Volume 14, Number 7, July 2024 (Serial Number 124)

US-China Education Review A Volume 14, Number 7, July 2024 (Serial Number 124) David Publishing David Publishing Company www.davidpublisher.com Publication Information US-China Education Review A (Earlier title: US-China Education Review, ISSN 1548-6613) is published monthly in hard copy (ISSN 2161-623X) by David Publishing Company located at 3 Germay Dr., Unit 4 #4651, Wilmington DE 19804, USA. Aims and Scope US-China Education Review A, a monthly professional academic journal, covers all sorts of education-practice researches on Higher Education, Educational Psychology, Teacher Education, Curriculum and Teaching, Educational Technology, Educational Economics and Management, Educational Theory and Principle, Educational Policy and Administration, Sociology of Education, Educational Methodology, Comparative Education, Vocational and Technical Education, Special Education, Educational Philosophy, Elementary Education, Science Education, Lifelong Learning, Adult Education, Distance Education, Preschool Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education, as well as other issues. Editorial Board Members Dean Olah (Editor-in-chief) James L. Morrison Aaron W. Hughey Rosalinda Hernandez Yea-Ling Tsao Okechukwu Sunday Abonyi Michael Eskay Nikos E. Papadakis Jun Xing Peter Chen-main Wang Hayal Köksal Stephen Kcenich Dat Bao Ayotunde Atanda FALADE Yahya Meziani Giuseppe Liverano Teo Tee Hui Maria-Elvira Luna-Escudero-Alie Editorial Office 3 Germay Dr., Unit 4 #4651, Wilmington DE 19804, USA Tel: 001-302-3943358 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. Copyright©2024 by David Publishing Company and individual contributors. All rights reserved. David Publishing Company holds the exclusive copyright of all the contents of this journal. In accordance with the international convention, no part of this journal may be reproduced or transmitted by any media or publishing organs (including various Websites) without the written permission of the copyright holder. Otherwise, any conduct would be considered as the violation of the copyright. The contents of this journal are available for any citation. However, all the citations should be clearly indicated with the title of this journal, serial number and the name of the author. Abstracted/Indexed in American Federal Computer Library Center (OCLC), USA Google Scholar CrossRef WorldCat SSRN Scilit Semantic Scholar Index of Copurnicus AiritiLibrary Academic Keys Citefactor getCITED Open J-Gate i-Scholar JournalSeek ResearchBib Polish Scholarly Bibliography EZB Subscription Information Price (per year): Print $600 David Publishing Company 3 Germay Dr., Unit 4 #4651, Wilmington DE 19804, USA Tel: 001-302-3943358 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] D DAVID PUBLISHING David Publishing Company www.davidpublisher.com US-China Education Review A Volume 14, Number 7, July 2024 (Serial Number 124) Contents Children Education The Leisure Culture Experiences of Bedouin Children Living in Unregulated Villages in the Southern Region (Negev) of the State of Israel 411 Ofer Gat Higher Education Modernization of Higher Education in Morocco: Transversal Skills in the Era of New Technologies for Successful Professional Integration 433 Chaimae Tailassane Power List System: Dilemmas and Innovation Paths for Optimizing the Internal Governance Structure of Universities 450 LIAO Yong, WANG Yi Training Recommendations for Cultivating Cultural and Industrial Talents in the Oriental Digital Era 456 MA Boqiang English Education VerbiCube—A New 3D Tool to Teach and Learn English Tenses 460 Nick Koretsky A Study on the Impact of International Study Programs on the Global Competency of English Major Students 466 LI Ziyu, LI Zhentan A Study on the Effectiveness of the Approach of Reading-Writing Integration to Improve EFL Students’ English Writing Skills 478 YU Wenqiang Vocational Education Mode Construction of Secondary Vocational Education and Training Based on Dynamic Stratification Method ZHANG Wei 492 US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 411-432 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.001 D DAVID PUBLISHING The Leisure Culture Experiences of Bedouin Children Living in Unregulated Villages in the Southern Region (Negev) of the State of Israel Ofer Gat Kaye Academic College of Education, Beer Sheva, Israel  Bedouin society in the State of Israel is a religious society—traditional, conservative, and patriarchal. The Bedouin society living in the State of Israel has gone through and is still going through many changes that affect the social definitions that characterize it and its ways of life. One of the troubling issues that characterize Bedouin society, related to the periods preceding the establishment of the State of Israel and for the most part a solution that has not yet been found, is the area of settlement of some of the Bedouin residents and their lives in villages defined as unknown villages. These villages, in accordance with the Bedouin society, are inhabited by families belonging to the same family nucleus. These settlements lack basic infrastructure such as electricity, roads, education, and communication infrastructure. The children living in this framework lack informal Hanukkah services such as playgrounds, diverse classes, and community centers. The research question at the center of this research seeks to examine how cultural interactions during leisure time (leisure culture) in a traditional space in the Bedouin diaspora between children and adults’ mediate gender functional behavior patterns, assimilate conservative elements of a conservative society. The study is a qualitative study in which 21 pure observations will be made in their direct space—the children’s rural living space where the desert book is located. The observations were conducted during the children’s free time upon their return from school. The observations will be activated in the places where the children were located. The theory anchored in the field was used as a content analysis strategy—documenting the observations and the children’s discourse. The research findings testify to a disturbing reality that includes only casual leisure culture that lacks any intentional and guided pedagogy. The children, in the absence of community centers and playgrounds, move between three focal points—central spaces: their homes and the homes of relatives and especially the grandparents’ kitchen, the livestock facilities, and especially the sheepfold and the mountain—the hills that surround the village where they live. The presence of the children in the aforementioned spaces points to a traditional discourse that preserves social structures and customs from different traditions. Also, the guided placement (by adults, mostly men) of the children absolutely defines their gender roles in the present and in the future. The children hold an adult conversation combined with a children’s conversation that includes an improvised game. The children get an opportunity for childish and sometimes emotional discourse in the less supervised spaces such as the sheepfold where sometimes there is an emotional discourse—reflective with an animal or in relation to an animal and in the open space—the mountain where they talk about a variety of topics of their choice. Ofer Gat, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Kay Academic College of Education, Beer Sheva, Israel. 412 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING Keywords: leisure culture, casual leisure culture, children’s discourse, preservation of social structures, preservation of patriarchal social structure, gender space, Bedouins, unregulated villages, informal education Literature Review The experiences of leisure culture among children from the Bedouin society—living in the rural diaspora— in unrecognized villages in the State of Israel, have not yet been researched. The investigation of the experiences is based on a concept of spatial culture and through it the rural lifestyles of the children of the Bedouin communities living in this format since the founding of the State of Israel will be examined through the children’s wanderings in the open desert spaces. The child’s agenda, and especially the one after his return from the formal educational frameworks, refers to the totality of the cultural-spatial conditions that occur to the child during his free time. These places invite the child to move freely between places, the mental distance that exists between them is what defines his emerging perceptions. The movement of the child in his local space calls to him desert spaces rich in scenery on the one hand, alongside places that represent the foundations where traditionality is transferred between generations through essential economic facilities that are part of the child’s “playground”, in which he finds an alternative and an outlet for his natural curiosity. Culture The concept of culture fundamentally carries a value-judgmental meaning that includes a significant historical and social charge that is unique to each society. Through this value charge, the subjects that make up that culture can give internal and external definitions to the phenomena that accompany their lives, whether they are familiar or not (Mead, 1970). This cultural value load makes it possible to establish the standards of society and through them to distinguish between the cultural thing that is known and the non-cultural thing that is mostly not known and is part of a different culture or a deviation from the cultural norm in that society, which is sometimes accompanied by a cultural sanction (Meshonis, 1999). In addition, the concept of culture refers to all the achievements of a person or society, in the spiritual field, education, science, art, the organization of society, religion, and morality, as well as a certain lifestyle or behavior that is managed according to a pool of values and norms that define in detail what is right and what is wrong. Hence it refers to the set of aesthetic perceptions of the defined social characteristics (Regev, 2011). From a sociological point of view, the definition of the term “accepted culture” is broad and according to this it expresses the democratic, egalitarian, pluralistic nature of many Western societies (Meshonis, 1999). According to this approach, it refers to the broad term culture as the tract of values, beliefs, ways of behaving, and the material objects that make up the environment of a people and represent the way of life of a people and define it as a people (Shapira & Ben-Eliezer, 1971; 1986). According to the anthropological approach, culture is defined as a set of values, ideas, and behavior patterns that are shared by all members of a certain society and are transmitted through a process of intergenerational social learning and not by biological inheritance. Further to this approach, culture is a set of rules or values that have been implemented by a certain society, resulting in behavior that is in the field considered appropriate and acceptable by that society and has common characteristics and rules of behavior (Haviland, 1999). Culture is assimilated into us starting from our childhood and we acquire its components throughout our lives. Through it, the cultural partners learn cultural components such as language and different beliefs and the ability to distinguish between what is proper and what is not proper (Levi-Strauss, 1980). LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 413 Processes of change that take place in a particular society originate from external influence processes (mostly) that arise through intercultural meeting points in diverse spaces. These intercultural encounters sometimes lead to a change in the cultural customs that were known until the point of change, creating a cultural change—consciousness among the members of the culture and expressions also through environmental changes in the place and space of the settlement and in the educational institutions (Lieberman, Ravavi, & Cranial, 2000). Space and Place The geographical space composed of all three-dimensional representations contains the representations of space, place, and environment and is defined as the location where spatial science relationships occur (Portugali, 2000). According to the physical-geographical perspective, space is a thing—an abstract thing that is measured in mathematical terms, derived from the assumptions of the positivist approach. It is not anchored in time and is “indifferent” to people’s concerns (Merleau-Ponty, 1978). According to the phenomenological approach, space constitutes a phenomenon or perhaps a dimension that cannot be separated from human consciousness and the set of actions that accompany it. Space is defined as a dynamic-active essence, dependent on the contexts of time of occurrence, the society inhabiting it, and the age of those operating in it. It changes as a function of the conditions in which it exists such as the time of day, seasons, and weather. Also, space does not exist uniformly as one essence, but as a fragmented-shattered and diverse essence. Different human societies operate in it and through it, according to the dimensions existing in their perceptual and tangible personal world. Space is an engine that constitutes culture and serves as a reflection of it. Therefore, the use of it, the choice of location, its planning, design, and population with details must always be in relation to the context: goals, events, and the power relations between people (Relph, 1989; Tilley, 1989). Space is a phenomenon related to time, society, and societies; different groups and individuals operate in it according to the current dimensions in the subjective world (Tzur, 2010). One of the parameters that seeks to define the perception of mental well-being positions it alongside the spatial reality surrounding human beings and the way it is arranged. Thus, space has the potential to generate a mental experience to the same extent that the mental experience can be expressed in space (Greenfield, 2015). The design of the educational space harbors great potential that can enhance the sense of belonging and commitment to the educational process of those residing in it, and especially the main consumers of space—children (Aviezer, Vib, & Golden, 2021). Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between the length of stay outside the classroom—outdoors, and the positive impact on student learning and their motivation (Greenfield, 2015; O’Brien, 2009). Leisure Culture Leisure is a concept about which research began to develop in Western societies since the seventies of the last century. The research documented from around the world deals with leisure culture in the context of children and teenagers. On the other hand, in Israel it is very limited and with regard to the leisure culture of children in the Bedouin society it is almost non-existent (with the exception of a few studies that dealt with the leisure culture of children in the general Arab society (Abu Elhijah & Heush, 2018) and which is not the Bedouin society) and hence the uniqueness of this study which is a pioneering study in the field and integrates ethnographic research elements within it. The limited studies done in Israel are by Engel-Yeger (2012) and Weissblai (2011). 414 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING According to the functionalist approach of Roberts (1978), Parker (1983), and Stebbins (1992), the category of leisure must be analyzed paying attention to the complex relationships between leisure and other variables such as: work, family life, individual choice, and freedom. But from the point of view of Benjamin (1955), it is not possible to establish sharp and absolute boundary lines between leisure and other social categories. The relationships between leisure and other fields are dynamic and represent processes of change and the relationships between them are never static or fixed (Padeva, 2018). Veblen (1955) defined leisure as the consumption of time without productivity. In his opinion, the two essential differences between leisure activity and work activity lie in the purpose of the activity and its productive capacity, because leisure activity does not yield products of economic value, after all it is seen as the property of the rich. In his definition, there are three points of view for the definition of leisure which later developed into the main concepts of leisure: leisure is a function of an existential situation involving freedom and the ability to make decisions. Other researchers proposed additional definitions. For example, Kraus (1994) presented four accepted meanings for leisure, each of which represents a completely different concept of the same concept. The term “leisure” reflects those hours of the day, during which we do not deal with the necessities of existence such as preparing food, sleeping, working, studying, and taking care of household needs. It is widely believed that leisure activities contribute to personal development, promote autonomy and self-determination, encourage a sense of independence, and contribute to a person’s physical and mental health and normal social relations (Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000; Passmore & French, 2003). The perception of leisure depends on culture, and it is culture that determines our value judgment regarding leisure (Mashiach, Spector, & Veronen, 2004). It is the cultural values that decide to what extent a certain activity is legitimate, good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable to society. In different societies and cultures there is a different reference to the legitimacy of leisure (Weber, 2010). In other cultures, the concept of leisure is broad, and leisure is seen as a value, and work is a means that enables the creation of leisure and is designed to achieve it. In this framework, the concept of leisure is an existential condition based on two approaches: leisure as the quality of action and leisure as a dimension of life (Kelly & Freysinger, 1999). Likewise, it is common to think that people’s leisure time activities determine the nature of society and the quality of life of the individuals in it (Frenkel, 1981). Leisure is engaging in a familiar activity that can be defined and refers at the same time to the individual’s inner world and social functions. The pursuit of leisure led to the expansion of the definition of the concept and leisure came to be perceived not only as time left over from other activities, but “as free time” as a result of personal choice (Mashiach et al., 2004). According to the functional-structural paradigm that expresses a macro approach that supports the social order, which is seen as necessary for the proper existence of society, the researchers tended to regard leisure as a social institution and, as in relation to the other social structures, sought to provide explanations or predictions for the understanding of society in relation to its contribution to the division of labor in the system and the maintenance of social order, as in relation to the other social structures. On the other hand, within this paradigm, participation in leisure, which detracts from the time that could be spent at work, may be perceived in Western societies in a negative way, because it is dysfunctional—interfering with the social economic social order, which advocates the capitalist ethos (Lidor & Feigin, 2004). Unlike the functional-structuralist paradigm, the conflictual paradigm, which refers to confrontation, conflict, and strife, emerged as a subversive approach to the functional approach. As such its criticizes and confronts her. Instead of concentrating on supporting the social order, it LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 415 concentrates on identifying failures and challenging the deficiencies that exist in social reality. This macro approach grew out of awareness and commitment to certain values such as freedom and human equality and under the influence of various social struggles, such as the uprising of social groups against the discriminatory social order. Under these influences we are witnessing a change in leisure research and its definitions. In this context, leisure is defined as a social marker or as cultural capital. These definitions can be linked to the work of the pioneers in the field: Veblen (1955) who referred to ostentatious consumption and identified that wealth and social distinctions are characterized by conspicuous consumption and leisure for Bourdieu (1984; 1986), who examined social capital. The symbolic interaction-social construction approach to the study of society whose founder is Herbert Blumer (1986) is a micro approach. This approach is interested in the interrelationships between the individuals in society and tries to explain processes by observing the social actors and the way in which social action produces a social structures. The prevailing definition of leisure in this context is leisure as a mindset and as an experience. This concept considers the feelings and emotions of the participant in leisure and reflects the flexibility that allows variation between individuals and not between groups in choosing the type of activity. Serious Leisure and Casual Leisure The importance of leisure has been increasing in recent years, especially in view of social transformations in the environment of children and teenagers and in light of changes that have taken place in the institution of the family, the school, and the community. The definition of the term “leisure as free time” remains calculable because it allows social comparisons (Mashiach et al., 2004). The concept of serious leisure refers to the set of activities that require involvement, concentration and investment of resources that include significant physical effort and mental concentration, time, and money, which, like work, can provide a sense of meaning and satisfaction (Elkington & Stebbins, 2014). This pattern refers to six categories that define the experience of the individual from this activity: persistence in the leisure activity, investing a significant personal effort, a career in leisure that refers to achievements and a significant occupation in leisure, receiving products over time, a deep identification with the leisure activity and the development of a unique ethos as part of belonging (Stebbins, 2001b; 2007b) for the group that represents the social world of the leisure activity in which the individual participates. Part of the definition of serious leisure depends on the social reference to this time through its quality and the resources dedicated to it. A serious leisure culture is also conditioned by the availability of leisure infrastructures provided by society’s institutions (Larson, Green, & Cordell, 2011; Newman, Tay, & Diener, 2014; Weissblai, 2011). This inventory deals with health, educational, economic, educational, and social resources of the individual (Kariv, 2003; Stebbins, 2007a). Quality leisure activity may be a basis for the advancement and empowerment of the individual, but the lack of this activity may cause inaction which can sometimes lead to the choice of wrong ways involved in nonnormative actions (Gilad-Granot, 2004). Therefore, the way in which we take advantage of our free time and manage it can be defined with the help of the individual and society can define the nature of the society in which we live and the nature of the individual (Kariv, 2003; Goddin, Rice, Bittman, & Saunders, 2005; Newman et al., 2014). Casual leisure is a concept defined as a short-term activity that causes the participant significant immediate pleasure. This activity has a central Donist component, when the participants experience, during the participation in the leisure event, a feeling of daily refreshment. Casual leisure culture is an experience that may give its partner a certain and sometimes momentary sense of well-being. This type of leisure does not include the six categories 416 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING that characterize the serious leisure culture and therefore at the basis of the definition of this term there is no expectation of significant learning or the development of a deep sense of obligation. According to the popular perception, casual leisure does not contribute to a sense of full life and a sense of satisfaction and establishes the understanding among those who experience this type of leisure, that life in this format lacks significant excitement and it may even lead to boredom and restlessness (Stebbins, 2001a). At the core of casual leisure this may invite risks and it has an inferior and even negative image (Hayosh, 2017). Leisure culture is associated in the minds of many with hedonism, escapism, and pleasure without obligation, but leisure hours are not necessarily the opposite of investment of work and are not necessarily the same as complete idleness. This definition is linked to the concepts: Labor and Work. While the concept of Labor is identified with working life in the capitalist culture—hard—instrumental work, the concept of Work is linked to action for the needs of cultural formation through which people create an identity for themselves and their community and establish self-definition outside the urgent existential needs that are tied to a livelihood (Arendt, 1958). Although the leisure activities are not exempt from the existing labor conditions, this aspect is disguised through their playfulness, as well as through other forms of resistance to it such as: laziness, lack of seriousness and equanimity, towards the industrial logic of the leisure industries and the popular cultural goods they produce (Tinkcom, 2002). Informal Education as a Multi-faceted Holistic Educational Pedagogy Informal education is defined as an educational-pedagogical approach that developed in educational and community frameworks that operated outside the school framework and in people’s free time. This diverse activity leads the participants to a free activity according to their initiative and choice. At the base of the nonformal education approach is the assumption that educational and social goals can be achieved by achieving principles and content that will be operated with the help of their organizations and tools with a flexible level of organization that are freed within their work from structural and formal conditions that exist in formal settings. The goal of this pedagogy is to lead those who take part in it to active social involvement for the common good, to self-expression, creativity, flexibility of thought, broadening horizons and exposure to diverse worlds of content (Shmida & Romi, 2007). Another definition of informal education refers to the fact that this educational pedagogy includes organized educational activity that takes place outside the formal education system and provides unique patterns of education for diverse groups in the population with the intention of achieving defined educational goals, for example, the acquisition of knowledge and skills, personality shaping such as the cultivation or training of diverse skills and the development of personal abilities within the framework of leisure education, diverse activities for leisure culture or the achievement of goals for ideological education (Klivensky, 2007). The informal education system provides leisure activities and opportunities for the development of new skills and relationships, social relationships and the promotion of identities and self-determination (Cohen, 2008). In addition, this system operates in a wide variety of population sections and different countries in which the State of Israel offers programs for informal education in accordance with different ideologies and learning concepts and by virtue of diverse budget sources (Ran, 2017). Informal education is concentrated in four main areas: supplementary education, social education, youth promotion, and youth movements (Reichel, 2009). Among the values that define the framework of the informal educational system is the concept that the role of this system is to help children and youth measure up to the dynamic reality as part of the processes of forming LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 417 their identity. The importance of this process is in view of the many processes of change that occur at a rapid pace alongside the developmental changes that children and youth undergo according to their age. The contribution of this is in their ability to deal with developing tasks that help the development of the individualization of the activity partners, the formation of personal identity, social identity, autonomy in decisionmaking related to the present of those children and teenagers and their future. The nature of participating in an informal activity brings the participants and obligates them to develop diverse ways of coping related to a variety of fields that is absent from the formal initiation system (Shmida & Romi, 2007). In recent years, an overall holistic educational concept has developed, the basis of which is the understanding that education and learning are not limited to the acquisition of formal education only. This approach enables the more natural integration of the informal education approach, and this is due to the difficulty of drawing clear boundaries between it and formal education (Lampert, 2009; Rojek, Veal, & Shaw, 2006). In addition, the informal education is there to answer the basic needs of children and teenagers living in a complex reality, in which the changes are many and frequent and the great diversity that exists between people. Another function of informal education is that it encourages the youth and children to search for authentic meaning in their lives and for the ability to express themselves. The same experiences they acquire in the informal frameworks allow the youth to break them down in a structured way that can be explained by them independently (Kahane, 1997). Social Mediators and Institutional Representatives as Agents of Children’s Leisure Culture The environment in which the child lives, the characteristics of his education in formal and informal settings—as a leisure culture, have a very central role in the child’s life (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Larson et al., 2011). The definition of the level of the leisure culture is defined by environmental, economic, and cultural factors in which it is located and the dynamic effect of their characteristics on the children’s families and the cultural diversity they represent (Kahn-Stavchinsky et al., 2010; Lemich, 2006). Setting definitions for the leisure culture and coherent goals that are sought to be achieved through it may promote the cognitive and emotional skills of the children; as well as life skills and their interpersonal relationships (Kahn-Strabczynski, Levy, & Konstantinov, 2010; Lemisch, 2006; M. J. Leitner & S. F. Leitner, 2012). Through quality education for a meaningful leisure culture, a society of varying scope can expand the range of opportunities for the children growing up in it and hence its own. All of these possibilities for private and collective social leadership are made possible by the young people’s experience in a wide range of diverse activities that will give them the understanding towards the ability to expand their fields of choice in the future. By doing so, a more intelligent and diverse decision-making process will take shape for them (Gilad-Granot, 2004; M. J. Leitner & S. F. Leitner, 2012). The bodies responsible for maintaining the leisure culture wherever the citizens of a country are located are the institutions of leadership, society, and education. These are supposed to provide an available, high-quality, and diverse leisure culture for the entire population of the country regardless of external parameters such as nationality, religion, sect, economic and social status (Weisblai, 2011; Larson et al., 2011; Newman et al., 2014). These bodies are supposed to provide a diverse learning and educational environment of leisure activities that will teach the child the development of additional learning and creative skills. The concept of a quality leisure culture is based on the understanding that it is important to give the future citizens of that society a broad training that emphasizes processes over achievements and to improve the quality of life of the entire society and the leadership ability of all its components (Gilad-Granot, 2004; M. J. Leitner & S. F. Leitner, 2012). 