up more positive attitudes towards inclusion. Therefore, colleges of education should develop their academic courses so that they take into account the findings of this study and work accordingly Keywords: Inclusion, students with SEN, barriers, Kuwait

Emotional intelligence among students of the kindergarten department

The aim of the research is to identify the level of emotional intelligence among students of the Kindergarten Department in the College of Basic Education for the academic year 2020-2021 in the College of Basic Education / Al-Mustansiriya University. To achieve the objectives of the research, the emotional intelligence scale prepared by (Hassan 2015) was adopted, which consisted of (50) items, and the necessary standard characteristics were extracted for it. The sample results were extracted after using the appropriate statistical methods;- The students of the Kindergarten Department have a high level of emotional intelligence, where the calculated T-value reached (40.87), which is higher than the tabular value of (1.96) at the level of significance (0.05) and in the light of the results, recommendations and suggestions for future studies were made. key words:- emotional intelligence

Peer Assessment in EFL Writing Classes: Investigating Kurdish Students’ Attitudes

Peer assessment refers to students assessing their peers' work and providing grades and/or feedback. This study investigates Kurdish EFL students' attitudes toward peer assessment. To this end, the peer assessment technique will be utilised in teaching academic writing to second-year students in the English Department, College of Basic Education. Participants will be trained on how to assess their peers' writing by using Jacobs et al 's (1981) writing scale as a descriptor grading model. This scale provides five subscales for evaluating a written paragraph, namely: content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. After implementing this model for 16 weeks, the students have shown positive attitudes toward implementing peer assessment in their writing classes as a practical assessment technique.

Why Are Arabic Adult Learners in Kuwait Afraid of Making Mistakes in Their English Classroom?

The English language is a second language in Kuwait, and English has been added to the school curriculum with the aim that when students graduate, they will be bilingual in Arabic and English. However, although Arabic adult learners graduate to be fluent in their first language, they struggle in English. This paradox led us to consider specific factors that may inhibit Arabic adult learners from becoming proficient in English when they graduate from high school. One such factor is an unwillingness to speak English in the classroom. The focus of this study, therefore, is to investigate fear of making mistakes as one of factors underlying this unwillingness. Since the study was created during the pandemic, classes in Kuwait, at the time, were taught online only. A questionnaire was given to 210 female Arabic native speakers taking the English foundation course at the College of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. The questionnaire focused on factors that might induce a fear of making mistakes when speaking English in the classroom. The results of the study indicated that the most significant factor in this regard was students’ previous experience with English teachers who ridiculed them when they made mistakes in their classes. The findings suggest that when teachers do not take the appropriate approach to motivate students when they make mistakes, this can negatively affect the student’s language learning process.

The effectiveness of a selective counseling prenhancing the sportsmanship of some of the teams of the College of Basic Education for group games

Preparing a selective mentoring program in the field of enhancing the sportsmanship of some of the College of Basic Education teams in group games. Knowing the effectiveness of the selective counseling program on the sports spirit of some of the teams of the College of Basic Education in group games. The two researchers used the experimental method for its suitability and the nature of the research, and the research community consisted of the 38 players in the futsal, volleyball and basketball teams, and the research sample consisted of (24 players) representing 63.15% of the research community. The sample was divided into two experimental and control groups. Using the random selection method by lot and by (12) players for each group divided into three games and by (4) for each game. The measure of sportsmanship was applied before and after the application of the selective extension program, and we were keen to provide the same conditions in the two applications, and the researchers reached:1. The effectiveness of the selective counseling program in improving the level of sportsmanship among some of the teams of the College of Basic Education in the group games of halls.2. The presence of significant differences between the pre and post tests in sportsmanship in favor of the post test of the experimental group. The presence of significant differences between the control and experimental groups in the two post-tests in sportsmanship and in favor of the post test of the experimental group

Assessment of Food Safety and Food Handling Practice Knowledge among College of Basic Education Students, Kuwait

The aim of this study is to assess the overall food safety knowledge of students at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait and to explore the relationship between their knowledge and demographic characteristics. A valid questionnaire was used that included 16 food handling practice (FHP) questions and 15 food safety knowledge (FSK) questions. Each question had one correct answer that was awarded a score of one point, while a score of zero was given for all incorrect answers. In addition, a passing percentage was calculated. A passing percentage is the percentage of participants who answered correctly ≥ 50% of the questions. A total of 585 students participated in the study (mean age = 21.3 ± 3.88 years). The results showed that the mean score of FHP was 7.56 ± 1.96 (47.2%), with the highest mean practices being using a paper towel to dry hands and washing hands before cooking or eating (91.5% and 90.1%, resp.). The lowest mean practices (5.3%) were checking the temperature of burgers followed by (6%) the way of defrosting meat. The mean score of FSK was 3.44 ± 2.00 (22.9%), with the highest mean knowledge (63.8%) being related to cleaning the kitchen counter. The lowest mean knowledge (6.8%) was related to the optimum growth temperature for the most disease-causing bacteria. The overall passing percentage of FHP was 55%, while it was 2.9% for FSK. The results obtained showed that the students with the highest FHP scores were generally female, aged ≥ 28 years, and single, and they cook by themselves all the time or sometimes ( p < 0.001 , p < 0.001 , p < 0.001 , and p = 0.004 , resp.). The students with the highest FSK scores were generally male and they cook by themselves all the time or sometimes ( p = 0.018 and p = 0.002 , resp.). In conclusion, the study showed that students had insufficient scores for FHP and FSK. Therefore, an effective food safety education programme is urgently needed.