Balachandran Vadivel
@duhokcihan.edu.krd
Assistant Profesor of English
Cihan University-Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Dr. Balachandran Vadivel completed his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Bachelor of Education from Bharathidasan University and the University of Madras, respectively, in 2003 and 2004. He obtained his Master of Arts in English Literature in 2006 and a Master of Philosophy from Bharathidasan University in 2008. With a Ph.D. in English Language Teaching (ELT) earned in 2018, his academic journey evolved from lecturer to Assistant Professor at Mount Zion College of Engineering and Technology. He has diverse research interests in ELT, Second Language Acquisition, and Educational Psychology, reflected in his published works. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Cihan University-Duhok, Iraq, he continues to contribute significantly to English language education, linguistics, and educational technology.
EDUCATION
Ph.D in English Language Teaching
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Arts and Humanities, Language and Linguistics, General Arts and Humanities, Literature and Literary Theory
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Anwar Hammad Al-Rashidi, Balachandran Vadivel, Nawroz Ramadan Khalil, and Nirvana Basim
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThis research was carried out to comparatively study the impacts of portfolio-based assessment, self-assessment, and scaffolded peer assessment on reading comprehension, vocabulary learning, and grammatical accuracy of Afghan English as a foreign language learners. To accomplish this, 172 learners enrolled at a language institute, through an Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), 120 lower-intermediate learners and 5 higher-intermediate learners were selected. These selected participants were assigned into four groups: portfolio group (N = 30), self-assessment group (N = 30), scaffolded peer assessment group (N = 35), and control group (N = 30). The five higher-intermediate learners were injected into the scaffolded peer assessment group to function as the mediators, hence more participants in the group. After selecting the participants, through a reading-span test developed by Shahnazari (2013), learners’ working memory (WM) span was determined. It was discovered that 16 subjects in the portfolio condition, 14 self-assessment learners, 18 participants in the peer assessment group, and 13 participants in the control condition had high WM, while the rest of the participants had low WM. Thereafter, through validated instructor-made tests, subjects’ reading comprehension, knowledge of targeted lexical items, and grammatical accuracy at baseline were determined. Then, a ten-session treatment began. After the treatment, a follow-up post-test was administered. The results of three two-way between-group MANOVA disclosed that all three experimental conditions outstripped the comparison group on the second occasion and that high WM learners outstripped low WM learners (with a large effect size on reading comprehension test (partial eta squared = .365), a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .095), a large effect size on vocabulary post-test (partial eta squared = .465), a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .083), a large effect size on grammar test (partial eta squared = .500), and a moderate effect size on the same test among high vs. low WM learners (partial eta squared = .072)). The results further revealed that subjects in the scaffolded peer assessment group outstripped subjects in other experimental conditions, but the difference was non-significant. Additionally, the difference between the portfolio assessment and self-assessment group was not statistically significant. The implications of the study are reported.
Balachandran Vadivel, Sohaib Alam, Choiril Anwar, and Habesha Teferi
Hindawi Limited
This research paper aimed to examine the academic performance of teenagers, the role of schools, and causes of the antisocial behavior. Our relationship between antisocial behavior and the sample consisted of 127 participants from different schools in the USA aged 13–15. A cross-sectional research design was used. We used primary data to conduct our research. The results suggested that there is a negative relation between antisocial behavior and the academic performance of teenagers. However, there was a significant difference between male and female students’ academic performance. Male children were involved more in antisocial behavior compared to female students. Therefore, we would like to recommend further research works that need to be done on this topic; teachers should closely monitor the behavior of their teenage students as these are the most vulnerable years in a kid’s life. Parents, teachers, and counselors must work together to implement modification strategies to help minimize teenagers’ behavioral problems. This will ultimately result in improving their behavior and also academic performance.
Balachandran Vadivel, Sohaib Alam, Iman Nikpoo, and Bemnet Ajanil
Hindawi Limited
A child’s educational achievements are based on multiple factors, including their family, their family’s behavior, socioeconomic status, their behavior toward their parents, etc. The main objective of the study is to establish the relationship between the socioeconomic background of the children and their educational achievements and how it impacts their psychology. A descriptive survey research design was used to conduct this study. The target population was 50 students and either of their parents. The target was selected through random sampling. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and different types of observation techniques were implied while collecting the data. The study concluded that most of the students with low socioeconomic status had poor achievements in their academics, which led them into the labor market at an early age. It has been found that parents with low socioeconomic backgrounds were less interested in educating their children. Kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more focused on employment instead of pursuing their studies after completing their secondary education. Such students end up in unskilled or blue-collar jobs. This study recommends free-of-cost vocational and technical education to such children to provide them with better livelihood opportunities. There is a need for parental education and awareness programs as well conducted by schools/universities and other concerned authorities.
Balachandran Vadivel, Zahra Azadfar, Mansor Abu Talib, Dhameer A. Mutlak, Wanich Suksatan, Abbas Abd Ali Abbood, Mohammed Q. Sultan, Kelly A. Allen, Indrajit Patra, Ali Thaeer Hammid,et al.