418 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING The Bedouin Society in Israel The Bedouin in the Negev are part of the Arab-Palestinian minority that remained in Israel after the war of Independence in 1948. The Arab Bedouin community is a traditional and conservative community basically. According to estimates, before the 1948 war the Arab population numbered Bedouin in the Negev between 65,000 and 90,000 people (Falah, 1989). During the 1948 war and after that, most of the Bedouin Arabs fled and were expelled from the Negev and became refugees in the neighbors’ Arab states like: Egypt-Gaza Strip and Sinai, Jordan-West Bank and east Bank. Out of 95 tribes that lived in the area until then, only 19 tribes remained in the Negev and estimates indicate that in 1952 only 11,000 Bedouin Arabs remained in the Negev (Marx, 1967; Falah, 1989). State Israel took over most of the Negev lands, and the Bedouin Arabs who remained in the area lost the source of their traditional livelihood—sheep breeding, trade, and traditional agriculture (Abu Saad, 2010; 2011; Lustick, 1980). In fact, the Arab Bedouin population is concentrated in a defined area known as the “Saige area”, in the north-eastern part of the Negev, which was grown only about 10% of the Arab Bedouin territory before 1948, without any solutions (such as proper housing or livelihood), and without any possibility of permanent agricultural settlement (Abu Saad, 2010; 2011; Falah, 1989; Lustick, 1980; Marx, 1967). From 1948 to 1966, the Bedouin Arabs lived in the Negev, like the rest of the Arab population in Israel, under a military government. The military government meant they couldn’t return and cultivate their lands, they were geographically isolated from the rest of the Arabic population in the State of Israel, and were required to present special permits from the military governor to leave the “reserved area” for work, studies, medical treatments, trade, etc. During the period of the military government, many acts of deterrence, violence, and punishment were recorded group against the Arab minority in general, and against the Bedouins in the Negev in particular (Boymel, 2011; Falah, 1989; Lustick, 1980; Marx, 1967). Jiryis (1967) in his book on the Arabs in Israel stated that “the Bedouin Arabs in the Negev suffered more than any other group from the harshness of the military government. The military government was removed in 1966 and only then did the Bedouin Arabs of the Negev have contact closer with Israeli-Jewish society (Abu-Saad, 2011). In the late 1960s and early 1970s of the past centuries, the government developed plans for the resettlement of the Arab Bedouin population in the Negev in permanent settlements urban without any consideration of their traditional lifestyle, and without their participation in choosing the type of settlement (Elsana, 2021). For years the Arab Bedouin population in the Negev has felt that there is no willingness on the part of the State of Israel to meet them, and to provide basic services for them such as settling settlements, water supply, electricity, internet infrastructure, and educational accessibility. This feeling leads that feelings of frustration and distress are increasing, lately, strong feelings of alienation and hostility towards the state, alongside the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and processes of national radicalization in Bedouin society. These tensions could lead to a crisis of trust between the parties and long years of unrest (Abu-Saad, 2023). One hundred thousand Bedouins out of two hundred and fifty thousand live in unrecognized settlements, these settlements do not receive organized government services: municipal budgets and basic services and therefore life in them is characterized, among other things, by dilapidated physical infrastructure, poor accessibility to services, underdevelopment, and extreme poverty indices (Swirski & Hasson, 2006). The Bedouin Arab education system suffers from long-term neglect of physical and human resources. One of the main characteristics of the Bedouin education system is a severe shortage of quality and professional teachers. This lack hurts the school’s ability to provide quality teaching and hinders the development of the education system. Editorial board of Arab Bedouin education in the Negev is characterized by insufficient teacher LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 419 training and low-quality teaching, the teaching methods in it are outdated and traditional, which mainly use the method of memorization and learning by heart and do not emphasize research and analysis methods (Abu-Saad, 2023). The Bedouin schools in the Negev also suffer from physical difficulties that prevent them from improving the service they provide. First, there is a lack of facilities and equipment, this is especially true for my house a temporary book in the unfamiliar settlements. The equipment in the temporary schools is poor, the budgets are low, the facilities are few, the buildings and furniture are inadequate, and there are almost no teaching aids (Weissblai, 2006). The Bedouin community is divided into social classes and is basically defined as a patriarchal society that preserves this value with great zeal. The leader of the community is the Sheikh, who, beyond his religious observance, also has a central social role and has a great influence on all members of the Bedouin community in determining their decision-making process. Also, the society tries to adapt to the changing dynamic reality while trying to preserve unique and distinct cultural values and patterns (Lieberman et al., 2000). This ethnocentricnatural cultural approach emerges in conditions where indigenous communities are affected by Western development and economy. In such a reality, cultural diversity disappears, and as a result, traditional environmental values disappear (Levy, 2018). It is possible to identify within Bedouin society, in a centrifugal way, a variety of sub-cultures that produce different ways of shaping the space and using natural resources and the open areas of the unfamiliar settlement areas (Kroupp, 1995). The increasing beneficial involvement of the Bedouin citizens with the other world, through work, the acquisition of education, shopping centers, and service centers located outside the Bedouin village had a great impact on the Bedouin culture and imitated many traditions—foreign to the traditional Bedouin culture (Ben-Rabi, Amiel, Nijam, & Dolev, 2009; Meir & Barnea, 1987). The introduction of Western cultural markers into the traditional Bedouin cultural space affects old-age Bedouin ideas and traditions and is a conflictual infrastructure that dominates expanding social circles starting from the family unit to the creation of conflicts between clans (Abu-Saad, 2013). The Bedouin Countryside Due to the living conditions of Bedouin society and especially among those living in unrecognized villages, they are significantly exposed to environmental hazards, such as noise hazards, smells, dust, and smoke; In addition to these, the lack of connection to a regulated water source, proximity to asbestos buildings, lack of regular removal of garbage, exposure to property theft and violence, a very low level of internet and communication infrastructure, and a lack of infrastructure in the field of welfare in general and in education and medical infrastructure in general and children and youth in particular, casts a shadow on the health of the residents and on their ability to self-actualize. These conditions preserve among a part of the Bedouin population, especially that whose level of education is low, the perception towards learning and acquiring an education and rate them very low and hold the opinion that basic learning which includes the ability to read and write is a sufficient skill, which results in a relatively high dropout from the education systems among children born to these families (Lieberman et al., 2000). Spatial Aspects of the Bedouin Education System There are three main obstacles to the provision of Bedouin education services: the most common nature of spontaneous permanent settlement in the reserve area; the lack of a suitable local-urban framework for the transfer 420 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING of budgets, the low awareness of Western education and the low demand for public education services on the part of the population, which stems from the status of children in general as a workforce, and the special status and assumptions of girls—in particular (Meir & Levy, 2012). Agriculture, which manifests itself in the plowing and sowing of large areas year after year (Ben-David, 2004), defines the communities as those that rely directly on local natural resources for their existence and without technological mediation and very little use thereof. Hence the social and cultural structure is seen as a hidden system of managing and preserving natural resources. This relationship, with the beliefs, customs, and prohibitions inherent in it, reflects the human interest in the environment and carries the accumulated cultural knowledge, which is the product of evolutionary relations and symbiosis with it, and is embodied in a unique cultural language (Meir & Levy, 2012). The area defined in Israel as a “rural” area is found in the vast majority under the jurisdiction of the regional councils, which contain about 85 of the country’s total area. The characteristics of this area are mostly concentrated in its spatial features that arise from its proximity to nature and are influenced by its conditions and geographical features in its surroundings, mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, etc.; Agricultural areas usually surround most villages; The construction is spacious and characterized by one- or two-story houses (Gal & Friel, 2011). In the familiar and unfamiliar Bedouin village—the families are established in most cases, in addition to a livelihood that relies on free trades, also on a traditional economy as a household farm that in most cases contains farm animals such as a herd of sheep and goats; According to the perception of most Bedouin families, the domestic livestock: working on it and nurturing it is more important than learning and acquiring education (Karniel, 2000). The Bedouin inhabitants prefer to live in open and pastoral areas that are somewhat close to their previous lifestyles as nomads. In addition to domestic livestock, some Bedouins still engage in seasonal agriculture, which relies mostly on rainwater (Ben David, 2004). Method Examining the leisure culture of children in the Bedouin diaspora in the south of the country as responsible for the behaviors and development of children of different ages was examined through the qualitative research tradition. This tradition allows the children’s free movement activity to come through expression, through the examination of the children’s behavior which is done in their social, cultural, and natural space and without any intervention on the part of the researcher allowing them to rest and act and speak and think and behave in an authentic and original manner. Pure observation (Zabar-Ben Yehoshua, 1990) was chosen as a material practice for gathering knowledge. Pure observation arises from within the natural environment; It is a way that reflects the material naturally and without prior knowledge on the part of the viewer regarding what is obtained in the natural occurrence in which it takes place. The observing researcher collects information, records, and describes it. The research was done based on pure observations since the observed children are minors and the researcher is not able to hold a conversation with them in order to maintain the rules of research morals and ethics. Making the Observations and the Research Procedure In the study, 21 pure observations were conducted. All the observations were conducted in the natural space in the rural and urban Bedouin diaspora, which constitute the set of representations of the forms of residence of the Bedouin society in the State of Israel. The observations took place near and around the children’s place of residence. Each observation was conducted between 8-15 minutes. The study investigates children between the ages of two and 10 years. The observations, especially those conducted outside the children’s homes, were made LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 421 on male children and this works as part of a traditional cultural characteristic in which girls behave more inside the home space and not outside of it. The observed children are normal and healthy children. The observations were conducted in the natural desert spaces where the Bedouin settlements are located, which are characterized by rural terrain—open deserts where the children roam without fear. This space consists of mountains, desert sand, household animals: sheep, goats, horses, and chickens and companion animals such as dogs and cats. Analysis of Observations The analysis of the observations is done through qualitative content analysis in the strategy of grounded theory in the field (Glazer & Strauss, 1967). This method uses a process of sorting phenomena, distinguishing and separating the sequence of data, until the meaning of the data is found by revealing the characteristics found in the observations and classifying them into groups with a common denominator. This process is accompanied by a categorization that includes two elements: one, the division of the data into segments breaking up. The second is the belonging of the segments to the categories that join them together (Charmaz, 1995). The sorting of the phenomena is done by coding based on the assumption that in human behavior there are patterns that repeat themselves and that they can be revealed by close and repeated reading of the analyzed text. Coding forces the researcher to examine the meanings and connect text segments through three stages of coding: open, axial, selective coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Results Three central themes emerged from the analysis of the observations: (a) Living in a shared traditional family space as a tool for managing casual leisure culture; (b) Traditional experiences: tribal and family as developing learning skills and forming close family ties among children; (c) Processes of civilization and tradition: the father as the focus of the discourse of the children who preserve social-patriarchal-traditional structures and as a mediator of the world outside the village. Relationships Between Environment, Man, and Household Animals as Developers of Leisure Culture Experiences and a Sense of Family Belonging—Broad Tribal Living in a shared traditional family space as a tool for managing casual leisure culture. It emerged that the traditional domestic and environmental space accessible to Bedouin children living in unfamiliar settlements is the natural and direct way to manage leisure culture—casual leisure (21 observations). This casual leisure management describes the leisure culture prominently and reflects the children’s lives in the traditional space. During the day, the traditional space shows different stages of acculturation processes and the formation of behavior patterns, the main characteristics of which are the randomness and the opportunities that occur spontaneously to those children. Children living in a traditional space move between the natural places—the three-dimensional ones that nature calls to them and a transition (jumping) between places— houses, where people are present—when it is always relatives as part of the characteristics of the place and its residents and places that house the farm animals and especially the sheep pen. The movement of the children in the area of the village is usually done between three fixed places and according to the hours of the day from the moment they return from school to their private home: the grandparents’ house, the mountain, and the sheepfold and in most cases according to this spatial order. The emerging discourse in each of these places is almost always a functional discourse where the dominant discourse is the discourse of adults through the point of view of children. 422 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING Grandfather’s house and grandmother’s kitchen while preserving social-gender-traditional structures. The children see the grandparents’ house as a significant meeting point since it is a central and defined gathering place for all members of the extended family of all ages. During the family meeting at the grandparents’ house, which is a significant part of the leisure culture of those children and who devote a significant part of their time to it, the children meet with their relatives: adults and other children of all ages and both genders and create a bond that is built on a functional conversation and impromptu games. The functional discourse deals with the world of adults and revolves around religious practices such as measuring the fasting of Ramadan, a semidiscourse of children that deals with encouraging the motivation to perform the practice of fasting by a parent— usually the father, in exchange for external encouragement as a promise to give money and from it a discourse of children’s aspirations describing what they will buy with that money: for example doll; This also includes establishing habits of doing housework as part of the help—the girls are required to assist their mother. The traditional space (as well as the other spaces where the children were observed), lacks dedicated games: mobile and stationary. The children and especially the girls constitute the higher presence representation in the closed home space and this from a clear functional gender definition places them in the closed home space more than in the space outside the home. Even among the girls, a very basic multi-age game is evident, which is an important foundation for the development and acquisition of cognitive learning skills. For example: “The two daughters (cousins) are sitting in the grandmother’s house, one at the age of eight and one at the age of two” (testimony to family ties of many ages); “The older girl (eight years old) said to the little one, let’s count numbers. She counted one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, nineteen, and the little girl (two years old) followed her.” (multi-age game as a basis for learning); “The older girl asked the little one: Where is your father? The little girl answered, father is at work; The little one said to the big one, Yalla (in Arabic) (go ahead) we will be worn out would have been (In Arabic: kana kana). The older one told her to do with your hands as I do—open all your fingers and stand with your hands open, the little girl is unable to go back after the older girl’s guidance and after five times she succeeds and the older girl gives a spoon to the little one and says the words of the song: hi hi hi hi hi In the past in the past a group of girls wearing hats one on the right and one on the left ‫שמג‬said [ya] daughter of the kings the kings they come to ask your father for your hand do you agree or not.” (adult discourse and multi-age play as a basis for learning); “The 8-year-old girl said, oh, I’m tired, when can we eat? Her cousin, also 8 years old, said: I will tell my mother that I don’t want to fast tomorrow—the fast is difficult. The older daughter at the age of 9 said, Father told me that if I fast the entire Ramadan fast, then he will give you 200 shekels; I want to fast because I want to buy a nice Barbie game. The second daughter at the age of 9 said father will give it to me and he also said, and mother said she will take me to the games.” (Children’s conversation is accompanied by adults' conversation about the operation of religious practices); “At this time, the mother of the 9-year-old girls shouted, come here, help me. The girls went to their mother to do the housework.” (gender education). The Mountain Space as an Independent Leisure Space That Invites Diverse Children’s Discourse The mountain is the children’s favorite place and serves as the main meeting place with friends of different age ranges. It is again important to note that due to the family composition that characterizes these settlements, which include only blood-related families, the children interact only with their relatives and lack exposure to cultural diversity. As mentioned, the mountain, located close to the children’s home, is a central focus, which they visit on a regular basis and where they are alone and without parental supervision. LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 423 The mountain is a space where the children usually come with food and drink and where they usually eat together and have different conversations and share experiences. The experiences are related to aspirations related to spaces outside the village, such as an imagined discourse about large cities located in the southern region of the State of Israel, which they have not visited (these cities are mediated through the children’s fathers’ visit to them); Conversations are dealing with ambitions to purchase items of clothing and footwear. Through the conversations, data related to the children’s perception of the nature of the relationships with their fathers, through the expectation of the father’s return home, the father’s promises to the child, sometimes emerge. In addition, in these meetings, the hierarchical social ties between the children stand out, which is always defined by age and the unquestioning obedience to the order of an older brother to return home or come down from the mountain. For example: “Two children were found on the mountain, one in the third grade and one in the fourth grade. These are brothers, and on the road below the mountain there is a child in the first grade, and he is their paternal cousin.” (multi-age friendship based on family ties); “The boy in the third grade said to his brother, look... look, who’s coming! This is our cousin (they both said) they shouted his name and called him to come, and the boy came.” (multi-age society; structured age hierarchy); “what are you doing here? Where is your father? The boy said I want to go home, father still hasn’t come back from work (he said enthusiastically); Dad told me he wants to buy me new shoes, Nike shoes. Today I want to get home before my dad arrives, his cousins said say Awala (Arabic greeting) and he said. The child in the third grade said I don’t like my Nike shoes, I like Adidas shoes, they are prettier and more comfortable.” (children’s multi-age discourse revolving around details of clothing and footwear mixed with the discourse of adults who preserve traditions); “The boy in the first grade said: Eilat is a very big city—it’s like Dimona. The boy in the fourth grade replied: not very big. The boy (in the first grade) their cousin said, Dad told me it’s a big and beautiful city.” (An imagined discourse about a pile that they have not visited located in the south of the State of Israel and indicates the children’s limited exposure to the spaces outside their village of residence); “At a certain point, the brother (studying in the 9th grade) of the children in the 3rd and 4th grade came and told them in a loud and authoritative voice what are you doing here? Come on (go ahead in the Arabic language) go to the house now they were afraid and left.” (Hierarchical age-based socialfamilial ties that preserve mysterious tribal structures). The Sheepfold as an Educational Recreational Space and as a Space That Preserves Traditional Social Structures The sheepfold serves two major roles: taking responsibility and imitating the father and a childish (sometimes even emotional) one-sided monologue with an animal. The space of the barn as a space to imitate the work of the fathers entrusted with its operation was done as part of the definition of the children’s obligation to help with the work of the livestock. Through this definition, the children formulate a complex motivation of showing responsibility, independence, leadership in interaction with other children: boys and girls and even separating from the responsible parent—the supervisor by taking part of his role, even temporarily. In addition to these, the space of the home through the mediation of the father repeatedly defines the gender position of the children: This process is done by inviting the sons: the father’s own children and his nephews to help him with the yard work and sending the daughters in a repeated action, back to the residence while saying—a permanent instruction to help the mother with the housework. This interaction is meant to represent conservation processes of traditional social structures. The second function of the barn space that occurs while working: feeding and cleaning usually occurs when the child is alone in the barn, is the formation of a childish, sometimes emotional 424 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING discourse—a participant of the child (mostly boys) in front of the animal (which is a completely non-judgmental living focus). For example: “Two girls were found in the barn, one in compulsory kindergarten and one in the second grade, and both are sisters, and there is a boy in the second grade—he is their cousin.”; In another case: “In the sheepfold there are two boys—one in the first grade and another in the third grade and one girl in the first grade; The children are cousins, along with their uncle.” (multi-age membership family); “The daughter in the second grade said to the boy what are you doing here, why aren’t you at your house? The boy said I came because your father told me to come and also what does this have to do with you: I didn’t come to you, I came to your father. The daughter in compulsory kindergarten said this is my father not yours we do not touch your father why are you coming to my father; The boy gave a small blow to the daughter’s hand in mandatory kindergarten.” (Scalargender discourse between children as a preserver of traditional social structures; defining gender spaces); “...the girl came out of the barn crying loudly and went to tell her father that the boy hit me; Her father told her to stop and shouted to the boy: Bo I need you. The father asked the boy why he hit the girl’s hand, the boy replied: She wanted me to go to our house and I want to stay. The father (Hadad) said to the boy: Take this box and put seeds in it and then come and tell the daughter go home and ask your mother for a container because I want to milk the goats and then go help your mother at home, the girl left crying.” (gender discourse preserves traditional social structures through interaction between children and between children and adults). “The daughter studying in the second grade is standing in front of the entrance door to the sheepfold and she is holding a straw in her hand and is feeding a little goat and says to him: You are very beautiful, I want to take you to our house.” (emotional dialogue between a child and an animal); “The children are sitting outside the barn, Muhammad, the older boy says to Mahmoud, the boy in first grade and his name is Mahmoud: Look at the beautiful little lamb (Capricorn), look, he approaches his mother and says to her: How are you? I want to drink milk (the boy Mahmoud laughs out loud). Muhammad continues and says: Look, look, the little lamb’s father is standing there and Muhammad (Creates the personification of the little Capricorn) comes and asks why his father doesn’t bring him games and delicious food.” (Narrative emotional discourse through the mediation of an animal); “The daughter’s father comes to close the sheepfold and asks the children why they are shouting? The father authoritatively says to Mahmoud: go to your house and said to Mahmoud: stay with me and ask him where his father is? The father’s daughter asked her father why Mahmoud would go with you? I want to go with you too... The father replied to her: Go home and help your mother come on (go ahead in the Arabah)—the daughter went home crying.” (hierarchical discourse between an adult and a child; a discourse that preserves traditional social structures, gender structures). Traditional, Tribal, and Family Leisure Experiences as a Development of Learning Skills and Formation of Close Family Ties Among Children Locating in a traditional, multi-age gendered space in free time, as a developer of literacy buds and defining gender roles. The traditional gender space is defined in all the observations in the grandparents’ house and the grandmother’s kitchen. The kitchen is very functional and minimal. The girls usually sit on a mattress placed on the floor, on which the grandmother arranges tablecloths and pillows used for eating and sitting on the floor. The conversation (or interaction) between the children that emerges from all the observations focuses on two main issues (it should be remembered that the observations were conducted in the month of Ramadan in which children (aged eight and older as it appears from the observations conducted) are also required to fast and LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 425 hence the conversation that emerges between children deals with it). The one theme: multi-age interaction that encourages the development of literacy skills. The second is a conversation between adults and children that mostly deals with religious practices. The development of literacy buds is done naturally through a multi-age encounter, which is a central representative of the lifestyle of Bedouin families in villages of this type, where only families with a direct blood relationship live. This characteristic of Chaim “forces” the mix of children according to natural birth and not according to the diversity and turnover of the population. The children from all families (the grandchildren and great-grandchildren) usually meet at the grandparents’ house, especially the girls. The older girls take care of the younger girls (sisters and cousins) while playing with them. In most cases, the games (in the absence of dedicated games) are improvised and represented by hand games and movement and incorporated into songs. The songs are mostly traditional songs that emphasize the definition of women in traditional Bedouin society and their basic gender roles. The younger girls listen to the instructions given to them by the older girls who even correct them as needed. This format is used in two respects: unconscious intergenerational transfer made by older girls to younger girls and preservation of moral-gender social structures. As mentioned, the second issue that emerged from the analysis of the observations in the context of leisure culture among these children deals with the discourse between adults and children that focuses on religious practices. The essence of this discourse is made by the girls within the domestic space. As mentioned before, the observations were conducted in the month in which the Ramadan fast takes place and in which children fast as well, so this topic naturally very much concerns them. This discourse expresses the difficulties accompanying the girls both at home and at school in light of the tasks they received as housewives despite their expectation of relief during this period and the way in which their parents encourage them to