Zaha Alonazi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Zaha Alonazi
Theory and practice in language studies, Apr 29, 2024
Writing empirical research papers that comply with disciplinary conventions is a goal that many s... more Writing empirical research papers that comply with disciplinary conventions is a goal that many students, especially at the tertiary level, aspire to achieve. While playing a crucial role in constructing coherent texts, linking adverbials are typically depicted as a static collection of interchangeable elements lacking inherent meaning, and often receiving minimal consideration for their discipline-specific functions. Most of the previous studies on linking adverbials have focused on the frequency of use across different proficiency levels; there has been little corpus-based research on how these connectives function across different disciplines. This paper examines the potential variations in the use of linking adverbials in Nursing and Applied Linguistics empirical research articles. Using AntConc software, a corpus of eighty research articles, 40 articles in Nursing and another 40 in Applied Linguistics, were compared in terms of their frequency use, function, and placement preferences of linking adverbials. Findings revealed that the two corpora differ considerably in frequency, semantic function, and, to a lesser extent, the placement of linking adverbials in each discipline. Such variations are attributed mainly to the way linking adverbials are used to present and strengthen authors' arguments in each discipline.
World Journal of English Language
The words Muslim and Islamic have recently become a recurrent theme in western media especially i... more The words Muslim and Islamic have recently become a recurrent theme in western media especially in the U.S. However, there is little research on how the words Muslim as opposed to Christian are represented in the US spoken and written media discourse. Utilizing the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the current study investigated how Muslims and Christians are portrayed in U.S media outlets through a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the lexical collocations of the words Muslim, Islamic and Christian. A threshold of Mutual Information (MI) score of at least 3. and 2% frequency was set for the candidate collocates. The results showed that the former group was largely associated with fanaticism and ethnicity while the other group was largely associated with knowledge and theology. A fine-grained analysis of a common collocate i.e., fundamentalist revealed striking differences between the characteristics of Muslim fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists in U...
World Journal of English Language
Self- regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for succes... more Self- regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success in online learning. However, little is known about how these constructs and their subconstructs are related and how they impact learners’ self-perceived success particularly with receptive English skills in EFL contexts. This study was conducted to address this gap in the literature through assessing the impact of SRL on 55 EFL Saudi learners’ levels of engagement in and self-reported satisfaction with an online EFL course. Results from regression and correlation analyses revealed the importance of self-regulatory skills in enhancing learners’ engagement and perceived success in an online reading course. The results also highlighted the importance of considering the subconstructs of both engagement and self-regulation in understanding their relationship and their overall relatedness to self-reported success in an online course on reading comprehension. The findings also point to the ne...
Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education
Despite having different semantic profiles, near synonyms are usually presented in dictionaries a... more Despite having different semantic profiles, near synonyms are usually presented in dictionaries as being contextually interchangeable, which may lead EFL learners to assume their contextual interchangeability. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies on how near synonyms are similar or different in their semantic and grammatical preferences. To enrich the literature on near synonyms’ semantic and grammatical profiles, this study explores the collocational behaviors and the semantic preferences of the near-synonymous verbs (affect vs. impact). Sketch Engine was used to examine lexical collocates, the colligational profile and the semantic prosody of the two verbs. The findings revealed fine-grained contextual differences in their collocational, grammatical, and semantic preferences. Applications of the findings for English language teaching will be discussed a long with recommendations for future research.
World Journal of English Language
Despite the increasing research on the benefits of using corpora in language teaching and learnin... more Despite the increasing research on the benefits of using corpora in language teaching and learning, Data-Driven Learning (henceforth, DDL) research has been criticized for its lack of contribution to second language theories. This paper intends to address this gap by examining the assumptions of Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) using two DDL tasks with different cognitive loads. Learners were assigned to one of two conditions: reading only or translation. Based on ILH, translation is more effective than reading in learning vocabulary, as it induces more cognitive involvement (Laufer & Hulstjin, 2001). The two groups received a pretest to ensure their unfamiliarity with six target words. Each group underwent one instructional session under one of the two conditions. After the session, students took three immediate post tests on the six target items: active recall of form, passive recall of meaning, and production. Contrary to the expectations of ILH, the results of the immediate pos...
