In their new book, Alison L. Bailey and Margaret Heritage illustrate how to help students become more self-regulated learners--that is, to be able to monitor and take charge of their own learning when working independently and in groups. Language provides the foundation for the development of self-regulatory skills, enabling students to express…

In recent years, the use of English corpora to instruct grammar in writing classes has become increasingly popular. In English for Specific Purposes classes, such a novel approach is critically important since it not only allows teachers to achieve a profound understanding of which syntactic structures should be instructed, but it also increases…

Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) is a global phenomenon that represents one of the greatest advances for autonomous language learning outside the classroom in the past few decades. The power of IDLE lies in its capacity to compensate for inherent problems in language learning in classrooms, due to the "authenticity" of input…

In this paper, the development of a web application for self-access English vocabulary courses at a national university in Japan will be reported upon. Whilst the basic concepts are inherited from an old Flash-based online vocabulary learning system that had been long used at the university, the new HTML5-based app comes with several new features…

Vocabulary is an area that requires foreign language learners to work independently and continuously both in and out of class. In the Japanese EFL setting, for example, more than 97% of the population experiences approximately six years of English education at secondary school during which time they are required to learn approximately 3,000 words…

This article describes a series of exploratory L1 to L2 dubbing projects for which students translated and used editing software to dub short American film and TV clips into their target language. Translating and dubbing into the target language involve students in multifaceted, high-level language production tasks that lead to enhanced vocabulary…

It is common to encourage foreign-language learners to use their language outside the classroom and to read books and papers, listen to songs and watch films in the foreign language. One of the benefits which are thought to accrue from these activities is that learners can build good vocabularies. It has even been argued that casual exposure to…

"Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation" presents instructional practices that are particularly successful with adults. Adult language learners are goal oriented and direct their learning to fulfill particular needs or demands: to advance their studies, to progress up the career ladder, to follow business opportunities, to pass…

Investigates the nature of foreign-language learning using CD-ROM packages and presents case studies that explore cognitive processes and alternative learning experiences which contrast with conventional delivery modes in foreign-language teaching. Concludes that CD-ROMs can promote vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, and independent learning.…

Focuses on the efficacy of computer use for learning Kanji characters and improving Japanese vocabulary levels, with reference to software designed to improve Kanji learning in a self-access learning mode. Findings reveal that all the students in an Australian university using the computer to learn Kanji increased their grades and that those most…

Presents a lexical computer-assisted-language-learning tool for Japanese that is designed to develop vocabulary, "kanji," and verb conjugation knowledge. (Author/JL)

Describes the use of a questionnaire on ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) students' methods of vocabulary learning as a springboard for class discussion of helpful strategies suggested in the literature. Background for the activity is described, procedures and results are outlined, and suggestions for using a similar questionnaire in other ESL…

Describes a self-instruction procedure designed to provide students of science and technology at the tertiary level with a basic vocabulary in a foreign language of around 1,000 items. The technique represents an efficient method for bridging the gap between the vocabulary that beginning L2 students possess and that required to read L2 scientific…