continue fasting by providing external encouragement as a promise of giving money at the end of the period and walking together to playgrounds (which are not part of the natural living space of these children). This is the case, for example, in relation to a multi-age family meeting as a key to literacy development: “The older one said to her, let’s count the numbers. She counted one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, nineteen. The older one counted in front of her, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nineteen.”; “The big Helda asked the little one: Where is your father? The little girl answered: Dad is at work. The little girl said to the big girl: Let’s go (go ahead in Arabic) let’s play. The older one urged her: do with your hands as I do, open all the fingers and stand with open hands; The little one is doing something else (not so successful in following the instructions). After five times she opened her hands and the older girl clapped with her and sang the song: Once upon a time there was a group of girls wearing hats one on the right and one on the left…, the daughter of the kings, the kings They come to ask your father for your hand, do you agree or not? After that, the older one hit the younger one in the stomach as part of the conditions of the game and the little girl ran inside the kitchen as the older girl ran after her; The little girl ran while laughing out loud and the older one ran after her telling her to wait.” In another observation: “... the two-year-old daughter entered the kitchen where the 8-year-old cousins were, and she was holding a notebook and paints and said to her aunt’s daughters: I want to draw a little boy like my brother... Nice, the girls said to her, let’s draw you a beautiful flower with a house and trees and we will draw you... the daughter the little daughter laughed and said: yes yes I want to. They sat down and started to draw the little daughter took paint and wanted to draw... the two older girls shouted at her: look what you did is not nice why did you do that and they gave her the notebook drawing back; The little daughter took the notebook and 426 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING started coloring in an unintentional way the picture drawn by the two older ones while she complimented herself and her way of coloring: The older girls said: we will play together; They danced to anointing hands accompanied by a song: once there was a group of girls, one on the right and one on the left, wearing hats hats. Mahan gave her a blow on the hand... The little girl started to cry...” Adult discourse between children revolving around religious practices: Kitchen Three girls: two sisters and their cousin, two eight-year-olds and one nine-year-old: “One of the 8-year-old girls said, oh, I’m tired, when can we eat? The cousin (also 8 years old) answered her: I will tell my mother that I don’t want to fast tomorrow because fasting is difficult for me; The 9-year-old eldest daughter said: Father told me that if I fasted the entire Ramadan fast he would give me 200 shekels and I want to fast because I want to buy a beautiful Barbie doll game; The second daughter at the age of 9 said: My father told me that he would give me money and my mother said that she would take me to the games.” In another case: David’s three daughters sitting in their grandmother’s house: two eight-year-olds and one two-year-old: “The girls are sitting on the mattress on the floor near the kitchen door: one of the eight-year-old girls said: May God take the house of the priest, every day they give us housework, what is it, we got tired even while fasting.” Processes of Civilization and Tradition as Part of Leisure Culture: The Father as the Focus of Children’s Discourse and Preserves Social-Patriarchal-Traditional Structures and as a Mediator of the World Outside the Village In most observations (19) that recorded discourse between children during leisure time, a discourse dealing with the father of one of the children was included as part of the discourse, while in the vast majority of observations (with one exception), the lack of reference to the children’s mothers is noticeable. The figure of the father (or the uncle—the brother of the father) is very present in the child’s discourse during leisure time: the presence of the figure of the father in the discourse between children is done by a pattern of repeating incidental questions, which characterizes many of the children who want to ask the interlocutor—the boy or girl—the cousins, where their father is (it must be remembered that the family relationship that characterizes traditional societies is based on the father and his extended family branches). Also, the father who, in addition to his work in the domestic livestock, works to support the family outside the village, is an intermediary to the world outside the desert living space and through him the children learn about the existence of places and how they look or are perceived (through the father’s point of view) as big or small. In addition, the father is an authoritative figure who must be obeyed and even feared because he will resort to physical sanctions (use of physical punishment as a means of education—a figure that came up in several observations) if the children do not obey him. The male presence in the children’s lives is not reserved only for their own father, but also for his brothers—the children’s uncles, to whom the children listen in every request, to whom they assist according to their request, and to whom they accompany for help and without asking the children’s mother’s permission. This discourse represents a traditional patriarchal cultural discourse that is preserved through the definition of the status of the father—the man in this social framework and his mode of action within the private and extended family framework. The children assimilate this through acculturation and socialization processes during their lives and preserve it through their language and behavior patterns. For example: “...the big girl asked the little girl: Where is the father of? The little girl answered her: Father is at work.” “...what are you doing here? Where is your father?”; “...Father told me that if I fasted the entire Ramadan fast he would give me 200 shekels. I want to fast and want to buy a beautiful Barbie game; The other LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 427 9-year-old daughter said: my father will give me too.” (Incidental questions about the father (the uncle) in the discourse of my children and the presence of the father in the discourse of my children in general). “The boy said: I want to go home, dad still hasn’t come back from work (he said with great enthusiasm). Dad told me he wants to buy me Nike shoes... the boy in the 4th grade said: oh yes, it’s cheaper I will ask my dad today to give me 200 shekels. And I will give your father to buy it for me. The child in the third grade said: I want too.” “...he said this summer, father will take us to Eilat. Me and my mother and my two brothers said yes, we will ask father to take us too.” In another case, in a conversation about one of the children’s birthdays: Dad bought my brother a cake with a nice car on it and also my brother’s picture; The cake was very beautiful.” (The father as mediator of the world outside the village). ...“the daughter in the second grade said to the boy (her cousin) what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home? The boy replied: I came because your father told me to come, and what does that have to do with you? I’m not coming to you; I’m coming to your father! The daughter, who attends kindergarten, replied to the boy: This is my father, not yours, we don’t come to your father, why are you coming to my father.” “And the father took Mahmoud (his nephew, his brother’s son) and went to his father’s house (Mahmoud’s uncle and father) and the children’s grandfather (your house to help his mother).”; “At that time their uncle (of the two girls, aged 8 and 9) entered and said to them: Come! I want to take you to the store to buy things (the mother of one of the girls was present in the room and we did not contact her).” (Multifamily male dynamics). “... At that time, the sister of the two boys who were on the mountain came running and said to her brother: Come, father wants you to help him to feed the sheep, come on! Come quickly! The older brother of the two said: Get up before father comes and beats us.” (patriarchal-authoritative children’s discourse). Discussion and Conclusions The present study discusses, as mentioned, the experiences of leisure culture among Bedouin children living in the rural diaspora—the villages are not recognized in the southern region (Negev) in the State of Israel. In the description of the study, there are three main themes that all reflect a disturbing reality that is fully represented by a “casual leisure culture” in which there is no process of educational construction that defines goals and dedicated educational programs aimed at developing the child’s skills. It also emerged that in most of the free time among these children, they are “cut off” from other urban or rural spaces and experience a cultural uniformity that creates processes of socialization constant and impairs basic development processes such as selfdefinition, creativity, and the opportunity to engage in non-functional activities that contribute to personal development, promote autonomy and self-determination, encourage a sense of independence, and contribute to a person’s physical and mental health and normal social relations (Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000; Passmore & French, 2003). In addition, the children’s living space consists mostly of functional “facilities” (the nuclear family home and the homes of the extended family members and the sheep pen and farm animal facilities). The only space that is not defined as a functional space is the open desert space (the mountain) near their home where they get to have an independent discourse-self that reflects their personal world and allows them to talk about issues that define the areas of interest that occupy them. The totality of the data points to the notable lack of non-formal educational institutions that exist in Bedouin society in general and in an extreme manner to the point of complete absence in unrecognized villages. The disturbing manifestations of this lack are the absence of libraries, clubs, public gardens, playgrounds, and community centers (Goldberg, 2008). 428 LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING The totality of the findings that emerged from this study absolutely point to the absence of a planned and directed leisure culture either by authorized social factors or by the families inhabiting the unfamiliar settlements. It is evident that the nature of the settlements and the way of life of its inhabitants point to the unorganized nature of leisure activities among Bedouin children living in unfamiliar settlements (Kropp, 2017) and contrary to what is known so far, this study points to the variety of improvised leisure activities carried out by the children and mostly on their own initiative. The advantage of the present study is in the operation of pure observations that took part in an unfamiliar village and we directly and naturally observed the behavior of the children in their leisure hours after returning from school. As mentioned, and in accordance with what is known in the research, the leisure culture of the Bedouin children living in unknown villages is defined as an “unorganized” leisure culture (Stebbins, 2001a; 2007b). The variety of leisure activities as emerged in the framework of this study as a common family space include the homes of the entire family: the nuclear and the grandparents’ and uncles’ homes, the agricultural space that focuses on the livestock facilities such as the sheepfold and the mountain space constitute relocatees that were not discussed in previous studies. For example, the findings of this study did not suggest an active sport activity at all, as in the research of Weissblai (2011) and Kropp (2017). The leisure framework that takes place in the domestic spaces and the farmers, some of whom recorded activity of performing household chores and helping with the livestock, are in line with what is known in the research (Kropp, 2017). Part of the formation of this culture of mutual aid deals with the creation of a deliberate interdependence between the children and their parents, the family, and the community (Dwairy, 1998). This acquired motivation for mutual help and cooperation can serve as a very fruitful educational basis that indicates the ability to direct the said children to organized volunteer activities in the immediate community and in general society (Stebbins, 2001b). The variety of emerging games that were recorded as part of the observations recorded in this study indicate an improvised, limited, unvaried game that lacks familiar childhood games such as board games, toy figures, ball games, and more. Most of the recorded games took place within the home space and were accompanied by hand games, singing, and running. This figure is in line with what is known in previous studies (Weissblai, 2011; Kropp, 2017). The division of the rural space according to gender in which the girls spend most of their leisure time inside the houses while the boys spend their free time on the hills that surround the settlement (the mountain) is consistent with what is known in the study (Kropp, 2017). Indirectly, in the absence of documentation for this in the observations, the findings of this study also indicate the complete absence of leisure activities such as playing computer games or watching television (Abu-Badar & Gottlieb, 2008; Abu-Saad, 2013; Kropp, 2017); This is in contrast to the reports given by children living in recognized and regulated Bedouin settlements where there is a regular electricity infrastructure (Abu-Badr & Gotlib, 2008; Abu-Saad, 2013). The fact that the animals inhabit the livestock in the Bedouin society in general and in unfamiliar settlements in particular is consistent with what is known from previous studies in which it was similarly reported that the animals are full partners at changing times in the leisure activities of the children in the Bedouin society (Kropp, 2017). It is possible that the leisure culture (casual and completely unorganized leisure culture) reflected in the findings of this study may be depicted as a unique and diverse leisure activity suitable for traditional cultures. However, the examination of this against the various definitions of the organized leisure culture, the processes of its formation, organization, and regulation that are responsible for it point to a huge gap between its complete absence as appears from the scientific literature. This reality indicates conditions of poverty or a low socio- LEISURE CULTURE EXPERIENCES OF BEDOUIN CHILDREN LIVING 429 economic status that does not allow parents to provide appropriate leisure culture for their children while they are engaged in providing for the family (Ben-Rabi et al., 2009; Holloway & Wilson, 2014; Larson et al., 2011). In addition, this points to a well-known and disturbing fact of the lack of basic infrastructure that is required to maintain a minimal leisure culture. These factors lead to the creation of leisure at a low level and only occasionally (Ben-Rabi et al., 2009; Larson et al., 2011). According to the scientific literature, leisure activity that is not organized represents a leisure culture that is not of high quality (Stebbins, 2001b; 2007b). In addition, the observations testify to the absence of institutional guidance or of another adult factor that can promote the child and his activity by means of adapted guidance (Vygosky, 1978). The contribution of this research is in its innovative findings that emerged from the initial operation of pure observations in the direct and natural space of the children living in the rural Bedouin space in unregulated settlements in the State of Israel. Such a research setup has not been carried out so far. The findings of this study, which isolated the phenomenon of leisure culture among children in unfamiliar villages, are unique since they emerged from direct observation of them: they deal with the children’s activities and conversation. The findings deal with the family’s domestic activity ranging from helping the children with household chores alongside impromptu play within an unorganized leisure culture that mainly represents girls. This is alongside unorganized leisure activity in the spaces outside the home such as the sheep pen in the livestock farm and the mountain near the houses as a characteristic of the unorganized leisure culture of boys. 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Our investigation is based on Morocco’s major educational reforms, which focus on language competency, particularly in French, as a means of accessing scientific and technical academic information, as well as the necessary digital competencies for these sectors. Morocco has recognized the issues that its graduates face and has implemented substantial reforms.The Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research defines a strategic goal for 2015-2030 that emphasizes the incorporation of transversal skills within discipline training, with a special emphasis on Information and Communication Technologies in Education (TICE). Additionally, there is a focus on improving foreign language teaching to meet professional and societal objectives. However, the integration of transversal talents presents intrinsic obstacles, influenced by both constants and variables, especially in the rapidly evolving technology domain. This paper provides a detailed review of important insights from the CSEFRS1 (2019) and the High Commission for Planning (HCP, 2019) to develop a program that is responsive to the labor market’s dynamic requirements. The proposed program emphasizes skill-based methods, particularly in the digital domain, and recognizes technology’s vital role in developing contemporary professions. Finally, the article recommends for a comprehensive approach to higher education, with a focus on aligning academic programs with changing job market demands. By combining insights from educational and statistical authorities, the proposed curriculum intends to develop a workforce with cross-cutting abilities required to navigate the problems provided by the intersection of education, technology, and professional integration Keywords: transversal skills, modernization, professional integration, new technologies Mismatch Between Training and Employment In 1989, the Ministry made the decision to implement a French language education module. This invention significantly changed higher education instruction, especially at public institutions. The theoretical foundations of functional French (RICHTERICH), specialist French, and the Council of Europe’s Threshold Level served as the foundation for this instruction. In fact, Aoudry (2004) contends that these French classes enabled “provide the learner with linguistic and methodological tools (note-taking in class, public speaking, reading scientific or 1 Chaimae Tailassane, Ph.D., Professor, ENCG Meknes, University Moulay Ismail, Meknès, Morocco. The Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research. MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 434 technical documents, writing internship reports and dissertations, etc.) enabling them to acquire the skills they need to better follow specialized courses” (p. 30). Furthermore, the communicative strategy was the fundamental foundation of this course, emphasizing global simulations and role-playing to promote oral contact among students who would be handling public speaking and presentations. The “Technique d’expression et de communication” course, as its name implies, focused mostly on expression and communication skills rather than French language proficiency in higher education institutions like ENCG. Put differently, the area of emphasis was “business and professional life methodological know-how (writing, professional correspondence, business communication, job hunting for young executives...)” (Aoudry, 2004, p. 34). The students’ language needs and expectations were not met by this, as they required linguistic remediation before engaging in any communicative activities while keeping in mind the Moroccan setting. Aoudry clarified: After a few years of practice, what are the results of teaching Functional French and TEC and the French language? In my opinion, they need to be readapted to our Moroccan context, given the sociolinguistic situation in which we live. It’s true that this type of teaching meets the methodological and communicative requirements of scientific and technical higher education, but at an advanced level. We need to put in place an alternative form of teaching that meets the primary linguistic needs of students entering higher education. This teaching should focus solely on bringing these learners up to language level, with the teaching of Functional French or TEC taking over later, from the 2nd or 3rd year of higher education. (Aoudry, 2004, p. 35) Although the TEC course did introduce soft skills implicitly in its curriculum, it was necessary to formally recognize them in the pedagogical architecture because a significant barrier to employment for recent university graduates is a behavioral skill deficit. The strategic vision for 2015-2030 is a reaction to societal and labor market expectations. The Conseil Supérieur de l’Education, de la Formation et de la Recherche Scientifique (CSEFRS, 2015, p. 7) states that in order for the school to regain its reputation, it must integrate a number of goals: Train a good citizen; —To meet the expectations of the Nation’s vision of a democratic, civic and development-oriented society; —Contribute to Morocco’s integration into the knowledge economy and society, and to strengthening its position among emerging countries; —Promote the transition from a society that consumes knowledge to one that produces and disseminates it, by mastering digital technologies and developing scientific research and a culture of innovation and excellence. (CSEFRS, 2015, p. 7) One of the Council’s strategic objectives is also to make the learner the center of attention when designing curricula, encouraging them to cultivate a culture of intellectual curiosity, effort, and initiative; to view the learner as a true partner by integrating them into teamwork, giving them responsibility for research, innovation, and management tasks; and to instill in them a sense of duty and belonging to the institution. Assuming that graduates’ employability is mostly based on their acquisition of soft skills, it is critical to recognize the significance of the languages—French in this case—that are used to teach these abilities. Nonetheless, the HCP’s 2022 unemployment report shows an increase, which helps to explain the high number of recent graduates actively looking for work. The discrepancy between graduates’ profiles and what businesses need can adequately explain this dire predicament. MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 435 The reorganization of higher education stipulated in article 16 of the framework law represents a major challenge to overcome the internal dysfunctions of higher education and its mirror image, the law of the market. The reform cannot be reduced to what are considered soft skills, foreign languages and communication, but must be an overhaul that redefines the mission of higher education in its entirety, freeing it from a narrow market job offer or a category of company. (Instance Nationale d’Évaluation auprès du Conseil Supérieur de l’Éducation, de la Formation et de la Recherche Scientifique, 2018, p. 168) What Teaching Model Should Be Adopted in Higher Education to Promote Soft Skills? Conceptualization and Employability Soft skills have to be incorporated into programs in addition to academic knowledge or hard skills if the educational architecture needs to be reorganized, and the main reason for doing so is to make the recruiting process easier. It is true that possessing in-depth knowledge in sector X is no longer the sole prerequisite for employment; prospective graduates are now encouraged to acquire soft skills to bolster their resumes. Undoubtedly, a clear definition of soft skills is challenging because the term, which is frequently used in the plural, encompasses a very wide range of competencies. Soft talents are broadly defined by Sabri and Hanif (2020) as being: “It’s a combination of interpersonal and social skills that stem from the emotional intelligence of human interaction. These skills include self-control, awareness, empathy and motivation” (p. 7). As to the Oxford definition, soft skills are those personal qualities that allow an individual to communicate with others in an efficient and peaceful manner. Duru-Bellat (2015) defines soft skills as non-academic talents since they are more closely linked to personality traits, social skills, and communication abilities than hard skills, which are focused on technical and academic competence. As stated by Giret (2017): Soft skills are often contrasted with hard skills. On the one hand, there are technical skills (hard skills), more or less specific to certain activities, and on the other, more general skills, associated with individuals (soft skills). Soft skills are social, behavioral and emotional, and are acquired at school, in the workplace and in society (associations, culture, sports, politics). (Giret, 2017, p. 25) Nevertheless, several names can be used:  Soft skills (Theurelle-Stein & Barth, 2016);  Human skills (Brasseur & Magnien, 2009);  Socio-emotional skills (Minichiello, 2017);  Social and behavioral competencies (Albandea & Giret, 2016);  Transversal competencies (Lainé & Diaye, 2018); Moreover, soft skills are cross-disciplinary because they are transferable competences (Theurelle-Stein & Barth, 2016; Bouret, Hoarau, & Mauléon, 2018; Cimatti, 2016). The example of assertiveness, communication, teamwork, and stress management demonstrates that these transversal abilities should be trained in a professional setting in addition to particular contexts. Additionally, a competency-based approach is required to guarantee the superior’s high-quality internal performance in order to ensure this cross-functionality: In countries such as Morocco, the primary and secondary education system does not provide socio-emotional learning content. From this level, then, arise permanent and recurring needs for social and inter-relational skills for the individual as they progress through the system at later stages or even when they are on the job market, adult and active, in the midst of their socio-professional journey. (MEN, 2017, p. 13) 436 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO Therefore, it is important to stress that the goal of the educational reform is to increase graduates’ employability. Similarly, as we’ve already indicated, it makes sense to use a competency-based approach to create a training program that satisfies the demands of the labor market. In fact, this model places more of an emphasis on exposing students to real-world soft skill scenarios than it does on hard skills, with the goal of helping them adapt to a changing environment. ICTE for Learning French Like other fields, the study of foreign languages, and French in particular, has not been exempt from the ICTE’s systemic integration. Information processing and transmission technologies are examples of new information and communication technologies. Broadly speaking, they encompass not just tangible tools such as instruments, machines, etc., but also the techniques and procedures linked to their utilization. ICT, as defined by Yves Bertrand (1990, p. 100), includes: “Every form of assistance, including machines, tools, apparatus, routines, programs, processes, and methods, comes from the methodical application of scientific knowledge to address real-world issues.” (p. 11). Furthermore, ICT provides educators with numerous ways to access and incorporate a range of resources into their French instruction, including multimedia and synchronous (oral or written exchange) or asynchronous (e-mail) distance contact. Regarding this, Guichon asserts that: Technologies and their potential, real or imagined, are used as a lever to address issues related to language learning: slideshows, for example, were intended to capture learners’ attention; ICTE would increase motivation, individualize learning, respect cognitive profiles, make learning more fun, more attractive, more interactive. (Guichon, 2006, p. 11) Regarding the design of language teaching micro-tasks, the Internet presents technical possibilities in several visual and aural dimensions. Through the Internet, ICT supports cognitive rehabilitation, empowering each student to pursue their own learning goals independently. They assist students to become more motivated by allowing them to work at their own pace and giving them the tools to explore novelty and pique their curiosity. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we summarize the list of ICTE functionalities. This reminder is essentially based on the synthesis reflections of Lancien (1998), White (2003), Bertin et al. (2010), and Mangenot (2014). Indeed:  ICTs allow for both asynchronous work and instantaneous work, which leads to automatisms and personalized time management (Bertin et al., 2010).  ICTs allow for individualization without isolation since they foster ongoing interactivity (Mangenot, 2001; Brudermann, 2010; Khalil, 2011, for example).  The machine adds creativity and flexibility to activities, especially letting students create their own assignments (Bertin et al., 2010; Mangenot, 2014).  Learners can evaluate their language needs through creative expression exercises that put them in interaction with others (Bertin et al., 2010).  