Frontiers Media SA
BackgroundUncertainty intolerance (IU), the tendency to think or react negatively toward uncertain events may have implication on individuals’ mental health and psychological wellbeing. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IU-12) is commonly used across the globe to measure IU, however, its’ psychometric properties are yet to be evaluated in Iran with a Persian-speaking population. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to translate and validate the IU-12 among Iranian undergraduate students.Materials and MethodsThe multi-stage cluster random sampling was employed to recruit 410 Iranian undergraduate students (260 females) from the Azad University to complete the IU-12, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-2, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a cross-sectional design. In this study, face validity, content validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity were measured and Construct Reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure reliability.ResultsThe impact score of the translated IU-12 indicated acceptable face validity (value of impact score was greater than 1.5). The value of Content Validity Index (CVI) and the value of Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were above 0.7 and 0.78, respectively. The values of CVI and CVR indicated the items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the measure. The measurement model analysis showed the measure with two subscales had good fit indices (CMIN/df = 2.75, p < 0.01, RMSEA = 0.07, TLI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.94). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated the scale was composed of the two subscales found in the English-version of the scale (prospective anxiety and inhibitory anxiety), and no items were removed from the scale. The values of CR (0.86) and Cronbach’s alphas (0.89) showed the measure had appropriate internal consistency.ConclusionThe findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the IU-12. This scale could be used to reliably and accurately measure uncertainty intolerance among undergraduate students in Iran.
Abbas Abdollahi, Balachandran Vadivel, Dinh Tran Ngoc Huy, Maria Jade Catalan Opulencia, Pham Van Tuan, Abbas Abd Ali Abbood, Zarina Nasirova, Supat Chupradit, Kelly A. Allen, and Olga Bykanova
Frontiers Media SA
Interpersonal mindfulness is a construct that significantly contributes to social interaction. To date, no validated measure assessing interpersonal mindfulness has been developed in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and validate the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale (IMS) among Iranian undergraduate students. Participants in the study (370 undergraduate students; 220 females) from the Azad University completed the translated IMS, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Scale. The translated measure demonstrated acceptable face validity. All items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the scale. The results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed a scale with four subscales (presence, awareness of self and others, non-judgmental acceptance, and non-reactivity), with acceptable internal consistency. The findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian translated Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale, which could be used to measure interpersonal mindfulness among undergraduate students in Iran.
Balachandran Vadivel, Nawroz Ramadan Khalil, Muhammad Asif, and Bemnet Ajanil
Hindawi Limited
The total research work is prepared to present the idea about the implementation of computer-based technology for learning the English language. English is a global language and is highly required to be learnt whether as a second language or first. Research has been performed about the same issue. The cynosure for the whole research will be to understand different methods to boost the English learning procedure. The significant viewpoints of different writers and researchers can be highlighted easily in this research. A mixed methodology is followed up in this research work so that a result related to the study can be drawn. The different approach is being determined through a mixed approach for research for understanding the study. Teachers’ and students’ perspectives on learning the English language is being understood through this study. Data collection and analysis are performed in this study and a proper discussion is formed on its basis. This data analysis is performed for a certain number of individuals related to education, mainly students so that a view of a certain section of people can be drawn. Data analysis plays a major role in finding the results. Finally, the study presents a brief conclusion that determines the whole research and outcomes for the betterment of learning the English language.
Sergei V. Kolganov, Balachandran Vadivel, Mark Treve, Dono Kalandarova, and Natalia V. Fedorova
AOSIS
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first appeared in China in late 2019 and since then it has become a pandemic. Various countries, in accordance with their cultures, have adopted different approaches to deal with the spread of this disease. The dimensions of this disease and its global spread are such that it will certainly have enormous effects on various aspects of human life for many years. One of these issues is examining the approach of religious countries in dealing with this crisis. The issue of science and religion is one of the main issues in the philosophy of religion. A historical event that human society is struggling with today is the COVID-19 crisis. The issues of religion and science were intertwined during the COVID-19 outbreak, contrary to what some thought. This shows that the opposition between religion and science is not real but aims to attack religion without a valid reason. Given the importance of the subject, this article addresses two aspects of people’s exposure to religion during the COVID-19 period. On the one hand, the researchers’ field observations indicate that group of citizens has turned towards religious teachings since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. On the other hand, another group of citizens have distanced themselves from religiosity, raising the duality of science and religion.Contribution: This article describes the dual attitude of citizens towards religiosity due to the occurrence of COVID-19, which has not been previously considered in research.
