This study delves into the challenges encountered by eighth-grade students while learning mathematics and examines the strategies they employ to overcome these hurdles. Through qualitative analysis, data were collected from interviews, observations, and surveys conducted among a sample group of eighth-grade students. The findings shed light on various impediments such as conceptual difficulties, lack of motivation, and anxiety towards mathematics. Additionally, the study highlights effective techniques utilized by students to navigate these obstacles, including peer collaboration, engaging teaching methods, and personalized learning approaches. Understanding the dynamics of these challenges and strategies can inform educators and policymakers in developing targeted interventions to enhance mathematical learning experiences for eighth-grade students.

This study investigates the influence of microteaching on alleviating speaking anxieties among pre-service Turkish language teachers. Speaking anxiety is a common concern among language educators, affecting teaching effectiveness and overall classroom dynamics. Through a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from pre-service Turkish language teachers enrolled in teacher education programs. Quantitative measures, including pre- and post-microteaching surveys, were utilized to assess changes in speaking anxieties. Additionally, qualitative insights were gathered through interviews to explore participants' perceptions and experiences regarding microteaching and its impact on speaking anxieties. The findings highlight the significant role of microteaching in building confidence, improving speaking skills, and reducing anxieties among pre-service Turkish language teachers. Implications for teacher education programs and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This study attempts to gain a deeper understanding of Thai EFL university learners’ vocabulary sizes and lexical collocations, both receptively and productively, and determine whether there is a significant relationship between them. Two hundred forty-two students majoring in English in the first and fourth years participated in this study. Four measures were used to assess the participants’ receptive and productive knowledge of vocabulary sizes and lexical collocations. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that Thai university learners achieved significantly higher performance on receptive knowledge than productive knowledge, both in the tests of vocabulary sizes and lexical collocations. Besides, the fourth-year learners outperformed the first-year learners in all tests. The analysis of these findings revealed the degrees of learning in both vocabularies and collocations. Like vocabularies, receptive knowledge of collocational knowledge is easier to acquire than productive knowledge. The correlational analysis of the findings also revealed a positive relationship between participants’ vocabulary sizes and collocational knowledge. Together, the current results indicate that the gain in Thai university learners’ receptive and productive knowledge of lexical collocations fosters their vocabulary sizes and vice versa. Therefore, such findings highlight the roles of lexical collocations in fostering vocabulary learning and growth.

The relatively large and rapid increase in population in the Maltese Islands over the past decade has placed significant strain on the infrastructure of the country. These factors, together with the fact that issues with the public transport system have never been completely sorted, has led to an over-reliance on private cars as the main means of transport in most cases. Increased transport has been shown to increase stress and aggressive behaviour in drivers, amongst other possible negative consequences, leading to a negative effect on personal wellbeing. In order to assess the perceptions of the Maltese about the stress created by traffic, a cross-sectional study was conducted by means of telephone interviews with a stratified sample of 400 Maltese participants. A purposely designed questionnaire with twelve items scored on a seven-point Likert scale was used for this purpose. While more than four fifths of participants stated that they owned at least one car, and most agreed that traffic increases stress, both in the short and long term, less than one third of participants strongly agreed to preferring to use public transport rather than their private vehicle, even if public transport were more reliable. Females showed more anxiety than males with reference to the traffic situation and 18–29 year-olds showed the lowest level of agreement overall with the statements in the survey – a surprising result given this age group’s awareness of the negative effects of climate change on wellbeing.

Uncertainties lead to depressions and worries, which are proven to be detrimental to the entrepreneur's resilience and ability to succeed. This study aimed to investigate the drivers of entrepreneurial resilience of farm entrepreneurs in Davao Region and the correlation between farm managerial competencies, entrepreneurial skills, entrepreneurial orientations, and entrepreneurial resilience. A descriptive-correlational design was used in the study, with 150 purposely selected farm entrepreneurs from Davao Oriental, Davao De Oro, Davao Occidental and Davao Del Sur serving as respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data gathered. Findings revealed that farm entrepreneurs have a high level of managerial competencies, entrepreneurial skills, and entrepreneurial orientations. However, among the factors only entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial orientations could significantly determine entrepreneurial resilience. Moreover, the variation that is equivalent to 27.6 percent could be attributed to other factors which were not covered in this study. Further, the result of the study stressed the pertinence of Resilience Theory and the Attribution Theory in understanding the influence of the variables on entrepreneurial resilience.