By controlling activities, the computer prevents cognitive overload, allowing the learner to concentrate on what matters (Bertin et al., 2010). Some researchers argue that the usage of ICT can only be effective if work is done earlier. According to Charlier et al. (2002), its integration must be tailored to pedagogical objectives and satisfy the needs of students. This can only be done by making a deliberate decision and examining its many applications, which will allow for the development of a suitable strategy. Therefore, in order to guarantee the success of educational projects MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 437 and not merely to impress and provide immediate results, instructors must be trained in the right use of ICT. Therefore, it is in their best interest to come up with the best ICT applications to carry out a teaching project. As Baron (2000) has argued, this requires that “teachers (not individually but as a profession) have appropriated them, have a notable command of them and are convinced of their usefulness, which is still far from being the case” (p. 204). To put it succinctly, ICTs stimulate cognitive and social processes in the workplace by promoting interaction and allowing the personalization of task completion paths. In fact, learners will be able to complete collaborative work at their own pace because of the separate activities. Transversal Competencies If there is a need to rearrange the architecture of education, it is only to make the hiring process easier. For this reason, soft skills must be included in programs in addition to academic knowledge or hard abilities. Actually, gaining expertise in subject X is no longer the sole prerequisite for employment; prospective graduates are increasingly encouraged to acquire soft skills to strengthen their resumes. Undoubtedly, the term “soft skills”, which is frequently used in the plural, encompasses a wide range of competencies, making a precise definition challenging. Soft skills are broadly defined as “a combination of interpersonal and social competencies that stem from an emotional intelligence derived from human interactions” (Sabri & Hanif, 2020, p.17). These abilities include motivation, self-control, awareness, and empathy. As to the Oxford definition, soft skills are those personal qualities that allow an individual to communicate with others in an efficient and peaceful manner. Duru-Bellat (2015) distinguishes soft skills as non-academic talents since they are more closely linked to personality traits, social skills, and communication abilities than hard skills, which are more focused on technical and academic competence. As stated by Giret (2017): Soft skills are often contrasted with hard skills. On the one hand, there are technical skills (hard skills), more or less specific to certain activities, and on the other, more general skills, associated with individuals (soft skills). Soft skills are social, behavioral and emotional, and are acquired at school, in the workplace and in society (associations, culture, sports, politics). (Giret, 2017, p. 30) Moreover, soft skills are cross-disciplinary because they are transferable competences (Theurelle-Stein & Barth, 2016; Bouret et al., 2018; Cimatti, 2016). The example of assertiveness, communication, teamwork, and stress management demonstrates that these transversal abilities should be trained in a professional setting in addition to particular contexts. Additionally, a competency-based approach is required to guarantee the superior’s high-quality internal performance in order to ensure this cross-functionality: In countries such as Morocco, the primary and secondary education systems fail to provide socio-emotional learning content. From this level, then, arise permanent and recurring needs for social and inter-relational skills for the individual as they progress through the system at later stages or even when they are on the job market, adult and active, in the midst of their socio-professional journey. (MEN, 2017, p. 13) The instructional change aims to improve graduates’ employability. Similarly, as we’ve already indicated, it makes sense to use a competency-based approach to create a training program that satisfies the demands of the labor market. Actually, this model places more of an emphasis on exposing students to real-world soft skill scenarios than it does on hard skills, with the goal of helping them adapt to a fast-paced setting. 438 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO What Content Should Be Taught to Systematize Soft Skills? Teachers must establish a working approach that will involve students in activities that ensure cooperation, expression, and simulation in order to develop cross-curricular abilities. This essay will concentrate on three activities that help students enhance their soft skills: projects, discussions, and role-playing. It’s true that I’ve always seen that my ENCG students enjoy written and spoken assignments more than other types, and they’re working in teams more and more, which has motivated me to provide more of them. The Task-Based Approach in Learning Systems As previously said, ICTE provides a great deal of functionality and useful solutions, especially for jobs that need to be completed inside of devices. In addition to comparing their work to that of others, students can use this opportunity to demonstrate their originality and gauge their language proficiency. “An activity carried out by the learner, the aim of which is to trigger the mental processes that will lead to learning, and which will enable personalized evaluation,” is how Narcy-Combes (2005, p. 167) defines a task. As a result, we may draw the conclusion that every job aims to promote learning and provide “personalized critical information”, as defined by Narcy-Combes. Macro- and micro-tasks are the two categories into which tasks can be separated (cf. Ellis, 2003; NarcyCombes, 2005). Realistic is the definition of macro-tasks. They rely on the observation of what are known as “staging” tasks, or “authentic” communication circumstances (Demaiziere & Narcy-Combes, 2005, pp. 45-46). Because these macro-tasks are completed in a socially interactive setting that promotes meaning negotiation and helps with the acquisition of FLE, they result in open-ended language creation. Macro-tasks include, but are not limited to, tandem work, global simulations, and problem scenarios. Microtasks, sometimes referred to as training tasks, are predicated on cognitivist theories, which require that training be applied to actual contexts. Put another way, the scheduled activities are made to assist pupils in gaining the language-centric skills necessary to finish the assigned work. In a similar vein, they emphasize controlling meaning and drawing attention to significant phenomena while being less realistic. To put it briefly, learners may find that a sequence of micro-tasks addresses the issues they faced in the macro-tasks, demonstrating how well macro- and micro-tasks may support one another. Put differently, these assignments stem from the beliefs held by cognitivists and constructivists that “training outcomes are transferable to real-world jobs” (Demaiziere & Narcy-Combes, 2005, p. 54). Developing Soft Skills in a Hybrid System Face-to-Face: Developing Assertiveness Presentation. Due to the fact that they are in charge of gathering, distributing, obtaining, and analyzing information, this teaching method allows students more freedom. By encouraging speaking, the oral exercise provides a means of enhancing language proficiency, so promoting classroom exchanges and invigorating motivation. Furthermore, students are frequently advised to do oral presentations as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. They might become more confident in their abilities and self by conquering their fears and accepting challenges. Furthermore, I provided them with two documents: one that offered helpful expressions and words for a fruitful oral presentation, and the other that depicted a grid with the various standards by which they would be judged. Additionally, I had to give a theory lecture on the presentation, its many stages, and all the materials the students MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 439 would need to succeed in their presentation before the students gave their presentations. The chance to foster teamwork among the pupils was provided by the presentations. The selection of a pair was one requirement. This was not necessarily a classmate the youngster had a special bond with. The intention was to inspire students to:  work together ,  share responsibility,  solve problems,  propose assertive solutions,  generate creative ideas. Presenting your ideas with assurance and articulating them convincingly are key components of being an assertive exhibitor. After deciding on a topic, the two had to collaborate, divide work, adhere to deadlines, and resolve disagreements amicably and responsibly. On the day of the presentation, they needed to show that they were forceful by confidently conveying the information and considering the audience (engaging them and welcoming their comments with open arms). Additionally, they had to exhibit a particular level of mastery of the information imparted through instructional strategies like mind maps, slide shows, and informative videos, as well as through the presentation approaches and tools provided, including the whiteboards, projector, and markers. In summary, the presentation gives students the confidence to speak clearly, assertively, and respectfully while defending their positions. This makes the presentation more memorable, compelling, and appealing to the audience. We distribute the scoring grid we used for the oral presentations by the students. Table 1 Grid for Co-evaluating an Oral Presentation Evaluation criteria Acquired In the process of Not Points being acquired acquired Elocution, articulation, fluency Oral communication Verbal Speech rate, tone, volume /3 Style, vocabulary Distance from notes Non-verbal General attitude (dynamic, invested) Respect dor speaking time Taking the audience into account (looking at them, making them Relational aspects participate, welcoming their comments) Understanding the questions asked /4 /3 Relevance of the answers Announcement of the plan content Structure of the presentation Introduction, conclusion Problem, clear objectives /4 Bibliography, sources Precise definitions and vocabulary, Quality of Subject covered in its entirety information given Subject covered in its entirety /4 Support /2 Document(s) presented, explained Positive points, ways to improve MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 440 Role-playing. In cross-disciplinary skill training, role-playing is an effective activity. In couples, students are asked to role-play communication scenarios so they can hone their assertiveness. Comparably, the most frequently suggested role-play is a recent graduate telling a hiring manager why they want to be promoted in their current function or an employee asking their employer for a raise in compensation or a promotion. As a first-year instructor at ENCG, my job was to help students formulate their responses in situations requiring assertive communication by giving them samples of potential interview questions. Every activity that is offered can be modified to fit the students’ individual needs and study level. The goal is to support them in becoming more forceful, capable of voicing their wants and ideas, and able to engage in assertive social interactions. Here is an example of a simulation exercise for an apprenticeship interview:  Take the time to read the job offer together, and define the lexicon you don’t understand.  Next, agree on the role that each of the students will play: the applicant and the employer.  Start your role-play and adapt the language registered to this formal situation, using the formal form of address. (1) Role 1: Candidate You’ve submitted an application to work as a sales representative, management controller, or auditor, and you’ve been invited to a remote job interview. Take an aggressive stance and look for reasons why you’re a strong fit for the position. After that, make an effort to respond to the employer’s inquiries in a comprehensive and persuading manner. (2) Role 2: Employer/Recruiter A qualified applicant has been identified for the part-time position that your organization is hiring for. The candidate has been invited to participate in a video interview. In order to learn as much as you can about the candidate and his or her background, you conduct the interview and pose questions. You make the decision to extend the job offer at the conclusion of the interview. Towards the conclusion, I provided some hypothetical questions the employer might ask: (1) Please tell us about your studies. (2) Why did you decide to go into this field? (3) Can you give us an example of successful teamwork? (4) Do you already have professional experience? (5) Have you spent time abroad? (6) What interests you in this job? (7) What are your future career plans? Last but not least, role-playing can be a good strategy for fostering assertiveness since it provides a chance to practice handling challenging situations at work and develops skills that are applicable to discussions with superiors and salary negotiations. Distanciel (SPOC): Cross-disciplinary Skills Development SPOC Presentation The relevance of the “project”, which inherently implies the idea of teamwork, has been highlighted as businesses place a greater emphasis on projects than on dossiers. This strategy places a strong emphasis on the MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 441 importance of interpersonal abilities like teamwork, which are vital. “Its origins may be traced back to the early 1900s in the United States, when Dewey introduced the learning by doing approach, which emphasizes learning via and through action...”, according to Dewey (2013, p. 47), education ought to be practical, focusing on students’ interests, daily lives, and the development of their autonomy. Project-based pedagogy can help in this situation. In five clauses, Philippe Perrenoud (2002) lays it out: “Project-based learning” entails the following: it is a group project overseen by the class group; it is focused on concrete production (in the broadest sense); it generates a set of tasks in which all students can participate actively and can vary based on their interests and means; it encourages the acquisition of project management knowledge and skills (such as choosing, organizing, coordinating, etc.); concurrently, it fosters measurable learning (at least following the event) from the curriculum of one or more disciplines. (Perrenoud, 2002, p. 15) There was an unofficial experiment conducted on the SPOC provided to second-year business and management students. Through the suggestion of activities meant to foster specific cross-disciplinary skills, the goal was to evaluate its efficacy with regard to student learning as well as their capacity to collaborate and communicate in a digital setting. Because online contact was ensured through experimentation via the digital environment, the technology aspect’s involvement assisted us in organizing and designing the activities. Furthermore, there was a time limit on entering the community that was made specifically for this reason, and registration for this new environment was mandatory. The group I took over now had a space for expression and interaction, with 37 regulars in and out of class. In addition to setting up this area at this time, I also gave the children an explanation of its features and the kinds of activities that would be taking place there. It goes without saying that this online community improves the relationships between the teacher and the students, who are frequently negatively impacted by geographic distance. Figure 1. Welcoming participants to the platform. 442 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO Figure 2. Screenshot of participants on the classroom platform. The themes. The subjects of economics, business, and management were the ones selected for this experiment. Their decision has been thoroughly examined as it is a useful tactic for enticing people to dedicate themselves to and participate in a project or study. As Reeve (2012) states, “motivation is viewed by some authors as a (...) private, non-observable process that serves as a causal antecedent to the publicly observable behavior that is engagement.” (p. 25). The chosen disciplinary themes in this respect are:  Economic players;  Company founders;  Human resources;  Marketing. Numerous files and classes addressed these topics. They were worked on in class according to a plan that organized the knowledge through extracurricular exercises that culminated in a project. This is an illustration related to the dossier on “establishing a business”. The guidelines were as follows: The government launched the “Mon entreprise” program to promote the establishment of extremely small enterprises. All of Morocco’s regions and localities now have information offices where “anyone with an idea for a project” can get support. You will be required to submit a business creation project as part of this program. It needs to be clear, compelling, and provide an estimate of its profitability. In this project, you will be invited to:  Understand the stages involved in a business start-up project,  Reflect as a group on the conditions for a successful project,  Present a project and convince. MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 443 Figure 3. Screenshot of the proposed collaborative activity. In short, the choice of themes familiar to the students guaranteed better participation, involvement, deeper understanding, and more reliable results  Proposed content: For the SPOC-Soft Skills project, we chose the classroom platform first, then we made our selections of online resources and tools. To guarantee content diversity, we also referred to FOS learning resources like “Affaires.com” and “CAP université: Economie”. The following kinds of activities were frequently assigned: reading comprehension, multiple choice questions, text organization, tables to fill out, and so on. In order to promote independent work, the training tasks were made to, on the one hand, consolidate the discourse and linguistic points (cause expression, relative pronouns, consumer-related lexicon, etc.) that students would need to compose the social task text. Additionally, they were created with the questionnaires in mind, providing vocabulary that was, on the one hand, not taught in class due to time constraints. However, they also enhanced the group project; the following pictures serve to highlight this: 444 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO Figure 4. Screenshot of classroom “micro-tasks” activities. Results Our interpretation was based primarily on the analysis of the students’ written achievements, the documents they worked with before and during the writing process, namely:  Training activities;  Interaction with peers and teachers;  Collaborative tasks. The learners were not let down by the collaborative activity’s programming, which included a group performance. A collaborative activity, as the name implies, entails group discussions centered around a task. They were inspired to discuss it with others by this exercise. In addition, most class groups had positive feedback on the project. There were 37 people in the community, and every student wanted to work in pairs. Total number of participants 37 participants Number of pairs 17 pairs + one trio Number of jobs completed 17 pairs + one trio MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO Figure 5. Screenshot of responses and work submitted by participants. 445 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 446 Certain constraints, such as the sociolinguistic insecurity of weaker pupils in comparison to those with a good command of the language (feeling of intimidation), were solved by altering this working technique. Additionally, students were able to plan their schedules to accommodate their academic and personal obligations, and they frequently strengthened their autonomy by taking charge of their own education and initiative in order to flourish in a remote learning setting. To obtain more dependable outcomes, we sent an invitation to students to fill out a satisfaction survey. To comprehend the students’ input regarding their experience with this experiment, a thorough analysis was conducted on the latter. The replies were collected, reviewed, and analyzed to determine the course’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Through this study, we were able to provide suggestions for enhancing and changing the course material, instruction, and other pertinent areas in order to better serve the requirements of the students and maximize their experience learning cross-curricular skills. We requested students to submit their choices for the course delivery method in order to supplement the previous results. The findings indicate that the majority of students selected the hybrid course, which combines in-person and online learning, with a small minority choosing in-person instruction alone. As students were encouraged to become more independent in their learning, the course became more effective due to the gradual investment in ICTE. Additionally, the hybrid system gained popularity with students, who saw it as a tremendous success because it provided them more learning flexibility in addition to allowing them to communicate with their teacher outside of the classroom. Platform navigation Very easy Easy Difficult Very difficult Is the level of the content appropriate for your level? Difficult Adapted to your level Very easy Figure 6. Use of a navigation platform. We made an effort to determine the success elements based on these two graphs. To put it another way, we sought to learn how students felt about using classroom and whether the available information was appropriate for their level. It is safe to conclude that the majority of students found the platform easy to use and comfortable, and over half of them attested to the content’s ability to be adjusted to their level, which gave us as tutors comfort. MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO 447 Creativity Assertiveness Stress management Collaboration Self-confidence Communication 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Figure 7. The most important soft skills for a young graduate looking for a job. We were able to infer prospective graduates’ opinions about the cross-disciplinary abilities necessary for effective professional integration from this graph. Students’ preference for communication, assertiveness, selfconfidence, and stress management is evident in their quest to hone these skills, which reflects their growing realization of their significance for achieving both personal and professional success as well as for creating fulfilling and long-lasting careers. Synthesis Students are using the hybrid device more frequently, and it has been successful in helping them become more engaged in their studies as well as allowing them to communicate with their teachers outside of the classroom. In fact, there are numerous benefits to learning cross-disciplinary skills digitally, especially when it comes to accessibility, customization, follow-up, interaction, and material upgrading. While there are still issues to be resolved, like ensuring the quality of the content and keeping learners motivated, this approach’s overall efficacy is encouraging for the advancement of professional skills. The digital environment provided a rich environment for the development of a wide range of student skills, from technical and research skills to communication, problem-solving, and time management skills, based on the answers to our survey and the completed questionnaire. Furthermore, the work that the students turned in allowed for the analysis of their progress in this area as well as the measurement of their happiness with the system. Furthermore, we believed that it was critical to work on some skills in the classroom—like assertiveness and self-confidence—through activities like role-playing and debates, as this is more realistic and productive for positive outcomes without the need to use the digital environment to mediate them. On the other hand, we also felt that it was important to work on other skills remotely, as the digital space is a useful resource for learning, fostering students’ independence, and encouraging creativity. Conclusion This article’s main goal was to impart important abilities, such assertiveness, which helps future graduates get employment. It is feasible to create activities in a pedagogical context that are meant to support the development of cross-disciplinary abilities and, above all, to make learning engaging, dynamic, and meaningful. The students are able to use some creativity because these activities, which are occasionally mediated, can be diverse and include solo exercises, group projects, role-playing games, presentations, debates, etc. It should go 448 MODERNIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MOROCCO without saying that they can only be completed, in-person or virtually, under the teacher’s supervision and direction. In a hybrid system that encourages cross-disciplinarity for assured employability, we have concentrated on teaching and mastering soft skills to students who possess minimal non-technical skills. It is important to acknowledge that additional, in-depth research about the upcoming university programs may be conducted. Additionally, this research will demonstrate how some soft talents serve as a kind of passport that contains all the information a graduate needs to successfully reintegrate into the workforce. In order to improve the learning of these soft skills, it is also critical to acknowledge the importance of new technologies and the usefulness of hybrid systems. References Alberti, R. E., & Emmons, M. L. (1974). Your perfect right. San Luis Obispo, CA: Impact Publisher. Albandea, J., & Giret, N. (2016). Title of the book or article. Publisher. Aoudry, S. (2004). L’enseignement du français dans le supérieur scientifique et technique: Bilan et perspectives. 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Routledge. US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 450-455 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.003 D DAVID PUBLISHING Power List System: Dilemmas and Innovation Paths for Optimizing the Internal Governance Structure of Universities LIAO Yong, WANG Yi Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China The power list system is significant in optimizing the internal governance structure of universities. However, during implementation, this system faces dilemmas such as unclear power boundaries, lack of effective supervision and checks on power exercise, and inadequate understanding among governance entities. The main reasons for these dilemmas are influenced by human factors and institutional inertia, imperfect supervision and feedback mechanisms, and differences in institutional culture. The innovation path requires universities to scientifically determine powers in accordance with laws and regulations, standardize power operation processes, disclose power list information, strengthen power supervision and restraint, and continuously optimize and dynamically adjust the power list. Keywords: power list, list system, university governance, governance structure The Meaning and Value of the Power List System in University Internal Governance A power list refers to a document that clearly outlines the power scope and responsibilities of various management levels, departments, and individuals within an organization, laying the foundation for transparency and standardization of the organization’s governance structure (Guan, 2015). The implementation of the power list system is an institutional arrangement that establishes diverse and collaborative governance by different types of development entities. In university internal governance, the core of the power list system lies in clearly defining the boundaries and exercise rules of various powers within the university, and making public the subjects of power exercise, exercise basis, exercise procedures, and supervision methods in the form of a list, subject to the supervision of all teachers and students. By implementing the power list, the exercise of internal powers within the university can be effectively regulated, preventing the occurrence of power abuse and power rent-seeking, promoting the process of legalization, enhancing decision-making transparency, and ensuring academic freedom. Firstly, the power list system contributes to advancing the legalization process of universities. With the Acknowledgement: This paper is supported by “Power List: Path Selection for Optimizing the Internal Governance Structure of Local Universities”—A Collaborative Discipline Project of the “13th Five-Year Plan” for Philosophy and Social Sciences in Guangdong Province in 2020—Project Number: GD20XJY38. “Research on the Construction of Evaluation Index System and Improvement Strategies for University Governance Efficiency”—An Educational Science Planning Project in Guangdong Province in 2023 (Higher Education Special Project)—Project Number: 2023GXJK526. “Research on the Implementation Paths and Strategies of Zhaoqing’s Talent-Oriented City Strategy in the New Era”—A Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Project in Zhaoqing City in 2023—Project Number: 23GJ-30. LIAO Yong, Deputy Director, Assistant Researcher, Party and Government Office, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China. WANG Yi (Corresponding author), Ph.D., Teacher, Lecturer, School of Economics and Management, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, China. POWER LIST SYSTEM 451 starting points of confirming, limiting, and supervising powers (Li, 2019), the power list system clarifies the sources, bases, and operating rules of powers, establishes and improves supporting systems and safeguard mechanisms, and makes power exercise more transparent. It is an inevitable choice for regulating administrative powers in universities, which is not only conducive to preventing power abuse and secret operations, protecting the rights and interests of teachers and students, but also helps to enhance mutual supervision and checks and balances among different management levels, promote the process of legalization, and realize the autonomy of universities. Secondly, by disclosing power information and enhancing information transparency, the power list system enables teachers, students, and all sectors of society to promptly understand relevant information, which is conducive to building a streamlined, rapid, and efficient decision-making mechanism, enhancing the credibility of internal decision-making, promoting the process of democratization, ensuring that every decision is in line with the long-term interests of university development, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the university and its teachers and students. Thirdly, by clearly delineating the boundaries between academic and administrative powers, scientifically and rationally allocating internal resources of the university, and avoiding excessive administrative intervention in academic affairs, the power list system provides strong support for academic freedom, helps to build an open, orderly, and efficient internal governance environment, creates a harmonious, free, and innovative academic environment, and effectively stimulates the innovative vitality of universities, laying a good environmental foundation for knowledge innovation and talent cultivation. In summary, the power list is a means to promote the transformation of government functions and realize streamlined administration and delegation of powers, with the aim of regulating and restraining the operation of powers (Liu & Zhang, 2016). The introduction of the power list system clarifies the boundaries of powers and responsibilities of various governance entities within the university, helping to break the drawbacks of excessive power concentration and opaque decision-making in the traditional governance structure. Through list-based management, various types of powers within the university, such as academic and administrative powers, are clearly delineated, which not only guarantees the independence and freedom of academic research but also improves the standardization and efficiency of administrative management. It is conducive to enhancing the transparency and credibility of governance, strengthening the sense of participation and belonging of teachers, students, and staff, and laying a solid foundation for building a modern university governance system. Difficulties and Cause Analysis of Implementing the Power List System in Local Universities With the deepening of the modernization of the educational governance system and governance capacity, the power list system, as one of the important paths to optimize the internal governance structure of local universities, theoretically has many advantages. However, in implementing the power list system in local universities, there are still many challenges such as inadequate legal supporting systems, unclear boundaries of various powers, weakened democratic supervision, unclear management responsibilities at the university and college levels, and insufficient vitality at the grassroots level (Wen, 2016). Firstly, the boundaries of power are not clearly defined. The core of the power list system lies in clearly defining the boundaries and exercise rules of power. However, in the implementation process of local universities, the