Jul 2026· Journal of innovative research and technology· 0 citations
Abstract
The increasing global prominence of English has placed unprecedented demands on educational systems to equip learners with effective communicative competence, yet a persistent gap remains between theoretical recommendations and classroom realities in English Language Teaching (ELT). This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence from 257 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025 to identify effective strategies for teaching English in modern classrooms and to articulate evidence-based principles for pedagogical practice. Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search across ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses was conducted, with data extracted and thematically synthesized to address four research questions concerning effective strategies, moderating contextual factors, synergistic integration of approaches, and evidence-based principles. The findings reveal that Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching demonstrate robust positive effects on learners' fluency, pragmatic competence, and willingness to communicate, while technology-enhanced instruction offers significant affordances for personalized learning and engagement, though effectiveness is consistently moderated by learner proficiency, teacher cognition, institutional resources, and cultural contexts. Culturally responsive and translanguaging practices contribute meaningfully to learner engagement and identity affirmation, yet implementation remains constrained by institutional resistance and persistent native-speakerist ideologies. Based on these findings, the study proposes the Principled Eclecticism Framework, built on four interconnected principles: learner-centered adaptation, pedagogical coherence, contextual responsiveness, and ongoing professional development. This framework provides an orienting guide for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers to navigate the complexity of contemporary ELT contexts. The review concludes that effective English teaching requires a dynamic interplay of strategies adapted to specific learner profiles, contextual affordances, and institutional constraints, moving beyond one-size-fits-all prescriptions toward principled, evidence-informed decision-making. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed, with particular attention to the need for sustained professional development, supportive institutional environments, and policies that recognize linguistic and cultural diversity.
Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) has become increasingly important in response to the growing demand for English proficiency in the era of globalization. This study aims to identify research trends, effective teaching strategies, major challenges, and instructional innovations in TEYL. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines by analyzing 30 empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025 from Google Scholar, Publish or Perish, ERIC, Scopus, DOAJ, and SINTA-indexed journals. Bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer was employed to visualize keyword co-occurrence and thematic relationships. The findings indicate that TEYL research has grown significantly, with effective teaching strategies, teacher challenges, and technology-based innovations emerging as the dominant themes. Interactive approaches, including games, storytelling, songs, Total Physical Response (TPR), and multimodal learning, consistently improve learners’ motivation and language development. However, teacher competence, limited learning resources, institutional support, and learner diversity remain key challenges. The review concludes that successful TEYL implementation depends on the integration of pedagogical innovation, teacher competency, learner characteristics, digital readiness, and institutional support. These findings provide valuable insights for improving English language instruction for young learners and guiding future TEYL research.
This study examines the implementation of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in elementary school contexts to enhance students’ communicative competence. The study addresses the gap between theoretical assumptions of CLT and its practical application in classrooms, particularly within the Indonesian educational setting. The objective of this research is to analyze how CLT strategies are applied and to evaluate their impact on students’ speaking skills and classroom interaction. A qualitative research design was employed, involving classroom observations, interviews with teachers, and document analysis. The findings indicate that the use of communicative activities such as role play, group discussions, and interactive tasks significantly improves students’ confidence and ability to communicate in English. However, several challenges were identified, including limited teacher proficiency, lack of instructional resources, and constraints related to traditional teaching practices. The study concludes that CLT is an effective approach for promoting active learning and communicative competence in elementary education. Its successful implementation requires adequate teacher training and contextual adaptation. These findings contribute to the development of more effective language teaching practices in primary education.
Keywords: communicative competence; communicative language teaching; elementary education; speaking skills
This narrative literature review examined systemic and institutional barriers affecting pronunciation instruction in ESL/EFL contexts, the challenges experienced by teachers and learners, and instructional strategies that may improve pronunciation teaching. The review was conceptually anchored in pronunciation, suprasegmental features, first language interference, thematic analysis, and systemic barriers. It employed narrative analysis supported by Reflexive Thematic Analysis, using a deductive approach involving familiarization, coding, theme development, review, and interpretation. From 20 initially considered articles, 11 empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025 were retained as units of analysis based on predetermined selection criteria and analyzed using a thematic coding framework. The findings identified interconnected challenges involving limited teacher confidence and pedagogical preparation, learner anxiety and motivation, first language interference, inadequate curricular attention, insufficient instructional time and resources, and an imbalance between segmental and suprasegmental instruction. The review also found that short-term interventions may produce limited improvement, emphasizing the need for sustained pronunciation development. Promising strategies included contextualized and communicative activities, culturally responsive materials, explicit pronunciation instruction, technology-supported practice, and balanced attention to segmental and suprasegmental features. The study concluded that pronunciation difficulties are primarily systemic rather than solely attributable to teachers or learners and recommended stronger teacher preparation, curriculum integration, institutional support, resource allocation, and sustained communicative and technology-supported instruction. The study aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education by supporting improvements in the quality and effectiveness of English language instruction. Its sustainability impact is primarily educational and institutional, while also supporting technological and sociocultural sustainability through teacher capacity development, appropriate use of technology, and recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity.
