Understanding the information literacy experiences of EFL students

1. Understanding the information literacy experiences of EFL students Nicole Johnston

2. What is Information Literacy?

3. Information literacy • Information literacy is seen as a core competency of lifelong learning at a national and international level. • Traditional definition of information literacy: • “an understanding and set of abilities enabling individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to define, locate, evaluate and use information effectively” (Bundy, 2004, p. 3). • Other definitions see information literacy as more than a set of skills/competencies . • Information literacy is “experiencing different ways of using information to learn” (Bruce, 2008, p. 5) .

4. Views of Information Literacy • Competency/Skills

5. Views of Information Literacy

6. Information literacy and EFL/ESL students Findings from literature: Three main areas: • Information Seeking Behaviour • Information Literacy Instruction • Culture and Learning Styles • Studies in the Gulf region suggest that not all students use the available resources available to them including electronic databases and electronic journals and that students were deterred from using the electronic resources due to experienced or perceived barriers including insufficient instruction, lack of access to Arabic resources and the ease of use of these resources. • Research using Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture found that EFL students score low on individualism styles. Suggests using group work and more teacher centred teaching methods would be a strategy for teaching information literacy using this cultural model.

7. Information literacy and EFL/ESL students • Research has found that ESL students’ ability to use synonyms put them at a disadvantage due to barriers of language and found that keyword worksheets allowed ESL students to learn effective techniques for searching. • Research advocates collaboration between librarians and EFL/ESL teachers in development of information literacy curriculum. • Research suggests that EFL/ESL students have difficulties reading academic papers and students often don’t read further than abstracts. • Research suggests that language and communication is important when teaching information literacy – eg avoid using library jargon (eg Boolean), avoid idioms and use open ended questions, use repetition.

8. Information literacy and EFL/ESL students • Research also suggests that EFL/ESL students often plagiarize due to a lack of knowledge of intellectual property rules in an academic environment. • Research also suggests that EFL/ESL students have a lack of knowledge about citation styles and compiling bibliographies for research papers. • Learning Styles – Multiple intelligences – research suggests that EFL students have a preference for hearing information rather than reading and learning through practical activities indicating that these students favour kinesthetic and auditory learning styles. Research suggest that students who are put in groups according to their dominant intelligence style or language abilities perform better in information literacy classes, (eg groups of verbal/linguistic intelligence, bodily/kinesthetic intelligence.

9. Efl students - Literature Academic writing and reading • Research discusses issues related to students’ difficulties in academic reading and writing such as: • reading comprehension, word recognition, translation, paraphrasing, lack of access to appropriate resources (eg local interest). • The research outlines strategies to help EFL students improve their academic writing and reading. These include: • Discussion activities, using topics and resources of interest in the region, taking into account the learning styles and culture of students, group/team projects, pictorial/visual activities. Motivation and strategies for teaching and learning • Studies found that students were more motivated to learn English if they were given local topics of interest to study or read, worked in group situations, English immersion and personal motivations to achieve high grades • Demotivation included a lack of opportunity to practice English outside the classroom, difficulty in reading English texts and a low value on education in the culture.

10. references • Al-Issa, A., & Dahan, L. S. (2008). Prior knowlege and writing in the college EFL composition classroom. In C. Coombe, A. Jendli & P. Davidson (Eds.), Teaching Writing Skills in EFL. Dubai: TESOL Arabia. • Al-Saleh, Y. N. (2004). Graduate students' information needs from electronic information resources in Saudi Arabia. Unpublished Ph.D., The Florida State University, United States -- Florida. • Al-Suqri, M. N. (2007). Information needs and seeking behavior of social science scholars at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman: A mixed-method approach. Unpublished Ph.D., Emporia State University, United States -- Kansas. • Bagnole, J., & Miller, J. (2003). An interactive information literacy course for international students: a practical blueprint for ESL learners. TESL-EJ, 6(4). • Bordonaro, K. (2011). Incorporating language skills strategies into library instruction for ESL students. Paper presented at the ACRL National Conference 2011 • Bruce, C. (2008). Informed Learning. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. • Bundy, A. (2004). Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework: principles, standards and practice, from http://www.caul.edu.au/caul-programs/information-literacy/publications

11. references • Chen, Y.-H., & Van Ullen, M. K. (2011). Helping internations students succeed academically through research process and plagiarism workshops. College and Research Libraries 72(3), 209-235. • Conteh-Morgan, M. E. (2001). Empowering ESL students: A new model for information literacy instruction. Research Strategies, 18(1), 29-38. • Curry, A., & Copeman, D. (2005). Reference service to international students: A field stimulation research study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(5), 409-420. • Dorner, D. G., & Gorman, G. E. (2006). Information Literacy Education in Asian Developing Countries: cultural factors affecting curriculum development and programme delivery. IFLA Journal, 32(4), 281-293. • Ellis, D. (1989). A behavioural approach to information retrieval design. Journal of Documentation, 45(3), 171-212. • Engin, M., & McKeown, K. (2012). Cultural influences on motivational issues in students and their goals for studying at University. Learning and Teaching In Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 9(1). • Fender, M. (2003). English word recognition and word integration skills of native Arabic and Japanese speaking learners of English as a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24(289-315). • Fields, M. (2011). Learner motivation and strategy use among university students in the United Arab Emirates. In C. Gitsaki (Ed.), Teaching and learning in the Arab world. Bern: Peter Lang.

12. references • Gan, Z., Humphreys, G., & Hamp-Lyons, L. (2004). Understanding Successful and Unsuccessful EFL Students in Chinese Universities. The Modern Language Journal, 88(2), 229-244. • Gobert, M. (2011). Cultivating phonological and orthographic awareness in Arab learners of English. In C. Gitsaki (Ed.), Teaching and learning in the Arab world. Bern: Peter Lang. Bern: Peter Lang. • Hall, K. L. (2011). Teaching composition and rhetoric to Arab EFL learners. In C. Gitsaki (Ed.), Teaching and learning in the Arab world. Bern: Peter Lang. • Han, J. (2012). Information literacy challenges for Chinese PhD students in Australia: A biographical study. Journal of Information Literacy, 6(1), 3-17. • Hart, C., & Johnston, N. (2010). Developing Information Literacy Assessments for Entry Level Higher Education Students in the United Arab Emirates. Paper presented at the ILN of the Gulf Region Conference: Information Literacy Assessment & Competency Standards, Dubai. • Macdonald, K. (2008). ESL Library Skills: an information literacy program for adults with low levels of English literacy. Australian Library Journal, 57(3), 295-309. • Martin, J., A., Reaume, K., M. , Reeves, E., M. , & Wright, R., D. (2012). Relationship building with students and instructors of ESL: Bridging the gap for library instruction and services. Reference Services Review, 40(3), 352-367.

13. References • Marton, F. (1994). Phenomenograpghy. In T. Husein & N. T. Postlewaite (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia of Education (2 ed.): Pergamon: Elsevier Science. • Mokhtar, I. A., Majid, S., & Foo, S. (2008). Teaching information literacy through learning styles: The application of Gardner's multiple intelligences. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 40(2), 93-109. • Ostrowska, S. (2011). The effect of course content on student motivation. In C. Gitsaki (Ed.), Teaching and Learning in the Arab World. New York: Peter Lang. • Yeh, C.-C. (2009). Student Perceptions of an EFL Undergraduate Research Writing Project. RELC Journal, 40(3), 314-332.