issue of unclear power boundaries is prominent. Due to historical reasons and institutional inertia, the internal 452 POWER LIST SYSTEM power division in local universities is not clear, and there are cases of power crossover, overlap, and ambiguity. For example, in teaching management, there are ambiguous areas in the scope of power between the teaching affairs office, secondary colleges, and teachers, leading to phenomena such as responsibility shirking or power struggles in curriculum design, teaching reform, and other matters. Similarly, in student management work, the power definition for some specific affairs between the student affairs department, counselors, and various colleges is not clear, affecting management efficiency and educational effectiveness. How to scientifically and rationally divide power to ensure that it is not overly centralized or overly dispersed is a technical challenge. Secondly, the exercise of power lacks effective supervision and checks and balances. The supporting systems and safeguard mechanisms related to the power list system are not yet complete, resulting in unclear and nonspecific definitions of power boundaries and difficulty in forming an effective power restraint mechanism. On the one hand, the formulation and implementation of the power list exhibit a top-down, administratively dominant logical characteristic. The administrative agencies of universities have significant discretionary power (Sun, 2020), and internal oversight bodies lack independence and authority, making it difficult to conduct comprehensive, timely, and fair oversight over the exercise of power. On the other hand, the channels for teachers and students to participate in oversight are not sufficiently open, and there is a lack of effective information feedback mechanisms, making it difficult for oversight to play its due role. For example, in the use of research project funds, although there are clear power regulations, there may be loopholes in the actual oversight process, resulting in improper use of funds that is not timely discovered and corrected. Thirdly, some faculty and staff have insufficient understanding and comprehension of the power list system, and there are deviations in the implementation process. Some individuals may be accustomed to traditional management methods and do not attach sufficient importance to the power list, making it difficult for the power list system to be effectively implemented in actual operations. For example, when handling affairs, some administrative personnel still rely on past experience and subjective judgments, neglecting the procedures and authorities stipulated in the power list, thereby causing confusion and irregularities in work. Additionally, due to inadequate publicity and training on the power list system, some faculty and staff have insufficient understanding of its role and are unable to correctly use the power list to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. In the implementation process of the power list system in university governance, a series of obstacles and challenges are encountered. The main reasons are as follows. Firstly, the clarity and specificity of the power list are often influenced by human factors during implementation. The inertia of the traditional management system often leads to resistance in the formulation and implementation of the power list, and some managers may resist reforms due to concerns about power restrictions. For example, in some universities, due to ambiguous power boundaries and entangled interests, there are issues of subjective interpretation and arbitrary exercise in the implementation of the power list, leading to obstacles in the exercise of power listed in the list and even abuses of power and ultra vires acts, seriously affecting the fairness and efficiency of university governance. Secondly, the supervision and feedback mechanisms in the implementation of the power list are inadequate. The lack of effective oversight mechanisms not only weakens the authority of the system but also may lead to concealed operations of power, making it difficult to guarantee the implementation of the power list. At the same time, the lack of open feedback channels also leads to difficulties in timely identifying and resolving issues. It is necessary to flexibly adjust the implementation methods of the power list and establish effective supervision and POWER LIST SYSTEM 453 feedback mechanisms in response to different issues and situations. Thirdly, the implementation of the power list system in university governance also faces obstacles related to institutional cultural differences. Different universities have differences in governance concepts, organizational structures, and cultural traditions, which lead to varying degrees of effectiveness in the implementation of the power list system across different universities. Therefore, when advancing the power list system, it is necessary to fully consider the actual situation of each university and formulate and implement the list according to local conditions to ensure its effectiveness and feasibility. In response to the obstacles and challenges in implementing the power list system, we not only need to further improve the clarity and specificity of the power list and reduce the influence of human factors but also establish and improve the supervision and feedback mechanisms for the implementation of the power list system to ensure that the implementation of the power list is effectively guaranteed. At the same time, we should further strengthen the development of institutional culture and promote exchanges and integration in governance concepts, organizational structures, and cultural traditions among universities to create a favorable environment for the implementation of the power list system. Pathways for the Innovation of Internal Governance Structures in Universities Based on the Power List System The power list system, as an important measure for modernizing government governance, has achieved good results in practice. However, considering the nature and functions of universities, as key institutions for education and cultivation, universities possess unique characteristics distinct from enterprises and governments. Academic exploration is inherently uncertain (Liu, 2020). Although the power list system encounters some difficulties in its implementation within universities, the role of this system in optimizing internal governance structures and enhancing governance efficiency in universities cannot be underestimated. To overcome these difficulties and achieve effective implementation of the power list system in university internal governance, it is necessary to establish a complete set of operational mechanisms. Firstly, define power boundaries and formulate a power list. Administrative power has an inherent tendency to expand; thus, it is necessary to restrain this “wild horse” through the power list system. Currently, the diverse and collaborative governance structure of universities provides a realistic foundation for clarifying the boundaries of different power entities and implementing the power list system (Li, 2018). Universities should comprehensively review the legal authorities of various departments and positions based on laws, regulations, and university bylaws, clarify the management boundaries between the university and its schools/departments, and clearly delineate power scopes and responsibility contents to ensure that every power has a legal basis and can be exercised according to rules, thereby regulating and supporting the autonomy of schools/departments (Zhang, 2021). For example, in academic matters, clarify the core powers of academic committees in academic evaluation, discipline development planning, etc., while also clarifying the responsibilities of teaching management departments in curriculum design and teaching quality monitoring. Based on the review of legal authorities, compile a directory of administrative authorities for each department, solidify the authorities of administrative departments in the form of a list, and clarify elements such as the name, category, exercising entity, and exercising basis of each authority. Additionally, establish a position responsibility system based on the principle of appropriate separation of decision-making, execution, and supervision. Reasonably divide the responsibilities, authorities, work procedures, and target specifications of the leaders in charge and internal 454 POWER LIST SYSTEM departments, clarify the responsibilities and obligations of each position, and assign them to specific positions and individuals to avoid management chaos caused by overlapping powers and unclear responsibilities. Secondly, standardize power operation processes and disclose power information. The specific processes for exercising power should be reviewed and reconstructed. It is necessary to establish a power operation process mapping institution composed of experts from inside and outside the university, representatives of teachers and students, etc., scientifically draw power operation flowcharts, clarify the order, steps, time limits, and supervision methods for exercising power, ensure that the power operation processes are scientific, rational, smooth, efficient, and widely recognized, and enhance the transparency and controllability of power exercise. The flowcharts should be concise and easy to understand and operate. For example, in the approval of scientific research projects, specify the specific steps and participants from application, preliminary review, expert evaluation to final decision-making to ensure the scientificity and fairness of decision-making. The soul of the power list system lies in information disclosure (Cheng, 2014). Universities should utilize modern information technology and comprehensively disclose the power list and power operation flowcharts through various channels such as the campus network and bulletin boards to accept supervision from teachers, students, and all sectors of society and enhance the transparency and credibility of power exercise. Thirdly, strengthen power supervision and restriction. Establish and improve the internal supervision mechanism, clarify the supervision subjects, contents, and methods, and strengthen the supervision of the whole process of power exercise. Discipline inspection and supervision, auditing, and other departments should fully perform their functions, conduct regular inspections and special audits on the exercise of power, and promptly correct any issues found. In the process of supervision, there may be information asymmetry and insufficient supervision, so it is necessary to introduce external supervision forces such as social supervision and public opinion supervision, broaden supervision channels, and enhance supervision effectiveness. Fourthly, improve the mechanism of responsibility investigation and rewards and punishments. Enhance the interpretation of the power list system, identify key areas for its implementation, and establish a functionally well-defined, reasonably divided, consistent with powers and responsibilities, and efficient system in accordance with the law. From comprehensive review to adjustment and cleanup, and then to review and publication, ensure scientific, standardized, and orderly progress (Yan, 2017). Give recognition and rewards to departments and individuals that exercise power and perform their duties according to the law; seriously deal with departments and individuals that exercise power in violation of laws and regulations. Through the mechanism of rewards and punishments, form effective constraints and deterrence on the exercise of power. Fifthly, continuously optimize and dynamically adjust the power list. Establish and improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism of the power list, regularly evaluate and summarize the implementation of the power list system, and make timely adjustments based on the needs of internal school governance and changes in the external environment to maintain the flexibility and adaptability of the system. Actively listen to the opinions and suggestions of teachers, students, and all sectors of society, strengthen communication and interest coordination, and continuously improve the feedback mechanism of the power list system. In summary, as an important institutional innovation, the power list system has far-reaching significance and value in exploring the optimization of the internal governance structure of universities, balancing power conflicts among different stakeholders, promoting academic freedom and innovation, and enhancing governance effectiveness. However, in the process of implementation, it is necessary to confront problems and challenges directly, and at the same time, clarify the nature and positioning of the power list to prevent it from transgressing POWER LIST SYSTEM 455 the law (Shen, 2015). Its basic function is to achieve openness and transparency of power. By constructing a scientific and reasonable operational mechanism, it can fully exert its effectiveness, effectively enhance the level of internal governance of universities, promote the high-quality development of local universities, and facilitate the modern transformation of the university governance system. References Cheng, W. H. (2014). How to achieve “Visualization” in the process of national governance: The connotation, significance, and promotion strategies of the power list system. Frontiers, 3(9), 90-95. Guan, B. Y. (2015). Research on the administrative law value of the power list. Jianghan Tribune, 58(1), 114-121. Li, C. H. (2018). Several basic issues of the administrative power list system in universities. Higher Education Exploration, 34(7), 23-29. Li, C. H. (2019). The university charter is the internal basis for formulating the administrative power list of universities. China Higher Education, 55(2), 50-52. Liu, H., & Zhang, D. H. (2016). Normative research on the list of state educational administrative powers: Taking the administrative powers of the ministry of education as the research object. Fudan Education Forum, 14(1), 16-22. Liu, Y. J. (2020). Three lists in the reform of “Delegation, Regulation, and Service” in higher education: Power list, responsibility list, and negative list. Journal of Nanjing Normal University (Social Science Edition), 66(2), 53-67. Shen, H. P. (2015). The positioning of the power list cannot transgress the law. Academics, 30(1), 126-134. Sun, C. H. (2020). Logical analysis and development path of formulating and implementing the power list. Chinese Public Administration, 36(4), 88-94. Wen, S. B. (2016). Research on the value, dilemmas, and paths of the power list in promoting the modernization of university governance. China Higher Education Research, 32(6), 60-64. Yan, D. K. (2017). Research on the current situation and countermeasures of the construction of the power list system in universities from the perspective of governance modernization. Heilongjiang Researches on Higher Education, 36(9), 34-36. Zhang, L. N. (2021). How to enhance the effectiveness of university governance: A comparative analysis based on the key elements of governance in four world-class research universities. China Higher Education Research, 37(5), 36-42. US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 456-459 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.004 D DAVID PUBLISHING Training Recommendations for Cultivating Cultural and Industrial Talents in the Oriental Digital Era MA Boqiang  Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China The rapid advancement of big data technologies and artificial intelligence presents new prospects and obstacles for many sectors. The advancement of the cultural industry relies heavily on the continuous integration of digital technology. As a result, there is a pressing need for a significant number of skilled cultural industry managers who possess knowledge in the field of digitization. Keywords: talents training, cultural industry manager, digital technology, artificial intelligence Introduction The rapid advancement of digital technology and artificial intelligence is leading to a new wave of scientific and technical revolution and industrial transformation. This is resulting in the seamless integration of mathematical technology with traditional industries and giving rise to new trends. There is currently a shortage of digital integrated talent in the range of 25 million to 30 million, and this gap is growing according to the research report presented in (Renrui & Deloitte, 2023). The cultural industry is also experiencing a similar shortage of digital management skills. Given the emergence of a new era, along with new opportunities and challenges, it is crucial to address the issue of how universities can effectively educate students to meet the demands of the times. Specifically, there is a pressing need to equip students with the necessary skills in digital, industrial, and cultural management in order to adapt to the evolving landscape. The present challenges in the training of talent for cultural sector management are investigated as follows. In 2004, the Ministry of Education granted approval to four universities, namely Shandong University, China Media University (previously Beijing Broadcasting Academy), China Ocean University, and Yunnan University, to establish a program in cultural industry management (He, Ma, & Wang, 2012). This program offers a bachelor’s degree in management. In 2012, the Department of Education introduced the “General Higher Schools Undergraduate Professional Catalogue”, which elevated “cultural industry management” from a trial specialization to a formal specialization (Zhang, 2014). It is now classified under the management class, within the discipline of business and business management at the undergraduate level. Students pursuing this specialization can earn a degree in art or management. Unclear Professional Positioning Despite 20 years of progress, the field of cultural industry management is still in its nascent stage of development. Universities have varying interpretations of the management of cultural industries, resulting in MA Boqiang, Presidential Office, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China. CULTIVATING CULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL TALENTS 457 different disciplines and degrees for students specializing in management. These degrees include Bachelor of Management, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Literature (Gao, 2020). However, there is no unified professional positioning and construction standards among universities. Each university relies on its own conditions and traditional advantages, which leads to difficulties in educational resources and the lack of a systematic integration of discipline layout and professional development. This situation is not conducive to the long-term development of the profession. Incomplete Curriculum Configuration The specialized courses in cultural sector management primarily focus on public management, communication, preparation, and hosting classes. The majority of universities primarily emphasize theoretical aspects and concentrate on management disciplines, with less emphasis on Internet expertise and big data mining. The current training model primarily relies on one-way infusion, with a limited range of teaching content. As a result, it fails to adequately address the actual requirements of businesses for professionals in cultural industry management. This mismatch between post-enterprise competence and enterprise employment expectations hinders effective alignment. Inadequate Practical Teaching The current construction of the mathematical literacy curriculum is insufficient in keeping up with the rapid advancements in science, technology, and industrial changes. This lack of adaptation hinders the cultivation of management talents in the cultural industry, particularly in terms of practical teaching experience that aligns with market demands. Most universities only focus on matching the content of enterprise business, without considering the data knowledge requirements of the mathematics era for students. As a result, the developed talents lack focus and distinct characteristics, making it challenging to balance talent development with social needs. Critical Need to Improve Cultural Industry Managers’ Literacy Due to the fast-paced advancement of information technology and the emergence of the digital economy, the cultural industry has become a knowledge-intensive, technology-intensive, and creative-intensive sector. Consequently, the industry’s management model is more reliant on digitization and intelligent methods for change and innovation. Thus, enhancing the mathematical proficiency of cultural industry management professionals has become crucial in driving the industry’s high-quality growth. Firstly, proficient managers possessing these abilities can effectively identify market trends and utilize cutting-edge technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to optimize resource allocation. They can also drive innovation in cultural industry content, business practices, and service models, thereby expediting the transformation and upgrading of the industry. Secondly, during an era characterized by the use of data, the process of making decisions in management is becoming more reliant on the analysis of data and intelligent forecasting. Managers who possess mathematical intelligence have the ability to utilize data analytics technologies to extract important insights from large datasets. This enables them to make decisions based on scientific evidence, so enhancing decision-making efficiency and accuracy while minimizing the risk associated with decision-making. Thirdly, the cultural industry exhibits a significant level of integration with science and technology, tourism, education, and other related domains. Utilizing mathematical expertise in talent management has the potential to 458 CULTIVATING CULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL TALENTS disrupt conventional limitations, foster a profound integration of the cultural industry with other sectors, generate novel sources of value growth, and broaden the scope for industrial advancement. Recommendations for the Promotion of Digital Talents Consistently Cultivate Well-defined Target Market Position Cultural industry management professionals aim to develop expertise in planning, managing, and overseeing various specific sectors such as cinema, newspaper publishing, online games, art entertainment, cultural trade and investment, cultural exhibition, and cultural tourism (Liu, 2019). It is essential to possess a comprehensive understanding of both ancient and modern cultural perspectives, as well as expertise in planning, business, and modern industrial practices. Additionally, one must be well-versed in modern digital and intelligent technologies, prioritize the development of innovative capabilities, and integrate cultural, technological, and business model innovations. This will establish the concept of “Big Culture”. Ongoing Enhancement of Training Curriculum Development When designing training programs for students in cultural industry management, it is important to include courses on data retrieval and analysis. These courses should focus on big data knowledge, ensuring that students not only have a strong understanding of cultural industry theory, but also possess the skills to effectively utilize modern data service methods. By leveraging “Internet+” information technology, students will learn how to extract valuable information from large datasets and use scientific methods to organize and transmit data in a way that meets customer needs (Zhang, 2023). Consistently Investigate the Concept of Collaborative Development Between Educational Institutions and Businesses To align with market orientation and enterprise requirements, universities and enterprises collaborate to develop talent development programs, jointly create courses and teaching content, establish internship projects, and ensure effective coordination between teaching management and internships. This collaboration aims to foster a symbiotic relationship between theory and practice, classroom learning and real-world experience. The university serves as a “intellectual reservoir pool” for the enterprise, while the enterprise provides a “practical base” for the university. This integrated approach strengthens the research capabilities and achieves a “three winwin” situation for schools, students, and enterprises. Conclusion The globalization of culture is heavily reliant on digital technology, IoT technology, virtual reality technology, and artificial intelligence technology. Additionally, the development of the cultural industry has created new opportunities for the information industry. This has led to the breaking of technical barriers within traditional media, network, information, and other related industries, and has accelerated the integration of digital technology and artificial intelligence with the cultural industry. To achieve this, it is crucial to establish a new model that focuses on cultivating experts in market-oriented cultural industry management with a strong background in higher education. These professionals should possess unique ideas, the ability to innovate, and expertise in modern digital technologies, as well as business management skills. CULTIVATING CULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL TALENTS 459 References Gao, B. (2020). High school of cultural industry management and training of professional talents for status study. Journal of Higher Education, 6(35), 160-163. He, P., Ma, L. Y., & Wang, M. S. (2012). Study on the model of professional talent development in the management of cultural industry at higher education colleges. Industry and Science and Technology Forum, 11(5), 253-254. Liu, Y. T. (2019). Study on the model of talent training in cultural industry management in the age of big data. Journal of Taiyuan Urban Vocational College, 21(7), 131-133. Renrui, H. R. (2023). Report on research and development of digital talent in industries. Social Sciences Academic Press. Zhang, H. (2023). “Internet-Plus” era applied cultural industry management talents training study. Economic Research Guide, 19(15), 138-140. Zhang, Z. (2014). Analysis of the objectives of the training of the specialty of cultural industry management at Chinese universities. Military Culture Studies, 16(4), 101-105. US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 460-465 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.005 D DAVID PUBLISHING VerbiCube—A New 3D Tool to Teach and Learn English Tenses Nick Koretsky Independent Researcher, Russia This paper is about a new class of tools for teaching and learning verbal grammar of the English language. These tools perform two major functions. They organise/structure the learning material and provide means of efficient navigation inside it. To separate this new class of tools from existing teaching aids a new term introduced—“navigizer” (navigator + organiser). A following description of the VerbiCube as a 3D navigizer of English verbal grammar details its design and functions. It also gives examples of its practical application in real teaching and learning situations. Keywords: verbal grammar, English tenses, English as a Second Language (ESL), navigizer, low-res VerbiCube, high-res VerbiCube, verbal transformer, animated VerbiCube, verbal GPS, a 3D map of verbal grammar, a one-glance reference, high-precision verbal grammar (HPVG) Introduction Verb is a power-core and the most complex part of any language. It is particularly true for the English language with its system of numerous tenses. Mastering this system is not an easy task for students who learn English as a Second Language (ESL). It is especially true for ESL students from the “beginner” to “low intermediate” levels. Those students have considerable difficulties trying to sort out numerous tenses and verbal forms. What may look for the outside viewer as a “diligent learning”, from the inside experience of a student, is in fact a tedious quest filled with despair and frustration. Having had this problem myself as a student many years ago and experiencing it during my teaching career, I decided to do something about it. Research and Development There is a well-known table of English tenses like the one given in a book of Betty S. Azar Understanding and Using English Grammar. Nick Koretsky, Independent Researcher, Russia. VERBICUBE—A NEW 3D TOOL TO TEACH AND LEARN ENGLISH TENSES 461 Figure 1. Tenses table. Taking this table as a model, I built an enhanced version. It served as an interactive organiser of English tenses helping students navigate and quickly find what they needed. Figure 2. Interactive 2D table. However, most of my students still complained about “too many tables”. Trying to find a solution to this problem I came to the idea of using a mnemonic method called “method of loci”. I took a cube and placed three major verbal groups of the English language on its surfaces. I called this new teaching tool a VerbiCube and this particular design a low-resolution VerbiCube (low-res VerbiCube). 462 VERBICUBE—A NEW 3D TOOL TO TEACH AND LEARN ENGLISH TENSES Figure 3. Low-res VerbiCube. Then I enhanced a low-res design with full tables of verbal forms and tenses. This is how my high-resolution VerbiCube (hi-res VerbiCube) appeared. It serves as an interactive 3D arrangement of all verbal grammar tables of the English language. Figure 4. Hi-res VerbiCube Practical Application Case #1. Recognizing Verbal Structures in a Sentence From the “beginner” to “lower intermediate” levels of ESL studies many students have a problem which they often cannot clearly articulate. It is a problem of recognizing verbal patterns in a sentence. This problem is particularly difficult to handle because of perception differences between a teacher and a student. When an experienced teacher and a novice student watch the same text, they actually see different “pictures”. To help my students handle this problem I invented a colour-coding activity which involves using low-res VerbiCube. Have a look at these two pictures below. VERBICUBE—A NEW 3D TOOL TO TEACH AND LEARN ENGLISH TENSES 463 Figure 5. Color-coding. Picture on the left (with red cross) shows the uncolored text. This is what students usually have in their textbooks. It takes a lot of effort and memory for a beginner to recognize verbal structures in the uncolored text and understand their meaning. Picture on the right (with low-res VerbiCube), however, gives a student immediate understanding of the verbal structures in a sentence and their functionality. It is particularly helpful for a student to have a low-res VerbiCube in sight together with the colored text. It serves as a “one-glance reference” for recognising key verbal patterns. Case #2. High-Precision Verbal Grammar Hi-res VerbiCube is a detailed 3D map of English verbal grammar. As such, it serves as a Verbal Grammar Positioning System (Verbal GPS, V-GPS) for high-precision navigation in numerous English tenses and verbal forms. Figure 6. Verbal GPS. Having a colour-coded text, I linked each coloured part of the text to its particular place on the surface of the hi-res VerbiCube. 