Hazel Joy R. Baldicañas, Jean A. Abanto, Michelle Ivy R. Palada et al.· International Journal of Sus...· 0 citations
Traditional approaches to pragmatic competence in English language teaching have emphasized conformity to native-speaker norms from Inner Circle Englishes, an orientation that proves inadequate for English as a
lingua franca
(ELF) contexts where communicative success depends on interactional flexibility, accommodation and negotiation rather than adherence to fixed standards. This study addresses this gap by operationalizing a reconceptualization of pragmatic competence through the ELF-Aware Materials Checklist, a criterion-referenced tool that enables teachers to critically evaluate and adapt materials for global English contexts. The framework is structured around three interconnected components − awareness of language and language use, awareness of instructional practices and awareness of learning − each examined through four universal criteria of authenticity, variety, relevance and reflection. The study investigates how the Checklist functions as both a pedagogical and professional development tool by addressing two research questions: how Checklist-informed lessons promote learners’ pragmatic awareness for global communication; and how engagement with the Checklist supports teachers in understanding ELF-awareness, evaluating materials and designing ELF-aware lessons. Through a multi-stage, exploratory mixed-methods design conducted in a Greek secondary education setting, one experienced teacher redesigned a listening−speaking lesson on social media, replacing scripted native speaker monologues with authentic non-native speaker interactions featuring accommodation strategies, translanguaging and natural discourse features. Findings demonstrate that Checklist-informed lessons promote pragmatic awareness through sustained cycles of noticing discourse features, underlying norms, and learners' own communicative agency, reframing pragmatic competence as an interactionally achieved capacity rather than native-like correctness. For teachers, the Checklist facilitates critical examination of materials, supports rethinking instructional practices, and empowers pedagogical ownership while remaining grounded in established scholarship and current research. The study demonstrates that rather than replacing established principles, the framework extends them by integrating ELF-awareness into familiar practices, fostering communicative capability aligned with contemporary understandings of English as a global lingua franca.
English writing proficiency among EFL learners in Indonesia remains below regional benchmarks, and despite growing interest in learner-centered pedagogies, there is limited synthesis comparing the effects of inquiry-based learning (IBL) and contextual teaching and learning (CTL), particularly regarding their combined impact. This study addresses this gap through a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review of empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025. Searches were conducted across major databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Taylor & Francis, yielding 35 eligible studies for analysis. A narrative synthesis complemented by a quantitative summary of comparable studies indicates that both IBL and CTL produce significant positive effects on students’ English writing performance, with a pooled effect size of approximately d ≈ 0.81 (95% CI [0.65, 0.97]), suggesting a moderate-to-large overall impact. IBL consistently enhances cognitive dimensions of writing, such as idea generation, organization, and critical thinking, whereas CTL demonstrates strong effects on engagement, contextual understanding, and learner motivation. However, direct comparative and hybrid studies remain limited, although preliminary evidence suggests additive benefits when both approaches are integrated. These findings imply that EFL teachers and curriculum designers should consider combining inquiry cycles with context-based writing tasks to simultaneously develop cognitive and affective dimensions of writing. Future research should prioritize rigorous comparative and longitudinal designs to validate the effectiveness of integrated IBL–CTL models across diverse EFL contexts.
Sapto Sugiharto, Merry Lapasau, W. Widodo et al.· Journal of Languages and Lan...· 0 citations
This systematic review synthesises global evidence on linguistically responsive pedagogies (LRP) in undergraduate biology education and examines their relevance for English-medium universities in Zambia. English is the sole language of instruction in most Zambian higher education institutions, despite students' multilingual backgrounds, which can limit comprehension, participation, and learning outcomes in disciplines such as biology, where abstract concepts and specialised terminology are central. The study was anchored on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning as well as Ladson-Billings (1995)’s culturally responsive pedagogy theoretical framework. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar, including studies published between 2018 and 2025. From 1,042 records, 57 studies were selected, involving 6,832 students and 412 instructors across multilingual contexts, including the United States, South Africa, the Philippines, China, and Europe. Findings suggest that strategies such as translanguaging, bilingual instruction, culturally responsive teaching, scaffolded support, narrative pedagogy, and technology-enhanced learning boost student engagement, conceptual understanding, academic performance, and identity affirmation. Main barriers include teachers' reliance on authoritative discourse, limited professional training, and institutional policies requiring English-only instruction. Conversely, enablers feature structured pedagogical tools, professional development, and the integration of students' prior knowledge and cultural backgrounds into the curriculum. Applying LRP to the Zambian context suggests it can improve epistemic access and encourage inclusive participation in biology classes. Using translanguaging, culturally relevant examples, and scaffolded explanations helps connect students' prior knowledge with disciplinary content. Aligning teaching methods with assessment practices is essential to maximise the effectiveness of these strategies. This review confirms that linguistically responsive pedagogies offer a viable, evidence-based pathway for improving biology education in Zambia's English-medium universities. By adapting strategies such as translanguaging, culturally relevant examples, and scaffolded instruction, institutions can bridge the gap between students' multilingual realities and the demands of disciplinary learning. However, success depends on addressing key barriers: providing targeted professional development for lecturers, revising English-only policies to allow strategic use of local languages, and ensuring assessment methods align with inclusive teaching practices. Implementing these changes can enhance epistemic access, engagement, and academic outcomes for Zambian biology students.
Elias Muma, J. Mukuka· African Journal of Empirical...· 0 citations