World Journal of English Language, 2022
Self-regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success... more Self-regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success in online learning. However, little is known about how these constructs and their subconstructs are related and how they impact learners" self-perceived success particularly with receptive English skills in EFL contexts. This study was conducted to address this gap in the literature through assessing the impact of SRL on 55 EFL Saudi learners" levels of engagement in and self-reported satisfaction with an online EFL course. Results from regression and correlation analyses revealed the importance of self-regulatory skills in enhancing learners" engagement and perceived success in an online reading course. The results also highlighted the importance of considering the subconstructs of both engagement and self-regulation in understanding their relationship and their overall relatedness to self-reported success in an online course on reading comprehension. The findings also point to the need for a unified definition of the two constructs and the significance of considering the distinct contribution of their subconstructs. Pedagogical and theoretical implications are discussed in light of the study"s findings.
This paper investigates the collocational behavior and semantic preferences of nearsynonymous wor... more This paper investigates the collocational behavior and semantic preferences of nearsynonymous words. Despite its ubiquity in language, the linguistic phenomenon of synonymy is relatively under-researched compared to investigations of general lexical items (Edmonds & Hirst, 2002; Xiao & McEnery, 2006). Unlike absolute synonyms, which are rare in language, near-synonyms are widely common (Inkpen & Hirst, 2006; Murphy, 2003). Although collocations of lexical items have received considerable attention in empirical research recently, less research has examined the collocational and colligational patterns of near-synonymous words. Near-synonymous words, particularly verbs, are problematic for L2 learners not only because of their ubiquity, but also because they have similar connotational meaning, though they are not collocationally interchangeable (Liu, 2010; Yang et al., 2020). Subsequently, it is not unusual for ESL teachers to find student errors that can be attributed to the erroneous substitutions of near-synonymous lexical items (Chan, 2010; Nguyen & Webb, 2017). The knowledge of the subtle difference among near synonyms becomes more pressing if one accepts that knowing a lexical item requires knowledge of its collocates, colligates, and semantic preferences (Sinclair,
ExELL, 2017
Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes med... more Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes mediation in the assessment process. Proponents of dynamic assessment (DA) in general and CDA in particular argue that the goals of DA are in congruence with the concept of validity that underscores the social consequences of test use and the integration of learning and assessment (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2002; Poehner, 2008; Shabani, 2012;). However, empirical research on CDA falls short in supporting such an argument. Empirical studies on CDA are riddled with ill-defined constructs and insufficient supporting evidence in regard to the aspects of validity postulated by Messick (1989, 1990, 1996). Due to the scarcity of research on CDA, this paper explores the potentials and the viability of this intervention-based assessment in computer assisted language testing context in light of its conformity with Messick’s unitary view of validity. The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical...
.................................................................................................... more .................................................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .......................................................................11 LEXICAL COMPLEXITY IN ESL WRITING .....................................................41 SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY IN ESL WRITING ...............................................78 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TOPICAL DEVELOPMENT .............................105 THE IMPACT OF EPT USE ON ESL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ............159 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS OF FINDINGS .........................................192 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................206 APPENDIX A. RUBRICS OF THE EPT WRITING .................................................................214 APPENDIX B. ACTFL PROFICIENCY GUIDELINES 2012-WRITING ................................216 APPENDIX C. CODING OF TOPICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ISES ...................................217 APPENDIX D. SURVEY OF ESL TEACHERS .......................................................................218 APPENDIX E. PROTOCOL OF ESL TEACHERS’ INTERVIEWS.........................................221 APPENDIX F. ESL LEARNERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................................222 APPENDIX G. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL WITH ESL LEARNERS ......................................227 APPENDIX H. INFORMED CONSENT FOR ESL STUDENTS’ INTERVIEWS ..................229 APPENDIX I. LEARNERS’ SUGGESTIONS OF ACTIVITIES FOR IMPROVING WRITING ABILITY ...................................................................................................................231 APPENDIX J. IRB APPROVAL FOR ESL SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS ...........................232 APPENDIX K. IRB APPROVAL FOR ESL LEARNERS’ SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS ...233 Page
Research has shown that deep mental processing is needed for retention of linguistic forms. While... more Research has shown that deep mental processing is needed for retention of linguistic forms. While the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) has been introduced to account for depth of processing using measurable motivational and cognitive constructs of tasks' induced involvement, there is still insufficient research, especially in the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) context. This exploratory study attempts to examine the assumptions underlying the Involvement Load Hypothesis by comparing two tasks with different levels of involvement: sentence generation vs sentence completion utilizing the iBook format. Four ESL females participated in a one-day research session. The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) was used as an immediate and delayed post-test along with a post-test interview. In line with the prediction of Involvement Load Hypothesis, the results revealed that sentence generation, being a more cognitively demanding task, led to better retention of vocabulary on both immediate and delayed post-tests. The findings point attention to some shortcomings of the ILH and illuminate useful pedagogical implications and suggestions for CALL-based task designs, particularly with the iBook format.
Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes med... more Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes mediation in the assessment process. Proponents of dynamic assessment (DA) in general and CDA in particular argue that the goals of DA are in congruence with the concept of validity that underscores the social consequences of test use and the integration of learning and assessment ). However, empirical research on CDA falls short in supporting such an argument. Empirical studies on CDA are riddled with ill-defined constructs and insufficient supporting evidence in regard to the aspects of validity postulated by . Due to the scarcity of research on CDA, this paper explores the potentials and the viability of this intervention-based assessment in computer assisted language testing context in light of its conformity with Messick's unitary view of validity. The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical foundations and models of DA. It then proceeds to discuss the differences between DA and non-dynamic assessment (NDA) measures before critically appraising the empirical studies on CDA. The critical review of the findings in CDA literature aims at shedding light on some drawbacks in the design of CDA research and the compatibility of the concept of construct validity in CDA with unitary concept of validity. The review of CDA concludes with some recommendations for rectifying gaps to establish CDA in a more prominent position in computerized language testing.
Theory and practice in language studies, Apr 29, 2024
Writing empirical research papers that comply with disciplinary conventions is a goal that many s... more Writing empirical research papers that comply with disciplinary conventions is a goal that many students, especially at the tertiary level, aspire to achieve. While playing a crucial role in constructing coherent texts, linking adverbials are typically depicted as a static collection of interchangeable elements lacking inherent meaning, and often receiving minimal consideration for their discipline-specific functions. Most of the previous studies on linking adverbials have focused on the frequency of use across different proficiency levels; there has been little corpus-based research on how these connectives function across different disciplines. This paper examines the potential variations in the use of linking adverbials in Nursing and Applied Linguistics empirical research articles. Using AntConc software, a corpus of eighty research articles, 40 articles in Nursing and another 40 in Applied Linguistics, were compared in terms of their frequency use, function, and placement preferences of linking adverbials. Findings revealed that the two corpora differ considerably in frequency, semantic function, and, to a lesser extent, the placement of linking adverbials in each discipline. Such variations are attributed mainly to the way linking adverbials are used to present and strengthen authors' arguments in each discipline.
World Journal of English Language
The words Muslim and Islamic have recently become a recurrent theme in western media especially i... more The words Muslim and Islamic have recently become a recurrent theme in western media especially in the U.S. However, there is little research on how the words Muslim as opposed to Christian are represented in the US spoken and written media discourse. Utilizing the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the current study investigated how Muslims and Christians are portrayed in U.S media outlets through a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the lexical collocations of the words Muslim, Islamic and Christian. A threshold of Mutual Information (MI) score of at least 3. and 2% frequency was set for the candidate collocates. The results showed that the former group was largely associated with fanaticism and ethnicity while the other group was largely associated with knowledge and theology. A fine-grained analysis of a common collocate i.e., fundamentalist revealed striking differences between the characteristics of Muslim fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists in U...