464 VERBICUBE—A NEW 3D TOOL TO TEACH AND LEARN ENGLISH TENSES Figure 7. Text-to-cube linking. It drove grammar teaching/learning to a whole new level in precision and understanding by a student. Now each verbal piece is not just an abstract notion. It is a tangible place on the cube where a student can put a finger. This is how it works in a real teaching situation in class. YouTube (USA/EU) RuTube (China+) Figure 8. Speech-to-cube drill. Case #3. A Verbal Transformer Working with my VerbiCube, I also found it helpful in teaching traditionally difficult areas of English grammar (e.g. difference between Simple Past and Past Perfect, explaining details of the Present Perfect tense etc.). To visualise those grammar abstractions I designed a transformer version of the VerbiCube. Figure 9. Verbal transformer. VERBICUBE—A NEW 3D TOOL TO TEACH AND LEARN ENGLISH TENSES 465 Case #4. Animated VerbiCube to Teach Sequence of Tenses Sequence of tenses is another difficult topic for teaching due to numerous transition rules. I designed a special animated version of the VerbiCube to visualise those rules. This format allows students to quickly grasp the idea of “tenses shift” and save a lot of time in studies. Figure 10. Animated VerbiCube. Conclusion Born from practical teaching needs, the VerbiCube navigizer turned out to be a helpful tool. It has 3-in-1 functionality and I broadly use it in my teaching practice. Combined with other teaching tools and solutions, it helps to reduce verbal grammar teaching/learning time, decrease my speaking burden as a teacher, and engage students into meaningful interaction in class. I have ideas for further development of this project. This is why I got a US patent #10,902,740 for this invention on Jan. 26, 2021. Figure 10. Summary. References Azar, B. S. (1981). Understanding and using English grammar. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Wikipedia. (2024, July 7). Method of loci. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 466-477 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.006 D DAVID PUBLISHING A Study on the Impact of International Study Programs on the Global Competency of English Major Students LI Ziyu Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, Nanning, China LI Zhentan Nanning University, Nanning, China This study explores the impact of international study programs on the global competence of English major students, focusing on cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal dimensions as proposed by Tsinghua University. It adopted questionnaires and interviews as the research methods. A total of 216 English major students from four different universities, who had participated in international study programs for varying periods, were randomly selected as the research subject. Stata software was used for quantitative analysis, while qualitative insights were derived from interviews. Findings revealed significant improvements in students’ intercultural communication skills, selfawareness, social responsibility, language proficiency, cultural confidence, and global awareness. The study highlights the enhancement of comprehensive language abilities and a better appreciation of traditional Chinese culture under foreign influence. Students also showed a strong willingness to engage with foreigners and adapt to diverse cultural contexts. These findings provide practical experience for cultivating talents with international perspectives and global competitiveness. Furthermore, they offer valuable insights for the development of internationalized education programs. Keywords: international study programs, English major students, global competency, intercultural communication skills Introduction Under the background of globalization, we have gradually entered an era of increasingly frequent international exchanges and cultural cooperation. In the face of common global challenges such as environmental protection, energy management and security, the need for global cooperation is becoming more and more obvious. In response to this trend, students of English major need to be well-prepared in order to be able to seize future opportunities and respond effectively to challenges. The key is to enhance their “global competency”—the ability to learn, work, and interact in a multicultural and international environment. Global competency includes intercultural communication competency, global awareness, and the ability to recognize and respond to social Acknowledgement: This paper is the interim results of the project “A Study on the Construction of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Curriculum System for English Majors in Guangxi Universities” (Project number: 2022ZJY2779) of Guangxi Education Science “14th Five-Year Plan” Project. LI Ziyu, Associate Professor, School of European American Languages and Cultures, Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, Nanning, China. LI Zhentan, Associate Professor, College of ASEAN Studies, Nanning University, Nanning, China. A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 467 responsibility. It requires students not only to be able to communicate fluently in a multilingual environment, but also to have the ability to understand and adapt to work and live in different cultures and contexts. Therefore, emphasizing the cultivation of global competency not only helps students enhance their international competitiveness, but also provides them with the necessary soft power support to effectively cope with complex challenges in the era of globalization. The purpose of this study is to explore the current situation of global competency of English majors in a multicultural context, and to explore the impact of these experiences on the development of global competency and its implications for foreign language education. Research Design The Model of Global Competency The proposal and research on global competency originated in 1988 in the United States; the related study on it in our country began in 2014. Foreign scholars in 1970 proposed the term intercultural competency and research on its concept connotation and constituent elements. Domestic research on relevant topics began after 2000 (Zhang & Chang, 2019). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines global competency as the following: first, the ability to critically analyze global and cross-cultural issues from multiple perspectives; second, understanding how differences affect perceptions, judgments, and perceptions of self and others; the third is the ability to interact with others from different backgrounds in an open, appropriate, and effective way based on the search for human dignity (Li, 2018). Hunter, White, and Godbey (2006) defined global competency as: holding an open attitude to foreign culture, actively understanding its norms and expectations, and being able to effectively use the knowledge acquired to live and communicate in an environment outside one’s own culture. Deardorff (2006) put forward the pyramid model. In this model, attitude is still at the most basic position, while knowledge and skill both belong to the second level and are in a side-byside relationship, which not only restricts each other but also is affected by the attitude at the lowest level. Based on the effective combination of these three factors, Olson and Kroeger (2001) roughly divided global competency into three dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and skills, that is, students must have sufficient substantive knowledge of language, culture, and global issues, awareness of the perception and understanding of thinking patterns such as openness, anti-stereotype, complexity, and objective judgment, as well as intercultural communication skills such as adaptation, empathy, cross-cultural understanding, and cultural integration in order to interact effectively in an interdependent world. In 2018, the OECD developed its own “Global competency” measurement tool, which consists of the following two parts: first, a cognitive test, which uses situational questions to test students’ background knowledge about global issues and cultural interactions, as well as the cognitive skills required to solve them. The second, self-questionnaire report, examines students’ awareness of global issues and cultures and their level of development of cognitive skills, social skills, and attitudes related to them. China put forward the concept of global competency relatively late. Professor Teng Jun of Beijing Normal University led a team to conduct a series of researches on global competency based on a research project, and first brought the concept and theory of global competency into the research field of China’s education sector (Teng & Du, 2018). Global competency mainly includes six core competences (world culture and global issues, language, openness and respect, communication and collaboration, self-awareness and confidence, and ethics and responsibility) at three levels: the cognitive, interpersonal, and personal (Liu, 2018). Zhong Zhou and Zhang Chuanjie (2018) introduced the development of global competency from the perspective of American national 468 A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS education strategy and philosophy. Tsinghua University has pioneered an innovative global competency conceptual framework in China. Compared with other studies in China, this framework of Tsinghua University is based on in-depth consideration of China’s unique situation and localization of the international concept of global competency. In the context of the accelerated development of globalization, an individual’ s global competency has become a key indicator to measure whether one can effectively act, communicate, and solve cross-cultural problems in the international stage. According to the definition of global competency in Global Strategy of Tsinghua University in 2016, it includes three core dimensions and six core competences: global issues and world culture, mother tongue and foreign language, openness and respect, communication and collaboration, self-awareness and confidence, and ethics and responsibility. This theoretical framework covers not only an individual’s linguistic competency in multicultural communication, but also the ability to understand and respect different cultures, and to communicate and collaborate effectively on a global scale. At the same time, the Global Strategy of Tsinghua University also puts forward the educational goal of “cultivating innovative talents with global competency”, and further defines global competency as “the ability to effectively study, work and get along with people in an international and multicultural environment”, including the following parts. Table 1 Six Core Competences of Global Competency (From the Interim Results of the “Global Competency Self-assessment and Research Project” of Tsinghua University) Cognitive Global issues & world knowledge Language Interpersonal Openness & respect Communication & collaboration Intrapersonal Self-awareness & self-confidence Ethics & responsibility This study adopts three dimensions of global competency defined by Tsinghua University. “Global competency” focuses on the cultivation of comprehensive qualities of foreign language learners in various comprehensive dimensions. How to integrate it closely with English major education to help students learn and master foreign language knowledge and skills while forming emotions, attitudes, and values needed to participate in world cooperation and competition, so as to enhance students’ global competency, is an urgent issue for foreign language education. Research Methods In this study, questionnaire and interview are used as the main research methods, and Stata software is used to analyze the collected data. The questionnaire method is used to quantitatively assess the various dimensions of students’ global competency, including cross-cultural communication competency, self-cognition, social responsibility, etc. The interview method further explores the specific experience and feedback of students in the International Study Programs through in-depth communication. Data Collection In order to further study the impact of international study program experience on the global competence of English majors, this study adopted a variety of data collection methods, including questionnaires and interviews. The comprehensive application of these methods aims to explore the specific impact of international experience on the ability improvement of English majors. This study selected 216 English majors from four universities who had participated in some international study programs and volunteered to participate in this survey. These A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 469 students had gone to other countries to study for a period. In the questionnaire part, a series of questions are designed to assess the changes in various dimensions of students’ global competence, such as cross-cultural communication ability, language skills, global awareness, teamwork ability, etc. The questionnaire was conducted in the form of a combination of closed and open-ended questions to facilitate quantitative analysis and collect students’ personal feelings and specific experiences. The questionnaire was scored on Likert scale, with “1” representing “strongly disagree”, “2” representing “relatively disagree”, “3” representing “general”, “4” representing “relatively agree”, and “5” representing “strongly agree”, in order to quantitatively assess students’ performance and changes in various dimensions. The interviews were designed to explore in depth the students’ experiences with international programs, the challenges they faced, and how these experiences affected their global competency development. The interviews will focus on how they learn to adapt to the new culture, overcome difficulties, and establish effective communication and cooperation with people from different cultural backgrounds. Data Analysis Description of the Background Information of Samples This research collected 216 valid samples of four grades in four different universities. The background information of the samples is described in the following table: Table 2 Background Information Variables Items Number Proportion Gender Male Female 2017 2018 17 199 11 23 7.90% 92.10% 5.10% 10.60% 2019 2020 Cities 35 147 124 16.20% 68.10% 57.40% Rural areas 53 24.50% Villages and towns 39 18.10% Primary school or below 9 4.20% Junior high school 69 32% Senior high school or vocational school 65 30.10% Bachelor’s degree or associate degree 68 31.50% Graduate degree or higher 5 23.20% Grade Family’s location Parents’ education background Among them, in terms of gender distribution, the proportion of male and female students is 7.9% and 92.1% respectively; the number of female students is much more than male students, because the number of male students of English majors is less. From the perspective of grade, the questionnaire was conducted after returning to China after the completion of international programs in different universities, so there was a certain time difference. The samples were concentrated in Grade 2020, and less in Grade 2017, because the students of Grade 2017 have graduated longer. In terms of family location, the majority of students came from cities, accounting for 57.4%, while those from towns and villages accounted for 24.5% and 18.1% respectively. In terms of parents’ highest education level, there are fewer graduate degree or higher. A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 470 The Impact of International Study Program Experience on the Global Competence of English Majors First, it enhances the cross-cultural communication ability and the comprehensive language application ability. Table 3 The Situation of Global Issues and World Knowledge Global competency N Mean Std. dev. Min. Max. a 216 3.2259259 0.6523 2 5 b 216 3.416667 0.6836972 2 4 c 216 3.300926 0.7263794 2 5 d 216 4.00463 0.8545239 2 5 e 216 4.046296 0.7586162 2 5 f 216 3.75463 0.920049 1 5 Notes. a: Keep abreast of current international affairs and events. b: Understand the habits and characteristics of multinational cultures. c: Understand the purpose and mission of many international organizations. d: Believe that globalization has an impact on national development and individual study, work, and life. e: Believe that global events are complex and interconnected. f: Will evaluate international issues from different perspectives. According to the data, the average score of keeping abreast of the current international affairs and events is 3.22, which indicates that most students have a certain level of understanding of international current affairs, but there is still room for improvement. In terms of understanding the habits and characteristics of multinational cultures, the average value is slightly higher (3.42), indicating that students have a better understanding of multinational cultures. For understanding the purpose and mission of many international organizations, the average is 3.30, indicating that students have some knowledge of international organizations, but their in-depth understanding of their purpose and mission needs to be strengthened. In terms of the impact of globalization on national development and individual study, work, and life, the average value reached 4.00, which indicates that students generally recognize the important impact of globalization on countries and individuals. The understanding of the complexity and interconnections of global events is better, with an average of 4.04, which reflects student can have better understanding of the complexity and interconnections of global events. By participating in international projects, students are able to have direct contact with multicultural backgrounds, and enhance intercultural communication skills and awareness of global issues. The program significantly promotes students’ global competency in the implications of globalization, the complexity and interconnections of global events. However, the data also reveal some deficiencies in the evaluation of international issues from multiple perspectives and in-depth understanding of the purpose and mission of international organizations. Table 4 The Influence of International Study Experience on Ability Improvement (Multiple Choices) Ability Language ability Interpersonal skill Self-care ability of daily living Psychological adjustment capacity Academic research and learning ability Innovative thinking ability Team cooperation ability Expession and expressiveness Number 200 103 94 78 156 51 125 161 Proportion 92.59% 47.69% 43.52% 36.11% 72.22% 23.61% 57.87% 74.54% A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 471 According to the data, 200 students (92.59%) think that their language ability has improved significantly. This percentage is much higher than others, which highlights the importance of international experience in improving language skills. In addition, the expression and expressiveness and academic research ability have also been greatly improved, which shows that students have not only improved the basic language application ability and academic research ability, but also enhanced the expression and deduction ability. 57.87% of the students believe that the teamwork ability has been significantly improved, which proves that those programs not only enhance the practical use of language, but also improve the communication and collaboration ability in a multicultural environment. The results of the interviews also show that students improve their logical thinking, oral and social skills by participating in course discussions and workshops. They use English more confidently and express themselves more freely in international communication activities. The international study program has greatly enhanced the students’ language skills and comprehensive communication skills, especially the overall improvement of English listening, speaking, reading, and writing, so that they can communicate more confidently and fluently in English. These programs provide a platform for students to use foreign languages in practice and play an irreplaceable role in improving their English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Through communication and cooperation with people from different countries, students’ language skills improve rapidly, and more importantly, this improvement increases students’ confidence in using English, enabling them to express themselves more naturally in international situations. International study programs are an important way for English majors to improve their language skills and global competency. Second, it enhances self-awareness and cultural confidence and promotes the global responsibility. Table 5 The Situation of Self-awareness and Self-confidence Global competency N Mean Std. dev. Min. Max. a b 216 216 3.592593 3.740741 0.8300971 0.7996554 1 2 5 5 c d e 216 216 216 3.777778 4.296296 4.222222 0.7387398 0.5985915 0.4980582 2 3 3 5 5 5 e 216 4.481481 0.5008176 4 5 Notes. a: Be proficient in at least one foreign language. b: Be able to browse foreign language websites smoothly. c: Has a deep understanding of traditional Chinese culture. d: Believe that Chinese culture is important for future economic and social development. e: Can examine and reflect on their own culture under different cultural backgrounds. f: Believe that Chinese culture has strong vitality in the face of foreign cultural impact. The results show that the international study program has a positive impact on students’ self-awareness and self-confidence. Students rate their ability to master at least one foreign language at an average of 3.59, showing good performance but room for improvement. The average score of students’ understanding of Chinese traditional culture is 3.78, which shows a certain depth of cultural cognition. In terms of understanding the importance of Chinese culture to future economic and social development, the average score is 4.3, which indicates that students attach importance to and have firm faith in it. The average score for the ability to examine and reflect on their own culture in different cultural contexts is 4.22, which indicates that students can critically A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 472 understand their own culture in a global perspective. In the face of foreign cultural shock, the score of believing that Chinese culture has strong vitality is the highest, with an average of 4.48, and almost all students highly agree with the resilience and vitality of Chinese culture. The interview results show that the main driving forces for students to participate in international programs are to experience foreign lives, learn about different cultures, and improve their personal abilities. They are full of expectations for it, hope to broaden their horizons, improve their language skills, and gain more opportunities for self-growth and challenge through this experience. Those programs have significantly enhanced the self-awareness and self-confidence of English majors, especially their cultural self-confidence. They learn to solve problems independently and discover their potential and value in constant challenges. This increase in self-awareness lays a solid foundation for their future development, which enables them to better represent themselves on the global stage. Table 6 The Situation of Ethics and Responsibility Global competency N Mean Std. dev. Min. Max. a 216 4.407407 0.6256091 3 5 b 216 4.333333 0.6099943 3 5 c 216 4.296296 0.712144 3 5 d 216 4.074074 0.717926 3 5 e 216 4.296296 0.712144 2 5 Notes. a: Will try to spread excellent Chinese culture in different cultural activities. b: Are responsible for the development of their country and society. c: Affirm the meaning of being a global citizen. d: Is my duty to offer criticism and advice on the ills of society. e: The future of the nation and the world depends on the current individual action. Students’ self-assessment score of spreading excellent Chinese culture in different cultural activities is high, with an average of 4.41, which indicates that the vast majority of students actively participate in cross-cultural exchanges and are willing to promote Chinese culture. They have a high degree of cultural confidence and responsibility. In terms of responsibility for national and social development, students scored an average of 4.33, reflecting their recognition of their role and responsibility and demonstrating a sense of social responsibility and national identity. For global citizen identification, the average is 4.3, indicating that students gain a global perspective and recognize the value and responsibility of being a global citizen. It promotes the growth of students in the ethical and responsible dimensions of global competence. This growth is not only reflected in the confidence and dissemination of their own culture, but also extends to the deep understanding and recognition of national, social, and even global social responsibility. Students demonstrate a greater global awareness, a better understanding of global issues and trends, and the ability to think and analyze from a multicultural perspective. In addition, such experience also promotes students’ awareness of global responsibility. In the process of working and interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds, students gain a deeper understanding of their need as global citizens to promote world peace and development. This awareness is not only reflected in the concern for global issues, but also in the ethical practices of daily life, such as respecting others and protecting the environment. Third, it enhances the ability to communicate and collaborate with foreigners and develop a global perspective and adaptability. A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 473 Table 7 The Situation of Openness and Respect Global competency N Mean Std. dev. Min. Max. a 216 4.481481 0.5008176 4 5 b 216 4.444444 0.6299994 3 5 c 216 3.888889 0.8334108 2 5 d 216 4.037037 0.694509 2 5 Notes. a: Respect and appreciate their culture when communicating with foreigners. b: Can notice cultural differences when interacting with foreigners. c: Can quickly discover other people’s interests when communicating with foreigners. d: Can flexibly adjust my communication style and attitude in non-local cultural situations. The results show that the scores of respects and appreciation for other’s culture when communicating with foreigners are very high, with an average value of 4.48, which indicates that the vast majority of students show high respect and appreciation in communicating with foreigners, which is the key basis for successful crosscultural communication. Students perform well in paying attention to cultural differences, with an average value of 4.44, which indicates that they are able to find a bridge of communication in differences. It reflects a high degree of cultural sensitivity and adaptability. The ability to flexibly adjust communication styles in non-native cultural situations scored 4.04, which reflects that most students can flexibly adjust communication strategies according to different cultural backgrounds, which is the key to effective communication in a multicultural environment. Through international experiences, students not only learn to respect and appreciate different cultures, but also develop key competencies to survive and succeed in a globalized world. Giving students the opportunity to interact and collaborate with peers from all over the world, this multicultural interactive experience teaches them openness and respect. They not only accept and appreciate different cultural concepts and lifestyles, but also learn to find commonalities among differences and achieve integration, which is crucial for cultivating talents with a global vision. Table 8 The Situation of Communication and Collaboration Global competency N Mean Std. dev. Min. Max. a 27 4.481481 0.5702954 3 5 b 27 4.444444 0.5678738 3 5 c 27 4.296296 0.5985915 3 5 d 27 3.703704 0.8546372 2 5 Notes. a: Be willing to communicate, learn, and build relationship with foreigners. b: Be willing to out of their own culture, and experience the culture and life of other countries. c: Be willing to take some risks to pursue cross-cultural learning and development. d: Can easily discuss with foreign students about the problems in the course study. The students are willing to communicate and build relationship with foreigners, with an average of 4.48, which shows a high degree of openness and enthusiasm. It also indicates that it effectively promotes their social skills and global perspective. Students are willing to step out of their own culture and experience the culture and life of another country, with an average of 4.44, which emphasizes the role of the study program in fostering cultural adaptability and a spirit of exploration. However, ease of discussing course learning issues with foreign students scores little low, with an average of 3.70, which reflects challenges in academic communication that require further practice. The results of the interview also show that most students are able to quickly adapt to the new cultural environment, although they sometimes encounter challenges from dietary and cultural differences. 