https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/118 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:30:14 GMT 2026-04-15T15:30:14Z https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2280 eTwinning in Armenian EFL teachers’ teaching and students’ learning practices in the light of 21st Century skills Adamyan, Sona The study aimed at investigating the role of eTwinning in Armenian EFL teachers’ teaching and students’ learning practices in the light of the 21st century skills. It examined whether and how eTwinning helps to develop the various 21st skills such as communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and innovation, digital literacy, and particularly ICT tool use. The participants were 16 EFL professionals and 67 students from various regions in Armenia, namely Yerevan, Ararat, Kotayk, Tavush, and Lori. All the participants had been awarded at least one European Quality Label (EQL) and were selected by non-probability purposive sampling. A Mixed Method Research (MMR) design was chosen to explore the vast experiences of EFL teachers and their students in eTwinning projects. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through surveys and semi-structured interviews. The results demonstrated that eTwinning promoted particular 21st Century skills, such as collaboration and communication, cross-cultural understanding, creativity and innovation, impacted teachers’ innovative teaching, fostered student's voice, ensured student-driven learning processes within the framework of 21st-century skills. The study also provides some practical recommendations for its stakeholders. Thesis Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2280 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2279 Instructor humor as a covariate for student engagement in comparison to intellectually stimulating teacher practices in an Armenian afterschool EFL program Baklachyan, Nina The use of instructor humor in language classrooms is often contended to positively affect student learning and participation. When studied in relation to student engagement, the findings on instructor humor are similarly positive and suggestive of a strong correlation. However, as there exist studies that report on intellectually stimulating teacher behaviors to be more effective in terms of student engagement, this study aims to test both. The research questions that this study addresses are on the relationships between pedagogical humor and student engagement, and intellectually stimulating teaching practices and student engagement. The two relationships are separately analyzed using correlational matrices. The context of this study is an Armenian afterschool EFL program from where 163 participants were recruited for the sample. The data was collected via an online anonymous survey that comprised three measuring instruments: Student Intellectual Stimulation Scale (SISS), Perceived Effect of Pedagogical Humor Scale (PEPH), Student Engagement Scale (SE). The results of this study showed a stronger correlation between student intellectual stimulation and student engagement than pedagogical humor and student engagement. However, when analyzed by gender, the correlation between pedagogical humor and student engagement for male participants showed equal in coefficients as the overall SISS and SE correlational coefficient. This study and its future furthering is significant for Armenian teachers and young students, as, with the youth’s influences of globalization and the heightened online interaction with humorous contents (e.g. memes, funny videos, etc.) on a daily basis, the implementation of humor in the classroom context yields itself potentially more fruitful nowadays. Thesis Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2279 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2278 An ESP Coursebook for Armenian tour guides Janvelyan, Nare Over the last few years, Armenia has become a popular tourist destination. Every year tourists from Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Iran and many other countries from numerous continents come to explore Armenia. Ancient churches, temples, historical monuments and museums, as well as a growing wine industry along with a rich cultural night life offer tourists a new venue looking for something different. In addition, hiking trails and alternate nature tourism is another aspect of tourism in Armenia that has become popular during the last decade offering a variety of sightseeing choices including nature trails. Since tour guides play an important role in “shaping tourists’ experience” (Huang et al, 2010, p. 3), and since English dominates the tourism industry all over the world, it is crucial to have good English-speaking tour guides who will be able to communicate effectively when presenting visitors to Armenia. This is one of the main reasons for designing an ESP coursebook for Armenian tour guides. The course book is designed to teach specific skills and vocabulary, such as speaking, listening and target vocabulary/phrases which the members of the tourism industry. Additionally, there is a conspicuous lack of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for tour guides in Armenian universities, especially for professions which are not majoring in the English language. Most of the Armenian Universities offer ESP for lawyers or ESP for business. However, the field of tourism and hospitality only has EFL where general English is offered after the second year of studying. However, it is not effective since tour guides need to learn specific vocabulary or phrases, they also need to practice listening and speaking skills, along with improving their pronunciation to be able to communicate with English speaking tourists. Thus, the lack of ESP in Armenia affects professions, such as tour guides. Thesis, presentation, and tour guides Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2278 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2277 English through drama activities Nersesyan, Meri The aim of the course “English through Drama Activities” was to develop students’ both receptive and productive skills, as well as to enhance their confidence in speaking English. The participants of the project were 12th-graders of “Aregnazan” Educational Complex in Yerevan. The piloting took place twice a week for 45 minutes at the same school during their regular English lessons and lasted two months and a half. At the end of the course, the students had a vocabulary test to check how well they internalized the newly learned words. They also had to make a final speech for 2-3 minutes to test their fluency. The students with the lowest scores at the writing test were the ones with irregular attendance. Due to the implementation of drama activities in their English lessons, students enriched their word-stock and became more fluent in expressing their thoughts in English. By the end of the piloting, a teacher’s guide with 20 lesson plans and materials, and a student’s book were developed ready to be used again with other students of pre-intermediate and intermediate levels of English proficiency. Thesis and presentation. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://dspace.aua.am/xmlui/handle/123456789/2277 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z