World Journal of English Language
Self- regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for succes... more Self- regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success in online learning. However, little is known about how these constructs and their subconstructs are related and how they impact learners’ self-perceived success particularly with receptive English skills in EFL contexts. This study was conducted to address this gap in the literature through assessing the impact of SRL on 55 EFL Saudi learners’ levels of engagement in and self-reported satisfaction with an online EFL course. Results from regression and correlation analyses revealed the importance of self-regulatory skills in enhancing learners’ engagement and perceived success in an online reading course. The results also highlighted the importance of considering the subconstructs of both engagement and self-regulation in understanding their relationship and their overall relatedness to self-reported success in an online course on reading comprehension. The findings also point to the ne...
Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education
Despite having different semantic profiles, near synonyms are usually presented in dictionaries a... more Despite having different semantic profiles, near synonyms are usually presented in dictionaries as being contextually interchangeable, which may lead EFL learners to assume their contextual interchangeability. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies on how near synonyms are similar or different in their semantic and grammatical preferences. To enrich the literature on near synonyms’ semantic and grammatical profiles, this study explores the collocational behaviors and the semantic preferences of the near-synonymous verbs (affect vs. impact). Sketch Engine was used to examine lexical collocates, the colligational profile and the semantic prosody of the two verbs. The findings revealed fine-grained contextual differences in their collocational, grammatical, and semantic preferences. Applications of the findings for English language teaching will be discussed a long with recommendations for future research.
World Journal of English Language
Despite the increasing research on the benefits of using corpora in language teaching and learnin... more Despite the increasing research on the benefits of using corpora in language teaching and learning, Data-Driven Learning (henceforth, DDL) research has been criticized for its lack of contribution to second language theories. This paper intends to address this gap by examining the assumptions of Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) using two DDL tasks with different cognitive loads. Learners were assigned to one of two conditions: reading only or translation. Based on ILH, translation is more effective than reading in learning vocabulary, as it induces more cognitive involvement (Laufer & Hulstjin, 2001). The two groups received a pretest to ensure their unfamiliarity with six target words. Each group underwent one instructional session under one of the two conditions. After the session, students took three immediate post tests on the six target items: active recall of form, passive recall of meaning, and production. Contrary to the expectations of ILH, the results of the immediate pos...
World Journal of English Language, 2022
Self-regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success... more Self-regulated learning (SRL) and engagement have been postulated as important traits for success in online learning. However, little is known about how these constructs and their subconstructs are related and how they impact learners" self-perceived success particularly with receptive English skills in EFL contexts. This study was conducted to address this gap in the literature through assessing the impact of SRL on 55 EFL Saudi learners" levels of engagement in and self-reported satisfaction with an online EFL course. Results from regression and correlation analyses revealed the importance of self-regulatory skills in enhancing learners" engagement and perceived success in an online reading course. The results also highlighted the importance of considering the subconstructs of both engagement and self-regulation in understanding their relationship and their overall relatedness to self-reported success in an online course on reading comprehension. The findings also point to the need for a unified definition of the two constructs and the significance of considering the distinct contribution of their subconstructs. Pedagogical and theoretical implications are discussed in light of the study"s findings.
This paper investigates the collocational behavior and semantic preferences of nearsynonymous wor... more This paper investigates the collocational behavior and semantic preferences of nearsynonymous words. Despite its ubiquity in language, the linguistic phenomenon of synonymy is relatively under-researched compared to investigations of general lexical items (Edmonds & Hirst, 2002; Xiao & McEnery, 2006). Unlike absolute synonyms, which are rare in language, near-synonyms are widely common (Inkpen & Hirst, 2006; Murphy, 2003). Although collocations of lexical items have received considerable attention in empirical research recently, less research has examined the collocational and colligational patterns of near-synonymous words. Near-synonymous words, particularly verbs, are problematic for L2 learners not only because of their ubiquity, but also because they have similar connotational meaning, though they are not collocationally interchangeable (Liu, 2010; Yang et al., 2020). Subsequently, it is not unusual for ESL teachers to find student errors that can be attributed to the erroneous substitutions of near-synonymous lexical items (Chan, 2010; Nguyen & Webb, 2017). The knowledge of the subtle difference among near synonyms becomes more pressing if one accepts that knowing a lexical item requires knowledge of its collocates, colligates, and semantic preferences (Sinclair,
ExELL, 2017
Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes med... more Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes mediation in the assessment process. Proponents of dynamic assessment (DA) in general and CDA in particular argue that the goals of DA are in congruence with the concept of validity that underscores the social consequences of test use and the integration of learning and assessment (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2002; Poehner, 2008; Shabani, 2012;). However, empirical research on CDA falls short in supporting such an argument. Empirical studies on CDA are riddled with ill-defined constructs and insufficient supporting evidence in regard to the aspects of validity postulated by Messick (1989, 1990, 1996). Due to the scarcity of research on CDA, this paper explores the potentials and the viability of this intervention-based assessment in computer assisted language testing context in light of its conformity with Messick’s unitary view of validity. The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical...