474 A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS They understand and respect the cultural differences of different countries and believe that these differences add to their international perspective and cultural understanding. The international study program significantly enhances the willingness to communicate and connect with people from different cultural backgrounds, and the ability to experience and adapt to other cultures. Students learn to work as a team in a multicultural context and improve their skills in international cooperation and conflict resolution. Through international teamwork in a cross-cultural environment, they develop communication and collaboration skills, learn to communicate ideas effectively, and understand the perspectives of others. Analysis of the Impact of Students’ Background Information Differences on Global Competence Table 9 Global Competency and Gender Differences Global issues & world knowledge Self-awareness & self-confidence Ethics & responsibility Openness & respect Communication & collaboration Male 3.598±0.5 3.951±0.459 4.069±0.507 4.191±0.59 4.265±0.534 Female 3.633±0.469 4.024±0.417 4.06±0.524 4.215±0.56 4.229±0.504 t -0.295 -0.69 0.063 -0.166 0.282 p 0.768 0.491 0.95 0.868 0.778 With gender as the variable, a T-test was conducted on the overall level and dimensions of global competency of the samples, and the results are shown in Table 9. It can be seen that female students score slightly higher than male students in the dimensions of global issues and world culture, self-awareness and self-confidence, openness and respect, and male students score slightly higher than female students in the dimensions of communication and collaboration. However, the results show that these gender differences do not reach the significant level (p > 0.05). Table 10 Global Competency and Grade Differences Global issues & world knowledge Self-awareness & self-confidence Ethics & responsibility Openness & respect Communication & collaboration 2017 3.782±0.478 4.128±0.536 4.256±0.534 4.289±0.652 4.212±0.548 2018 3.643±0.484 4±0.477 4±0.53 4.143±0.589 4.25±0.474 2019 3.595±0.475 3.981±0.41 4.076±0.44 4.236±0.578 4.221±0.552 2020 3.624±0.469 4.02±0.405 4.049±0.539 4.211±0.55 4.233±0.5 F 0.528 0.4 0.737 0.205 0.021 p 0.664 0.753 0.531 0.893 0.996 With the grade as the variable, variance analysis was conducted on the overall level and dimensions of global competency in different grades, and the results are shown in Table 10. It can be seen that grades score differently on various dimensions, with the grade of 2017 scoring slightly higher than other grades on most dimensions. However, the results show that these differences also do not reach significant level (p > 0.05). Table 11 Global Competency and the Family’s Location Differences Global issues & world knowledge Self-awareness & self-confidence Ethics & responsibility Openness & respect Communication & collaboration Cities 3.664±0.484 4.078±0.383 4.101±0.549 4.292±0.468 4.333±0.503 Villages and towns 3.519±0.468 3.887±0.557 4.003±0.479 4.076±0.809 4.071±0.531 Rural areas 3.675±0.412 4.009±0.248 4.013±0.49 4.147±0.352 4.128±0.401 F 2.003 3.966 0.851 3.159 6.271 p 0.137 0.02 0.428 0.044 0.002 A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 475 With family location as the variable, variance analysis was conducted on the overall level of global competency, and the results are shown in Table 11. Among them, the scores of urban students are higher in most dimensions, while the scores of township students are lowest in the dimensions of self-awareness and self-confidence. The results of ANOVA show that the differences in the dimensions of self-awareness and confidence, openness and respect, communication and collaboration reach a significant level, while the differences in the dimensions of global issues and world culture and ethics and responsibility do not reach a significant level. Table 12 Global Competency and the Parents’ Education Background Differences Global issues & world knowledge Self-awareness & selfconfidence Ethics & responsibility Openness & respect Communication & collaboration Primary school Junior high or below school Senior high school or vocational school Bachelor’s degree or associate degree Graduate degree or higher F p 3.407±0.313 3.669±0.403 3.646±0.413 3.586±0.575 3.9±0.63 1.21 0.308 3.926±0.465 3.913±0.42 4.11±0.345 4.049±0.459 4.033±0.506 2.106 0.081 3.741±0.409 4.111±0.132 3.727±0.488 3.975±0.543 4.128±0.438 4.315±0.475 4.343±0.435 4.357±0.623 4.533±0.398 4.4±0.454 18.889 5.386 0 0 3.889±0.132 4.036±0.541 4.315±0.479 4.401±0.451 4.15±0.335 6.621 0 With the parents’ education background as the variable, the variance analysis was conducted on the overall level of global competency, and the results are shown in the table. The results of ANOVA show that the differences in the dimensions of ethics and responsibility, openness and respect, and communication and cooperation reach a significant level. Students whose parents have graduate degree have higher scores in most dimensions, and the scores of the ethics and responsibility, openness and respect are the highest, and the lowest is the group of junior high school. Communication and collaboration scores are highest at the group of bachelor’s degree or associate degree and lowest at the group of primary schools or below. Conclusion Research Findings This study aims to explore the impact of international study programs on the global competency of English majors. Through questionnaires and interviews, it explores the impact of international experience on students’ cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal dimensions. The results show that, first, the international program significantly improves students’ language ability, especially in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing, which enables students to communicate more confidently and fluently in English, while they also show a high degree of cultural sensitivity and adaptability. Second, it also enhances students’ self-cognition and cultural confidence, especially in terms of understanding of traditional Chinese culture and the firm belief in Chinese culture in the face of foreign cultural impact. Third, students have a high willingness to communicate and build relationship with foreigners, which shows a high degree of openness and enthusiasm, and they are also able to adapt communication strategies to different cultural backgrounds. Background characteristics such as gender and grade do not have a significant impact on the dimensions of global competency, but parental education has a significant impact on students’ global competency, especially in the dimensions of ethics and responsibility, 476 A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS openness and respect, communication and collaboration. Therefore, the international study program has a positive and far-reaching impact on the global competency improvement of English majors, and provides an important way and practical experience for cultivating talents with international vision and global competitiveness. Suggestions First, strengthen language ability training: Universities should provide more opportunities for language practice, such as international exchange activities and English corners at campus. It can help students improve their language skills in an authentic language environment. Teachers can design diversified language courses, and pay attention to the improvement of comprehensive language application ability. Second, emphasize cultural education: Universities should increase curriculum content on multinational cultures and international organizations to help students gain a deeper understanding of global issues and cross-cultural knowledge. Teachers can organize cultural exchange activities, invite experts and scholars from different countries to give lectures and seminars, and enrich students’ cultural cognition and sensitivity through various media. Third, enhance cross-cultural communication and collaboration capabilities: Universities can carry out cross-cultural teamwork projects to develop students’ communication and collaboration skills in a multicultural context. In class, teachers can organize practical activities such as simulated international conferences and debate competitions to improve students’ expression ability and team spirit. Fourth, focus on fostering a sense of global responsibility: Universities should integrate global citizenship education into their curricula to foster students’ sense of social responsibility and global vision. Teachers can help students understand and focus on global issues through case studies, discussions, and project research. Universities can also organize participation in some international public charitable activities, encourage students to pay attention to global issues, and develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Finally, optimize the design of international study programs: Schools should optimize the content and format of the international program based on the needs and feedback of students to ensure that the program effectively promotes students’ global competencies. Universities can enhance the diversity and flexibility of their programs to provide different types and levels of international experiences to meet the needs of different students. References Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of inter-nationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266. Dinniman, A., & Holzner, B. (1988). Education for international competence in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Department of Education and University Centre for International Students, University of Pittsburgh. Hunter, B., White, G. P., & Godbey, G. (2006). What does it mean to be globally competent? Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 267-285. Li, J. X., & Chen, S. N. (2020). A study on the cultivation mode of “Global Competency”—A case study of “College English Speech” course. Modern Communication, 34(12), 26-27. Liu, Y. (2018). On the training programs of college students’ global competence—Under the background of a community of shared future for mankind. Journal of Wuxi Institute of Technology, 17(3), 19-22. doi:10.13750/j.cnki.issn.1671-7880.2018.03.006 Olson, C. L., & Kroeger, K, R. (2001). Global competency and intercultural sensitivity. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5(2), 116-137. Teng, J., & Du, X. Y. (2018). Review on OECD’s PISA global competence framework. Studies in Foreign Education, 45(12), 100111. Tsinghua University. (2016). Global strategy of Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University. (2017). Global competency: Preparing for the world. Retrieved Dec. 25, 2023 from A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMS 477 http://goglobal.tsinghua.edu.cn/cn/competence. Zhang, R., & Chang, L. D. (2019). Literature review about research of the global competence in China. Education and Teaching Research, 33(3), 1-10. doi:10.13627/j.cnki.cdjy.2019.03.002 Zhong, Z., & Zhang, C. J. (2018). Locally embedded and globally engaged: An analysis of USA education strategy for global competence. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 39(2), 60-68. doi:10.14138/j.1001-4519.2018.02.006009 US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 478-491 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.007 D DAVID PUBLISHING A Study on the Effectiveness of the Approach of ReadingWriting Integration to Improve EFL Students’ English Writing Skills YU Wenqiang Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, Nanning, China Traditionally, English reading and writing have been taught as two separate and independent subjects by some English teachers. Recent years, however, have seen a significant rise in teachers’ efforts to combine the teaching of English writing with reading nationwide. While consensus exists about the pivotal role of reading in writing effective essays, to what extent, and in what ways, reading activities can help strengthen students’ writing skills have yet to be identified. Many teachers and students are mindful that how well their pupils can write depends on how much they have read, but very few can strategically adopt this approach in their teaching of English writing in general in maximizing its positive effects. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the following two questions: To what extent, and in what ways can the “reading integration” approach benefit ESL students’ writing performance? What are the possible issues faced by students in writing an essay? In this study, 100 students from the authors’ online English writing workshop were selected. Their writing scores were observed and analyzed through the pre- and post-test essays using different strategies, namely the traditional approach and the read-to-write approach. A questionnaire was also elicited to learn about students’ attitudes toward English writing. The findings revealed a significant rise in participants’ writing quality as a result of greater exposure to reading. The results provide compelling evidence that reading has an indispensable role in second language learning, in this case, in boosting writing performance and motivating students to read extensively at the same time. Keywords: read-to-write approach, English writing, experiment, EFL learners Introduction Students, particularly ESL learners, are well informed that it is mutually beneficial, if not necessary, to associate writing with reading. However, they are not able to use this strategy which integrates reading and writing in their language learning process, much less successfully apply it into other language skills training. Teachers are also to blame on this matter, because most of them consider writing tasks to be a mere tool for practicing and reinforcing specific grammatical and lexical variety and accuracy, whereas essay content, ideas, and organization carry little weight. Since both reading and writing are difficult to tackle, teachers often design their courses in separation, which goes against the notion that these two skills often go hand in hand. This is further evidenced by what an examination paper encompasses: reading comprehension and writing are always YU Wenqiang, Lecturer, School of European-American Languages & Culture, Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, Nanning, China. APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 479 divided into two sessions. Making matters worse, teachers in general tend to pay more attention to students’ listening and speaking skills, while only requiring their pupils to finish a writing task without any instant, effective feedback. When students hand in their work, all they need to do is cross out some grammatical and lexical mistakes and give essay scores. This makes both teachers themselves and students downplay the importance of writing as “a complex process of exploring one’s thought, discovering ideas and generating meaning” (F lower & Hayes, 1980: 21-32). The fear and apathy towards writing are also at play when it comes to students’ overall poor writing performance. Putting content and organization aside, students still suffer from their limited vocabulary and poor grammar. Richards and Renandy (2002) claim that writing is the most difficult skill to master for second/foreign language learners (ESL/EFL), as the difficulty of mastering writing stems not only from generating and organizing ideas but also from transforming these ideas into readable text. Grabe (2009) and Ahn (2014) believed that among language learning skills, writing has been consistently referred to as a complicated skill particularly for non-native speakers of English because they are not exposed to the English environment compared with English native speakers. All these show that writing in a foreign language is an intelligently demanding task, which explains why some students are afraid of it, and some others apathetic towards it. The teaching of writing no longer stands in separation from other language skills. Reading is one way of generating ideas in a process approach to writing (Kennedy, 1994). It also allows them to employ reading to store and generate useful ideas. In a 1988 study of professors’ assessment of non-native speaker academic compositions, Santos (1998) found that university professors grade more harshly on content deficiencies than they do on language quality; they are much more lenient with errors of linguistic form. This study is significant as it highlights the fact that teachers and students should have the right attitudes towards writing; it is only about changing words and expressions throughout a whole essay; it is also where innovative ideas and minds blossom. Therefore, it is impossible for students to improve their ability to write effective compositions without reading (Kennedy, 1994). The reading-writing integration pedagogy not only changes the way students view English writing, but also guides them to employ the reading strategy to engage successfully in other language learning activities. Good and effective writing requires sufficient reading. Two features characterize this experimental study. Firstly, writing courses based on the connection between reading and writing were first developed for native English writers, in which students will read articles covering the essay topics and then write compositions. The number of EFL composition textbooks of this nature is comparatively small. Thus, this area requires more attention. Secondly, despite a number of studies on the influence of reading on writing, these studies lacked solid statistical end evidential support—students’ essays were not assessed according to any universally agreed-upon criteria. Most of them focused too much on sentence and vocabulary skills. In this study, task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resources, and grammatical accuracy, four criteria of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) are used to ensure the analysis is both content- and syntax-based. It is hoped that the results of this study justify the effects of reading-writing integration technique in honing students’ writing skills. It is also predicted that the findings of this study can have some educational implications for those who struggle to teach writing courses, and hopefully help those who struggle to write an essay achieve greater English proficiency and ease their learning process. 480 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION Literature Review Studies on the Influence of Reading on Writing Many researchers have studied the integration of reading and writing to benefit students’ literacy skills (Ito, 2011). While many first language (L1) researchers and professors have shed light on the relations between reading and writing, only a few studies have investigated this in second language (L2) writing tasks. Nonetheless, a fair number of studies in the field have been conducted, which gives empirical evidence for the mutual influence of reading and writing in L2 language study. Zhanfang Li and Chunhong Yang believed that this interrelation was crucial, and they further argued that teaching reading and writing simultaneously is beneficial to better Chinese EFL students’ reading and writing ability. In a similar vein, Plakans and Gebril (2012) held that the advantages of teaching reading and writing abound. They suggested that the reading materials, or source texts, can be something students mined for ideas. These texts could also help them respond to these ideas with personal opinions. Finally, the source texts could be utilized as language bank where students could apply the words and phrases into their writing. Esmaeili (2002) found the finding pivotal, because if reading and writing could be taught together rather than in isolation, student’s academic ability could be enhanced. Yoshimura (2009) found out that connecting reading and writing affect EFL learners’ writing performance positively, and both language skills complement each other, with reading affecting the subsequent writing stage by providing valuable language input, and vice versa. In relation to the efficacy of the method, Tuan (2012) tested and analyzed the responses from 63 participants, and in doing so, found a revealing insight into the connection between reading and writing. In other words, reading can provide good models for writing. Murcia and Olshtain (2000) state that: Many writing courses and certainly most autodidactic strategies in writing involve utilizing well-written passages form literature, or articles from prestigious publications, as models for their own writing. Thus, many writing lessons begin with text analysis, looking at them as models for writing or using some of the element to help improve their writing quality. These finding were crucial as they highlighted the interconnections between reading and writing, and provided valuable inspiration for students as well as instructors about practicing writing and course design. However, despite greater attention, in many L2 academic contexts, teachers tend to pay varying degrees of attention to reading and writing instruction. Although reading and speaking is emphasized in most secondlanguage contexts, writing does not enjoy the same emphasis. Kroll (1993) expressed his concern regarding the reading and writing disconnect when he stated that most English instructors teach reading separately from writing. Hirvela (2004) argued that this was pivotal, because in a writing class, reading is largely omitted by both students and teachers. He added that a simple reason for this phenomenon is that the teachers do not have sufficient and required knowledge to interrelate reading with writing in writing courses. In addition, one of the areas that are negatively affected by the results coming from the disconnection between reading and writing skills (Shuying, 2002; Hirvela, 2004) is writing, which has been considered by many EFL/ESL students as a difficult task to master (Heffernan, 2006). In order to address this issue in the literacy context, the present study was aimed at examining the effectiveness of integrating reading and writing skills in ESL students’ writing by relying on the reading-writing reconnection theory by Horning and Kraemer (2013). According to this theory, reading can and should be used as an effective method to teach/learn writing effectively in high schools and universities. However, in previous research, a simple recognition of the correlation between reading and writing seems inadequate as a measure of the interconnection among their skill development. To bridge the gaps, a universally APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 481 agreed-upon set of criteria is essential in this regard. Therefore, while acknowledging that good readers make good writers, it is vital that we measure the improvement of each literacy skill at the beginning and the end of the adoption of the read-to-write approach. Theoretical Basis of the Reading-Writing Integration Method Krashen’s input hypothesis. The input hypothesis, developed by the linguist Stephen Krashen in the 1970s and 1980s, suggests that language acquisition only occurs through exposure to materials learners can understand, despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it, a concept also known as comprehensible input. However, Krashen also suggests that this comprehensible input should be one step above the learner’s current language level, represented as “i+1”, in order to allow learners to continue to progress with their language development. According to his language acquisition theory, exposing learners to this kind of input helps them acquire language naturally, rather than learn it consciously. In order for the input to be optimal and effective, Krashen argues that the input process should cater to a set of requirements, namely several characteristics, that allow the acquisition stage to be as fast as possible. An activity that fits none of them could be of no or little avail. There are four features of ideal input, and the following will discuss each of them. First is the comprehensibility. A prerequisite for language acquisition is that learners need to at least understand the message. Otherwise, it would be of no use. As for using the read-to-write approach, if the learner does not understand the input materials, he/she will not be able to write. Therefore, the material should neither be too simple nor complicated, because if that is the case, learners will either feel demotivated and stuck in their comfort zone, or tend to focus on the form of language and ignore its communicative value, a “zero” input that serves no useful purpose. The second characteristic is that the input material ought to be interesting and/or relevant so that the learner will focus on the meaning rather than on form. However, Krashen also states that this requirement is difficult to satisfy, in that some exercises are not designed for “acquisition”, and that in most academic contexts, many language courses are compulsory for students’ academic studies, not for the sake of language training. The third requirement for ideal language input involves ungrammatical sequence. The arguments against deliberate input of grammatical elements are manifold. For starters, teaching grammar to students amounts to assuming all learners are at the same stage, which is not necessarily the case, and the “i+1” mode may fail to take effect on every learner. In addition, there may not be enough exposure to the grammatical structures for learners, who will have difficulty understanding that structure. Furthermore, if learners focus too much on grammatical structure, their ability to communicate ideas, the core of language learning, will suffer, and in turn, the language input materials can hardly be interesting, as stated above. Finally, it follows an unnatural order of language acquisition, which would not have the desired results. Given enough comprehensive input, however, argues Krashen, it can resolve these issues. The final point concerns quantity. Although people have yet to assess how much comprehensible input is enough to achieve a higher level of proficiency, we do know that the current situation leaves much to be desired. The question of how much input remains unanswered due to a lack of research, but it is clear that we are not giving learners enough input they need for them to continue improving. It could have been better if we provide more available, level-appropriate, and sufficient input, i.e., i+1 for them. Arguably, be it first or second language acquisition, they cannot be separated from language input, and there is no language acquisition without input. The same is true for English writing. By gaining comprehensible input 482 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION from reading, learners are able to produce more desirable output, and reach more advanced levels. Given the problems faced by senior high school students in China, only by combining reading and writing strategically and extensively, using the read-to-write approach can students’ English writing ability be effectively improved. Swain’s output hypothesis. In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), theories abound about the effective ways for learners to acquire new languages. In the early 1980s, SLA was dominated by input, and research and studies on language output were scarce. Merrill Swain (1985) put forward comprehensible output based on Krashen’s input hypothesis. In his study of a French immersion program in Canada, he found that after students received a fair amount of comprehensible input, they were able to speak or write fluently, but far from accurately as their French peers, despite them scoring similarly in listening and reading comprehension tests. He believed that it was to teachers’ benefit to “push” the students to pay heed to grammatical accuracy. Comprehensible input and output complement each other in second language acquisition. Swain further points out there are three main functions of comprehensible output: (1) The noticing/triggering function; (2) The hypothesis-testing function; (3) Meta-linguistic function of input, which will be discussed as follows. Firstly, the noticing/triggering function is that, when learners are attempting to speak or write something in the target language, they may recognize some of their gaps and problems which prevent them from expressing the meaning precisely they wish to convey. This awareness triggers cognitive processes in which learners will generate linguistic elements which are new for them, or which consolidate their current level of knowledge. They may also notice that what native speakers would use is different from their own, and act accordingly to bridge the gap. The second function is the hypothesis testing function. From the learner’s perspective, this means output can be a “test run” that reflects their hypothesis of how to speak or write in the target language. More importantly, students are more likely to “self-correct” their output when pushed to do so, thus producing it successfully. This function is important as it enables students to speak and write correct and idiomatic language, and illustrates the need for learners to seek feedback actively through hypothesis testing. The third function is called metalinguistic function of output. It means learners can use language to reflect on language, in order to facilitate their L2 learning. They analyze the target language by using the existing knowledge, which deepens their understanding of language form, function, and meaning, and then enables them to internalize it. In summary, SLA is a process in which the target language is constantly hypothesized and tested. Output provides an outlet for learners to put the target language production to the test. Language input and output are complementary, interrelated in a way that can be transformed with each other under certain circumstances. Both of them play an equally important role in second language acquisition. Producing language has vital and significant functions in S2/L2 learning and teaching, which need to be explored in the future. Methodology Research Questions The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate two main questions: (1) What are the possible issues faced by students in writing an essay? (2) To what extent, and in what ways can the “reading and writing integration” approach benefit ESL students’ writing performance? APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 483 Participants In this experimental study, 100 students from the authors’ online English writing workshop were selected. Although these participants come from different high schools in Jiangsu province, their level of English proficiency is much the same. Their writing scores were observed and analyzed through the Test 1 and Test 2 essays using different strategies, first the traditional approach, and then the read-to-write approach, in order to spot the variations in scores affected by different approaches. Essay scores are given by three experienced teachers who have an over five-year experience in English writing assessment. Two of them have a BA, and one an MA in English teaching.  Test 1: The pretest was conducted in the first week, after the students were given instructions about the essay prompt below. Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages? This is a typical IELTS academic writing task 2 argumentative essay, in which students are required to assess whether the benefits of letting children learn a new language at primary school as opposed to secondary school outweigh its drawbacks. Apart from the essay instructions, students were not allowed to refer to any resources, i.e. reading materials, newspaper articles, scientific research, etc., which means that they had to complete the task based on their own current knowledge and language skills. The overall score of this essay was 100, and participants were asked to finish this task within 40 minutes in class to create an exam-based environment that avoids plagiarism.  