LULU PublicationsInternational Journal of Education & Language Studies2767-48511220221201Challenges of Teaching Communication Skills in Online Classes at Indian Schools243515993410.22034/ijels.2022.344557.1017ENAbdulazeez AbdoSaifEnglish and Foreign Languages UniversityJournal Article20220605Abstract <br />Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 and the sudden transition from the offline to online classes, educators and teachers have encountered a number of challenges to adjust to the online mode of teaching. The present study aims at exploring the challenges encountered by teachers of oral communication skills online at Indian schools. A sample of 33 school teachers participated in the study. Data were collected from the participants through an open-ended survey. To analyze the gathered data, thematic analysis procedures were employed. Based on the thematic analysis, two themes were the most emergent challenges that teachers articulated. The first theme was related to using technology to teach oral communication skills, and the second theme was about the impact of teaching oral communication skills on school students. The findings of the study highlighted the most occurring issues that teachers have faced during their oral communication teaching in online classes. The study proposed several suggestions for further research. <br />Keywords: oral communication skills, challenges, online classeshttps://www.ijels.net/article_159934_84bdf819b30df1fa5f20ae90cee94afd.pdfLULU PublicationsInternational Journal of Education & Language Studies2767-48511220221201Contextual Teaching Intervention to Improve ESL Students’ Critical Thinking Skills365215993510.22034/ijels.2022.348152.1019ENBaharGhafooriHerat UniversityJawadGolzarHerat University0000-0003-0268-391XJournal Article20220620Contextual teaching and learning (CTL) supports students’ learning by associating the content with real-world situations, encouraging them to think critically to generate new ideas. Yet, little is known about the impacts of CTL on students’ learning pressure and how CTL promotes critical thinking, especially in Afghanistan. Through purposive sampling, five female student teachers are interviewed. The results accentuated the importance of contextual teaching intervention in improving students’ critical thinking skills. The participants suggested several strategies, including using scenarios and examples related to the lesson, asking significant questions, engaging students in the team works and group discussions, and using visual aids to create a meaningful context for effective learning. Furthermore, the results revealed that contextual teaching makes learning fun since it relates the lesson to real-world situations where students can figure out the importance and usefulness in their personal and professional lives; it, in turn, motivates them to participate in the classrooms actively. In addition, the study showed that the CTL method encourages an anxiety-free atmosphere and helps students feel confident and independent. Finally, CTL supports them in exercising critical thinking, instilling in them a sense of being heard and valued.https://www.ijels.net/article_159935_41e987741512fdf551d309a9f912733b.pdfLULU PublicationsInternational Journal of Education & Language Studies2767-48511220221201Creative Teaching and Students’ Critical Thinking Skills: Afghan EFL Teachers’ Voices537116070410.22034/ijels.2022.348069.1018ENOmidTajikM.A. in TESL, Herat University, Afghanistan0000-0001-8764-0921KhadijaTimoriEnglish Department, Faculty of Languages and Literature, Herat University, AfghanistanJournal Article20220620This research investigates the perception of five Afghan English teachers on creative teaching and its effects on students’ critical thinking skills. Qualitative research was used to gather the data to understand what Afghan teachers think of creative teaching, how they define it, and how they try to enhance students’ critical thinking skills through creative teaching and design a class that is more productive than a traditional class. The data was collected through interviews, and the teachers were randomly selected to get in-depth data. This study revealed the importance of creative teaching in developing students’ critical thinking skills. The results of the study suggest that creative thinking is highly effective in improving the critical thinking skills of Afghan learners. The findings benefit those who would like to improve and enrich their practice to facilitate educational involvement and engage students according to effective methods in teaching. Curriculum developers will benefit from this research since the paper provides information about the current situation of creative teaching in Afghanistan, the importance of learners’ development based on Bloom’s taxonomy, and how designing teaching-learning materials can affect students to develop critical thinking in language classrooms.https://www.ijels.net/article_160704_5528a1bc61cff2b783e9c27e731a9fdb.pdfLULU PublicationsInternational Journal of Education & Language Studies2767-48511220221201Convenience Sampling727716298110.22034/ijels.2022.162981ENJawadGolzarHerat UniversityM.A TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania0000-0003-0268-391XShagofahNoorHerat University0000-0003-2628-8316OmidTajikM.A. in TESL, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia0000-0001-8764-0921Journal Article20221216The sampling method is significant to strengthen the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the research results. One of the non-probability sampling techniques is convenience sampling which is a way of selecting participants from the target population based on ease of access. This descriptive article aims to define convenient sampling, explain how to frame it, and finally its potential benefits and drawbacks. This sampling technique yields several inherent benefits, including being cost-effective, less time-consuming, simple operation, etc., and also possesses different drawbacks such as being subjected to sample biases, systematic errors, not being representative enough, and no generalizability of the research findings. The study concludes with some suggestions to improve the convenience sampling technique to ensure representativeness and remove uncertainty. https://www.ijels.net/article_162981_88850c734df0cb58d1f673d3a59279c5.pdfLULU PublicationsInternational Journal of Education & Language Studies2767-48511220221201Simple Random Sampling788216298210.22034/ijels.2022.162982ENShagofahNoorM.A. in TESL, Northern Arizona University0000-0003-2628-8316OmidTajikM.A. in TESL, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia0000-0001-8764-0921JawadGolzarHerat UniversityM.A TESOL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania0000-0003-0268-391XJournal Article20221216Simple random sampling is a widely utilized sampling method in quantitative studies with survey instruments. It is asserted that simple random sampling is favorable in homogeneous and uniformly selected populations. In this selection method, all the individuals have an equal opportunity to participate in the study where the selection process is entirely based on luck. The simple random sampling has benefits and drawbacks associated with it. It ensures unbiased, representative, and equal probability of the population; on the other hand, it can be cumbersome, rarely supported with readily available list of population, and challenging when population is heterogeneous and widely dispersed. https://www.ijels.net/article_162982_718518cc286f798bf2a89453f8a51ff4.pdf