.................................................................................................... more .................................................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .......................................................................11 LEXICAL COMPLEXITY IN ESL WRITING .....................................................41 SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY IN ESL WRITING ...............................................78 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF TOPICAL DEVELOPMENT .............................105 THE IMPACT OF EPT USE ON ESL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ............159 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS OF FINDINGS .........................................192 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................206 APPENDIX A. RUBRICS OF THE EPT WRITING .................................................................214 APPENDIX B. ACTFL PROFICIENCY GUIDELINES 2012-WRITING ................................216 APPENDIX C. CODING OF TOPICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ISES ...................................217 APPENDIX D. SURVEY OF ESL TEACHERS .......................................................................218 APPENDIX E. PROTOCOL OF ESL TEACHERS’ INTERVIEWS.........................................221 APPENDIX F. ESL LEARNERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................................222 APPENDIX G. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL WITH ESL LEARNERS ......................................227 APPENDIX H. INFORMED CONSENT FOR ESL STUDENTS’ INTERVIEWS ..................229 APPENDIX I. LEARNERS’ SUGGESTIONS OF ACTIVITIES FOR IMPROVING WRITING ABILITY ...................................................................................................................231 APPENDIX J. IRB APPROVAL FOR ESL SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS ...........................232 APPENDIX K. IRB APPROVAL FOR ESL LEARNERS’ SURVEY AND INTERVIEWS ...233 Page
Research has shown that deep mental processing is needed for retention of linguistic forms. While... more Research has shown that deep mental processing is needed for retention of linguistic forms. While the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) has been introduced to account for depth of processing using measurable motivational and cognitive constructs of tasks' induced involvement, there is still insufficient research, especially in the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) context. This exploratory study attempts to examine the assumptions underlying the Involvement Load Hypothesis by comparing two tasks with different levels of involvement: sentence generation vs sentence completion utilizing the iBook format. Four ESL females participated in a one-day research session. The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) was used as an immediate and delayed post-test along with a post-test interview. In line with the prediction of Involvement Load Hypothesis, the results revealed that sentence generation, being a more cognitively demanding task, led to better retention of vocabulary on both immediate and delayed post-tests. The findings point attention to some shortcomings of the ILH and illuminate useful pedagogical implications and suggestions for CALL-based task designs, particularly with the iBook format.
Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes med... more Computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) posits itself as a new type of assessment that includes mediation in the assessment process. Proponents of dynamic assessment (DA) in general and CDA in particular argue that the goals of DA are in congruence with the concept of validity that underscores the social consequences of test use and the integration of learning and assessment ). However, empirical research on CDA falls short in supporting such an argument. Empirical studies on CDA are riddled with ill-defined constructs and insufficient supporting evidence in regard to the aspects of validity postulated by . Due to the scarcity of research on CDA, this paper explores the potentials and the viability of this intervention-based assessment in computer assisted language testing context in light of its conformity with Messick's unitary view of validity. The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical foundations and models of DA. It then proceeds to discuss the differences between DA and non-dynamic assessment (NDA) measures before critically appraising the empirical studies on CDA. The critical review of the findings in CDA literature aims at shedding light on some drawbacks in the design of CDA research and the compatibility of the concept of construct validity in CDA with unitary concept of validity. The review of CDA concludes with some recommendations for rectifying gaps to establish CDA in a more prominent position in computerized language testing.