Balachandran Vadivel, Nawroz Ramadan Khalil, Shouket Ahmad Tilwani, and Gurudas Mandal
Hindawi Limited
This study examines the educational and psychological need for learning English and understands various anxieties. The first section, a literature review, examines the theoretical underpinnings of educational and psychological needs for English language learning and anxiety. An important subject running through this research is how anxiety plays a role in English language learning. On either hand, a student’s psychological state can affect the learning of the English language. A psychological factor focuses on the emotional or spiritual components of a student’s learning. In English as a foreign language-learning setting, the four essential psychological needs as stated in self-determination theory (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness, and novelty) are met. The major goal of this study was achieved using a quantitative technique. A mixed methodology was selected, which comprises both quantitative and qualitative methods for this research. A total of 70 enrolled students in the English language took part in this study. It has been identified that students in this study reportedly found it hard to talk in EFL classrooms, because of the anxiety. It shows that foreign language anxiety still has an important amount of power in explaining language achievement. It is found that education and psychological needs motivate students to learn the English language. The data also indicated that nearly all psychological elements are interconnected and have a significant impact on the students’ speaking performance in the context.
Shouket Ahmad Tilwani, Balachandran Vadivel, Yrene Cecilia Uribe-Hernández, Ismail Suardi Wekke, and Mir Mohammad Farooq Haidari
Hindawi Limited
Regarding the popularity of TED Talks which are freely accessible online, we were encouraged to examine the impacts of this online resource on Indonesian EFL learners’ listening skills. The Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was used to recruit 70 Indonesian intermediate respondents for the research. They were then split into two groups: one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG). After that, a listening test was administered to both groups. After that, the EG participants watched TED Talks via mobile devices, and the CG participants practiced listening skills via DVDs and CDs of the course textbook for 13 sessions. When the treatment ended, a posttest of listening skills was administered to the participants of both groups, and the collected data were analyzed via running paired samples and independent samples t -tests. The results indicated that both groups had better listening performances in their listening posttests, but the EG outperformed the CG after the treatment. Overall, the results showed that using TED Talks was more advantageous for listening development than using DVDs and CDs of the course textbook. The implications of this study can encourage EFL teachers to integrate TED Talks into their English classes.
Balachandran Vadivel, Ehsan Namaziandost, and Abdulbaset Saeedian
Frontiers Media SA
This research aimed to investigate the various aspects of EFL teachers’ professional development through Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Hence a study involving 83 EFL teachers from different socio-economic, multi-cultural, educational, and disciplinary backgrounds was conducted to ascertain their attitudes, perceptions, and feedback on CPD. The sample population was random, and the data collection was through a questionnaire. The results showed that teachers take charge of their CPD, but for better outcomes, they need professional development through shared experience, reflective teaching, and have a sense of community among them to stay at par with the global standards of the education system. Through this research, the concept of CPD and its significance in teaching English are made available. This study also proposes higher achievement in education through teacher professional development programs. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that teachers are confident in what they do because of their positive belief in their own CPD. From the results, it was clear that every EFL teacher should take charge of their professional development to become better teachers and help students achieve their goals.
Fei Liu, Balachandran Vadivel, Ehsan Rezvani, and Ehsan Namaziandost
Frontiers Media SA
This study aims to find out the role of games in promoting students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their teachers’ attitude toward it. In order to collect the data, the researchers employed a 28-item questionnaire which was given to 60 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in an English institute. Then, the students were randomly divided into two groups of 30 learners functioning as control and experimental groups. The students in the experimental group received games in their language lessons and classes, while control group learners did not. At the end of the term, the same questionnaire was given to the students to know if playing games had a significant impact on their WTC. In addition, the teachers were asked to answer a 30-item questionnaire to investigate their attitudes toward playing games in language classes. The results showed that most of the teachers in this study believe that games have a positive influence on the students’ attitudes towards learning English and that using them in class serves many educational purposes. In addition, games played a significant role in improving the EFL leaners’ willingness to communicate. In the light of these findings, the researchers suggested using games as energizers and practical activities at the end of class not only to improve enthusiasm for learning, but also to improve the learners’ WTC.
Balachandran Vadivel, V. Porkodi, and Saravana Balaji
IEEE
Listening is the significant feature for all the language communication. Listening skills require more intelligence than speaking. Standard subtitles play a major role in developing listening skills and vocabulary of non- native undergraduate students. Every year the number of English learners increases and the language learning techniques and methods are the most debatable issue ever. With the rapid development of innovative technologies, more and more mechanical aids are involved in the language learning process. More importantly, all the mechanical aids, techniques and methods are meant to develop the learners` listening skills. This paper explains the fact that how the second language learners can improve their listening skills and vocabulary of the English language by watching the English movies with standard subtitles
Balachandran Vadivel, M. Sivaram, and Ahmed Najat Ahmed
IEEE
It is well known fact that a living language cannot be static. Every language that is used daily by the speech community changes every day. Despite of the fact, that the speech community of English language enlarges daily yet no one seems to be interested to know much about the historical development of the English language. This paper is meant to reveal about the historical background of the English language. English language that we use today passed hundreds years of developing processes and changed a lot. All social and political events that affected the English nation more or less profoundly had a notable effect on the language.