Test 2: Moving on to Test 2, the students were asked to write another argumentative essay below. The best way for a government to solve the problem of traffic congestion is to provide free public transport 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Unlike the Task 1 section, where students were given no more than the essay prompt, Task 2 section featured the read-to-write approach, including two steps: pre-writing and while-writing. Step 1: Pre-writing Before they wrote, the teachers gave the students five articles to read, all of which are from The Economist, The Guardian and are closely connected with the writing topic. In reading these five articles, students were required to note down anything that they thought could help them write more effectively, such as useful ideas, reasoning strategies, good lexical chunks, and grammatical structures, to name just a few. In this process, they gained valuable ideas and lexical resources to benefit their writing process. After they finished reading themselves, teachers had a role to play: guiding students as to how to apply those into their writing. Besides, teachers provided a sample analysis of the texts to better help students understand the articles, including structures of the texts, new words and expressions, and the main idea of each article. This ensured that students could use these reading materials to their advantage. Step 2: While-reading Having gained enough “language bank” to assist their writing, students moved on to the essay writing section. First, they were told to discuss in groups about what they had learned from the reading materials assigned by the teacher, sharing ideas on how they would approach the task. Second, they went on to the “essay planning” section, in which they drew outlines on the given task, organized the supporting points either from the reading materials or from their own experience to complete the plan. Finally, they finished their own piece independently in 40 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 484 minutes, the same amount of time as in Test 1, in class. The Scoring Process One hundred writing papers of each topic, i.e. 200 essays in all, were submitted in Microsoft Word doc/docx format to guarantee that the students’ handwriting did not affect the way the teachers evaluated those essays. The three teachers were then requested to evaluate 200 essays, employing the same essay writing rubric. The essay writing rubric was designed based on the criteria of a well-written essay from the perspective of IELTS writing task 2. Table 1 below shows the four different aspects from which teachers assessed the essays. Each constitutes 25% of the overall band score (100). Table 1 The Four Different Aspects From Which Teachers Assessed the Essays Criteria Task response (TR) Cohesion and coherence (CC) Lexical resources (LR) Grammatical range and accuracy (GRA) Explanation Plan each argument well in advance; keep the structure and the logic clear. Logically organize information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout. Use a range of cohesive devices appropriately. Pay attention to word choice; use a wide range of vocabulary fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings. Use a wide range of structures; have good control of grammar. Questionnaire Design A questionnaire was sent out to students to gather information on their attitudes toward essay writing and perceptions of the elements of a successful essay. Questions were divided into two parts; each part served a particular purpose: The first three questions were designed to get an overview of how important students think of writing skills, and how frequently they practice their English writing: never practice, practice only when required, and to know whether writing is a challenging task for them. The next three questions were designed specifically at students’ understanding of the components of a wellwritten essay. Questions were based on the four main scoring criteria of IELTS Writing task 2: (1) task response, (2) coherence and cohesion, (3) lexical resources, (4) grammatical range and accuracy. Results and Discussion The Analysis of Writing Tests Table 2 Essay Scores for Test 1 and Test 2 Test Average score Test 1 (100 students’ samples) 70.22 Test 2 (100 students’ samples) 79.45 From Table 2, we can see that the students scored significantly higher in Test 2, where the read-to-write approach was adopted, increasing by nearly 10 points. This means that the adoption of this teaching procedure does have educational benefits for students’ writing improvement. Figure 1 and Table 3 below give information about the changes in the number of problems in students’ essays in Test 1 and Test 2, and four scoring criteria by category. APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 485 Figure 1. Issues in Test 1 and Test 2. Table 3 Issues of Students’ Essays Criteria Task response (TR) Coherence and cohesion (CC) Lexical resources (LR) No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Grammatical range and accuracy 11 (GRA) 12 13 Issues Fail to address all parts of the task Position is not always clear Ideas are limited and not sufficiently developed Have a tendency to inadequate, inaccurate use, or overuse of cohesive devices May not write in paragraphs, or paragraphing may not be enough Ideas are not arranged coherently and there is no clear progression in the response Use a limited range of vocabulary, but this is minimally adequate for the task Attempt to use less common vocabulary, but with imprecision and inaccuracy Errors in spelling and/or word formation stand out, to the degree that causes strain for the reader Use a limited range of structures Make frequent grammatical errors Punctuation is often faulty Errors can cause strain for the reader Analysis of task response (TR). From Figure 1, 35 out of 100 submitted essays failed to address all parts of the task, meaning that writers did not fully understand the question and only address the issue partially. A similar proportion (37%) of students did not have a clear and firm position throughout. However, the biggest problem concerned ideas development: nearly a half of the participants were not able to respond to the question with relevant, extended, and well supported ideas; their essays were like a “shopping list”, where they crammed whatever point they thought might be useful into one paragraph, causing a lack of focus. However, if we look at the results in Test 2, we can see that there was a marked improvement in students’ ability to interpret the task, to hold a strong position, and to present a well-developed response to the issue. In spite of the fact that approximately 1/5 of the students did not perform well in regard to task response, this figure 486 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION saw a noticeable decline, to 21%, 26%, 19%, respectively. This means that after the read-to-write approach was administered, students fared better in terms of task response. Analysis of coherence and cohesion (CC). In Test 1, 24 students used cohesive devices incorrectly, such as “firstly”, “secondly”, “furthermore”, “besides”, “finally”, etc. A smaller percentage of students, 12% and 16%, respectively, wrote insufficient paragraphs and arranged paragraphs incoherently. This figure also dropped in Test 2, in which an even smaller number of students failed to achieve CC, especially with paragraphing, because it suggests that reading materials had a greater impact on managing paragraphing skills. Analysis of lexical resources (LR). Compared to TR and CC, LR was a more serious concern. A limited use of topic vocabulary and inaccurate usage of words predominated, ranging from 40 to 56 in Test 1, although the former saw a decline in Test 2, which means that students withdrew many useful expressions from the reading materials and applied them into their writing. The same was not true for the latter, however, which fell only minimally. This means that while students generally understood the significance of learning new words and phrases from the English articles, they had yet to have a good control of them. Spelling and word formation mistakes were also greatly reduced. Analysis of grammatical range and accuracy (GRA). Students in general seemed to have a poor knowledge of grammar. 20 students initially could only use basic simple sentences, causing many sentence fragments that reduced readability. 26 students made grammatical mistakes in every sentence in a while, and only a minority of the sentences were error-free. In extreme cases, such mistakes could severely distort the message, making the reader unable to understand the meaning. Punctuation is another source of worry, but saw remarkable improvement in Test 2. Despite there being little improvement in students’ demonstration of grammatical structures, there were still fairly good results. Quantitative Analysis Question 1: Do you think English writing is important? If so, why? When asked whether English writing is crucial to one’s academic and professional skills, all 100 students (100%) gave a positive answer. They were then asked to evaluate the importance of writing from different aspects. Figure 2 below presents the reasons why they regard writing as an important language skill. Figure 2. Reasons why English writing is important. APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 487 From Figure 2, a large majority of students (67%) believed that writing can help them reinforce their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. About one third of them considered writing to be useful for making them effective communicators and developing other language skills, 30% and 34% to be exact, respectively. 13% of the students claimed that practicing English writing is a good way to evaluate one’s English proficiency, versus 22% of them who regarded it as an essential skill for future careers. Clearly, most of the students argued for the language benefits English writing can offer, but proportionally fewer of them related this skill to the future workplace. Question 2: How often do you practice English writing? Figure 3 below shows how frequently students practice English writing. Figure 3. Frequency of practice. Overall, nearly 80% of the students practice English writing only when they are assigned to do so. By comparison, the number of students who voluntarily and frequently do writing practice is much lower, with only a small fraction of them writing essays twice and more than twice a week, at 10% and 2%, respectively. Ten out of one hundred never practice outside class. Viewing Figures 2 and 3 together, it is noticeable that although students have the consensus that English writing is an essential academic and professional skill, relatively few of them are willing to do any practice. This indicates that self-practice in L2 writing is insufficient, which merits attention. Question 3: Do you think that writing is hard? According to the results, all the students agree upon the notion that writing is indeed hard for them. Obviously, teachers and students should make a concerted effort to learn how to compose a well-written essay from different perspectives, and tackle each of them using relevant reading input materials. Question 4: What criteria do you think are the most important for a good essay? This question is based on the four criteria of IELTS writing assessment, which is designed to discover how students view the components of an essay. Results are shown in Figure 4 below. 488 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION Figure 4. Students’ perception of the criteria for a successful essay. Clearly, “use a sufficient number of grammatical structures” is considered the No. 1 criterion, at 84%. “Use a wide range of topic vocabulary to convey precise meaning” ranks second (78%). As regards the other two aspects that deal with ideas and progression, 56% and 40% of those surveyed choose them as the most important criteria. Finally, 64% of students prioritize spelling and punctuation accuracy, putting them in the fifth place. From Figure 4, it seems that students regard language quality as more important than others, which nonetheless suggests that misconceptions about what makes a good essay are still prevalent among the students, because the five criteria given above are placed in the order of importance. Question 5: Which parts do you find English writing particularly difficult? Figure 5 below gives a breakdown of the difficulties that students find with English writing. Figure 5. Degree of difficulty faced by students in essay writing. Generally, students have roughly the same problems in terms of all the four parts when approaching a writing task. However, it is interesting to note that, combining Figures 4 with 5, the statistics show contradictory results. As is shown in Figure 4, most students give greater weight to language than to content, but it can be seen from Figure 5 that a proportionally larger number of students have more problems in generating ideas (69%) and having logical connection (75%) than in vocabulary (53%) and grammar (67%). This shows that in real contexts, writing has more to do with ideas and logic than words and structures. APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 489 Question 6: What should you do to improve your English writing skills? Presented below is what students feel about what they should do to enhance their writing ability. Figure 6. Measure to hone writing skills. Under the intervention of the read-to-write approach, an overwhelming majority (88%) of students believe that, in order to hone their writing skills, reading more materials written by native English speakers should be high on the agenda. Frequent practice also plays a huge part, with 90 out of 100 students choosing this as a way to improve their writing. It is also worth mentioning that students have come to realize that only learning new words and grammar does little help to their writing improvement, as seen from the graph. Conclusion Major Findings This experiment used a new writing teaching approach, i.e. the read-to-write integration, to find out whether the teaching approach is applicable to senior high school students’ English writing and whether it can improve their writing quality. The following is the summary of findings. Before the intervention of read-to-write approach, there were a great number of issues in their writing. After the experiment, however, scores increased remarkably, and the issues identified before were more or less reduced. This testified that combining reading and writing has a positive impact on EFL learners’ writing performance. Besides, it is also safe to conclude that reading relevant texts can benefit their subsequent writing in four respects: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resources, and grammatical range and accuracy. The biggest influence is on task response and lexical resources. The results of questionnaire survey generally suggested that high school students were apathetic toward English writing and did not want to spend more time practicing it after class. They tended to regard writing as a sole requirement they had to fulfill. Also, many students mistakenly believed that writing had more to do with grammar and vocabulary, which in fact should be directed towards other aspects: ideas, logic, and flow. 490 APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION Nevertheless, their attitude towards writing had obviously changed and their writing incentive had been significantly strengthened. Pedagogical Implications According to previous studies, reading and writing are two skills that are closely and tightly connected to each other (Yoshimura, 2009). The improvement of one leads to the development of the other. However, there are some students and even teachers who are not aware of this relationship to facilitate language learning (writing, specifically) yet. Further, there seems to lack empirical support for this proposal. Thus, the present study addressed this gap in literature and literacy context by investigating the effect of reading-writing integration on the writing performance of 100 high school students studying in China, and shed light on the proposed ways of connecting reading and writing in English writing curriculum design. I hope that the results of this study confirm the positive efficacy of instruction through reading passages for the enhancement of students’ writing ability. It is also predicted that the findings of this study can assist students’ learning English as a foreign language to enrich their ability to write by employing more reading while composing a text. Students can be encouraged to read more through several intervention strategies such as giving them their favourite topic to read, selecting interesting reading passages for them to read, and asking them to integrate reading to writing. Limitations One of the limitations of this study is the length of time to teach the intervention to the participants. In this study, the intervention took three to four weeks. However, it can be extended, for example, to one semester, if better or more valid results are expected. In so doing, we can ensure that students form the habit of reading more extensively and practice more frequently, instead of leaving them untouched. Another issue that should be considered as a limitation of this study is that although there are many other methods to improve students’ writing performance, this study only focused on one aspect of reading, i.e. integrating reading and writing to develop students’ literacy skill as the best technique to teach/learn writing effectively. Further studies might be undertaken in testing other ways such as the use of reading strategies, reading aloud techniques, or reading with fun for students’ writing enhancement. Thirdly, the sample size is rather small, and only consists of two tests, which should be noted here. It could have been more convincing and valid, for example, when investigating a larger number of participants. This study is also restricted to EFL students from China. Future studies can change the context and examine the effects of reading to writing on EFL students from other countries such as Japan and Korea. References Ahn, B. (2014). A critical reading and text organization-enhanced writing lesson. Issues in EFL, 2014(1), 75-80. Esmaeili, H. (2002). Integrated reading and writing tasks and ESL students’ reading and writing performance in an English language test. Canadian Modern Language Review, 2002(4), 599-620. Flower, L., & Hayers, J. R. (1980). The cognitive of discovery: Defining a rhetorical problem. College Composition and Communication, 1980(1), 21-32. Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Heffernan, N. (2006). An integrated approach to teach academic writing. Asian EFL, 2006(3), 151-170. Hirvela, A. (2004). Connecting reading and writing in second language writing instruction. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Horning, A. S., & Kraemer, E. (2013). Reconnecting reading and writing. United States of America: Parlor Press. APPROACH OF READING-WRITING INTEGRATION 491 Ito, F. (2011). L2 Reading-writing correlation in Japanese EFL high school students. The Language Teacher, 2011(5), 23-29. Kennedy, B. L. (1994). The role of topic and the reading/writing connection. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 1994(1), 123-125. Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Prentice-Hall International. Krashen, S. D. (1988). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Prentice-Hall International. Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. London: Longman. Kroll, B. (1993). Teaching writing is teaching reading: Training the new teacher of ESL composition. Second Language Perspectives, 1993(5), 61-81. Murcia, M. C., & Olshtain, E. (2000). Discourse and context in language teaching: A guide for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2012). A close investigation into source use in integrated second language writing tasks. Assessing Writing, 2012(17), 18-34. Richards, J., & Renandy, W. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Santos, T. (1988). Professors’ reactions to the academic writing of nonnative-speaking students. TESOL Quarterly, 1988(3), 22. Shuying, Y. (2002). Integrating writing with reading. The Internet EFL, 2002(7), 12-15. Swain, M. (1985). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. England: Oxford University Press. Tuan, L. (2012). Teaching writing through reading integration. Language Teaching and Research, 2012(3), 489-499. Yoshimura, F. (2009). Effects of connecting reading and writing and a checklist to guide the reading process on EFL learners’ learning about English writing. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009(1), 1871-1883. US-China Education Review A, July 2024, Vol. 14, No. 7, 492-495 doi: 10.17265/2161-623X/2024.07.008 D DAVID PUBLISHING Mode Construction of Secondary Vocational Education and Training Based on Dynamic Stratification Method ZHANG Wei Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China Secondary vocational education and training programs currently play a significant role in middle-class processing and manufacturing careers. However, there are several issues with this system, including a lack of student priority, a lack of vocational capacity development, a disregard for individual differences, and an incomplete system of education evaluation. Keywords: secondary vocational education and training, dynamic stratification teaching mode, value-added evaluation Introduction Secondary vocational education reform is essential since our nation’s socioeconomic development and industrial structural transformation and upgrading have increased the demands on the talent development model (Wu, 2021). High-level, secondary specialization, technical schools, and other institutions are mostly included in secondary vocational education. Its major goal is to enhance professional capacity so that students can produce skilled labor of the highest caliber for the workforce. The middle-level machinery processing manufacturing specialization was created to develop highly skilled mechanical talent, and a crucial course in this field is internships. The social development of technical skills has introduced a new demand, which is to possess engineering vocational skill, high-tech thinking, and core skill in addition to mastering the fundamental practical knowledge. However, there is a lack of vocational ability in secondary vocational education and training programs today. Additionally, individual differences are ignored, and the education evaluation system is not comprehensive enough to address a number of issues. To address these issues, a range of approaches are taken, from the dynamic level of teaching law to the analysis of practical training to support students’ professional development and enhance their vocational ability in the manufacturing of professional processing. Inadequate Development of Vocational Capacity At a certain point in its development, this model has a positive meaning for talent development because of the broad chain planning layout of the Chinese manufacturing industry. This means that in the early stages of development, a large number of workshop production line workers need to be trained, and these people often leave after receiving basic training. However, as the industry transforms and the economy grows, this mode will cause students to study too much in school and focus too much on knowledge learning. Curriculum teaching frequently lacks training to apply knowledge to real working life, and the logical separation of training methods will also lack the orientation function for the students’ future career development. ZHANG Wei, Personnel Department, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China. MODE CONSTRUCTION OF SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING 493 Neglection of Individual Variations Every student is an independent individual, and their learning progress varies; these individual variances are ignored and made clear in the educational process. Many teachers in the middle-time training course have disregarded this point. In the teaching tasks, the distribution of teaching time does not account for individual differences. This results in two negative outcomes: On the one hand, students’ subjective mobility is not taken into consideration, slowing down the learning process and lowering the quality of instruction; on the other hand, students passively accept knowledge. Ignoring individual differences does not ensure the individual development of the student; rather, it is detrimental to the learning progress of secondary school pupils. Insufficient Method for Evaluating Teachers The teaching evaluation serves as a review of the instructors’ performance in the classroom, a phased assessment of the quality of instruction, and a potential springboard for the following lesson plan. My secondary internship courses currently have more solitary teaching evaluation content, and the majority of them are still in the final evaluation or process evaluation phase. This means that using the outcome or process as the criterion for judgment only creates a horizontal contrast rather than a vertical one between the student’s learning process and the curriculum. Only teachers are unilaterally involved in the evaluation subjects, and business associations mostly participate in the form of only one. Because of the differences in students’ learning capacities, prior experiences, and knowledge bases, teaching evaluations ought to direct students’ learning both now and in the future rather than causing it to vanish into thin air. Analysis of Dynamic Layered Teaching Methodologies Fundamental ideas of layered instruction derived from the latest developmental area theory of Vygotsky. Each student has a unique most recent development area, which is the space created between the learner’s present learning level and the one that can be attained with outside assistance (Ding & Tong, 2022). Some teaching groups have employed the layered teaching method, which involves layering students from various stages of development to execute teaching and achieve certain outcomes. Shortcomings of Tiered Instruction Techniques The gradient teaching method’s drawbacks are also more apparent because of how complicated the process is. For example, some teaching groups find it more difficult to distinguish between fast and slow classes early on in the school year; fast class students receive better resources and receive more attention than slow class students. As a result, it is essential to employ dynamic layered teaching techniques and to continuously layer the learning status of the students to the dynamic creation of the lesson plan. Structuralized Transition Teachers can choose and develop courses by using the way of building a support system. Dynamically stratified teaching methods and internship courses will not produce intersections without a purpose. When students are grouped into activities using the peer-to-peer mutual assistance method, their differentiation can be turned into a classroom resource. Students share more understandable vocabulary, and they will refer back to the teacher to continue learning the material. Teachers’ mindsets can be successfully altered by structuralized transitions, which can take advantage of classroom resources to greatly motivate pupils to study . 494 MODE CONSTRUCTION OF SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING Construction of Secondary Vocational Education and Training Pupils are typically categorized as better based on a test, having some basic cognitive understanding, and unfamiliar with them. For students who have a solid foundation, curriculum designers should appropriately raise the learning objectives; the difficulty should be increased to ensure that portions are processed precisely and in accordance with tight guidelines. For students with basic cognitive abilities, they should stimulate their interest in practical training and self-conscious investigation by requiring them to grasp the fundamentals with a focus on the internalization process. Teachers should concentrate on leading the direction of learning, generating learning momentum, and raising the learning level for students who are unfamiliar with the practical knowledge. Consequently, the development of professional skills among student groups with varying learning capacities greatly benefits from focused, layered instruction. Building Ecosystem for Health Education Stratified integration of curriculum resources: Students and teachers now face greater expectations due to the new era’s rapid advancements in science and technology (Tang & Lin, 2021). To understand the level of difficulty and take into account the real needs of more pupils when choosing instructional materials, students from various backgrounds must to be aware of the educational environment and make plans for the upcoming course. Students with higher levels of proficiency can follow their learning first with digital tools, then visit real demonstrations, and lastly begin operations; students with lower levels of proficiency can use multimedia or 3D models to illustrate their understanding, which will help them learn and practice the necessary steps repeatedly. Although students must master the material in the textbook for this portion of the standard course, the twodimensional paper textbook makes the instructional content exceedingly abstract, making students feel confused and challenging to understand. Reasonable Resource Allocation In order to discover learning issues among students at different levels, fixed teachers regularly divide the levels according to the student’s learning ability. This allows the same teacher to perform tracking dynamic stratification of students at different levels of the same class. Teachers should incorporate basic thinking into dynamic. In the beginning of the week, poor basic students tend to operate irregularly, and lack of skill leads to greater error. At this point, the teacher applies as simple and understandable way to stimulate the student’s learning momentum, so that this part of the student to practice more hands on the parts model, thereby transforming abstract cognition to the perception of the physical. Establishment of Dynamic Gradient Training System In order to achieve a customized curriculum setting and teaching form, a specific analysis for a single student will be conducted. The development of a dynamic gradient training system, which eschews the conventional onestep curriculum setting and teaching forms, can better respond to the differences between the individual students to implement differential teaching, improve the quality of teaching, and produce highly skilled talents. Layered Instruction by the Teacher Teachers typically prepare for the course in advance of the lesson. During this time, they carry out dynamic layering teaching and establish expectations for the various learning capacities of the students. In order to improve their practical skills, students with low skill levels can complete more than five pieces of work within the allotted MODE CONSTRUCTION OF SECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING 495 time. Initially, the course can be followed gradually, and as the student’s skill level rises, it will take less time to complete four pieces, three pieces, and ultimately the cultivation standard. Analysis of the sequential steps involved in saw cutting, with a focus on the dynamic layering process. During the sawing stage of the course, students should be assessed using various methods including basic tests, practical simulations, and professional skills questionnaires. These assessments should cover topics such as the techniques and principles of sawing, the range of work that can be accomplished with a saw, the different parts of a hand saw, the materials and structure of the saw’s handle, the proper installation of the cutting line, and the correct positioning and operation of workpieces. Prior knowledge of relevant information, career planning, and employment will be acquired, followed by the categorization of students based on their dynamic abilities. For individuals who possess strong practical skills but lack theoretical knowledge, it is important to prioritize the study of professional theoretical knowledge while ensuring a sufficient level of practical practice. This can be achieved by selecting teaching materials that are in-depth, progressive, and tailored to the individual’s interests and hobbies. It is crucial to choose knowledge that is closely related to practical work in order to prevent excessive difficulty and loss of interest in the learning process. Value-added evaluation measuring system: A state-of-the-art assessment method has been extensively implemented in numerous primary and secondary schools and has a beneficial impact. Value-added evaluation involves assessing economic development patterns in the industry by analyzing the input and output ratio. The goal is to determine ways to increase output and value added while maintaining the same input circumstances. Implementing valued assessment in vocational education, along with dynamic gradient teaching, can help teachers gain a more accurate understanding of students’ learning situations. Teachers conduct regular, phasebased quantitative evaluation assessments in engineering courses. Both internal and external teachers should participate in the dual teaching assessment. Conclusion The rapid socio-economic growth of today’s society has led to increased demands for internship courses that focus on educating high-quality skilled talents with a strong emphasis on employment. The dynamic stratified teaching method is implemented in a structured way, involving the formation of student learning groups, the creation of a health education ecosystem, the development of a dynamic gradient training system, the establishment of a value-added evaluation measurement system, and the enhancement of internship courses. This approach addresses the limitations of traditional curricula, enhances student learning efficiency, facilitates faster adaptation to work, and establishes a strong foundation for students to become the skilled talents. References Ding, J., & Tong, Y. S. (2022). Research on the innovative path of hierarchical teaching in higher vocational colleges from the perspective of development zones. Education and Vocation, 106(11), 80-84. Guo, Y., Ding, S., & Shao, S. (2020). Construction of a diversified teaching evaluation system for vocational school machinist practical training courses. Internal Combustion Engine & Parts, 41(15), 253-255. Tang, L., & Lin, L. (2021). An exploration of integrated teaching reform in vocational machining. Auto Time, 18(21), 61-62. Wu, Z. (2021). Research on the evolution of vocational education policies in new China (1949-2019): A perspective based on historical institutionalism (Doctoral dissertation, Yangzhou University, 2021).