Second language (L2) listening skills play an important role in both content- and language-focused academic success; however, provision of L2 listening-related pedagogy may be lacking or unsuitable in many contexts. Difficulties transposing research derived knowledge about listening processes to appropriate pedagogy arise because it can be…

This paper denotes the findings from an action research project, which applied problem-based learning (PBL) in linguistics courses in an MA TESOL program in Vietnam. The project aimed to study the extent to which the use of problem-based tasks in semantic courses could promote students' employment of higher-order thinking skills in their learning.…

Anxiety, an affective factor, is pivotal in language learners' success or failure. Findings pointed to its correlation with oral performance, test results, and language skills, namely listening and writing, but only a little with reading. At the current research site, a Vietnamese context, very little evaluation on reading anxiety in English…

Comparison is an important mechanism for learning in general, and comparing two worked examples has garnered support over the last 15 years as an effective tool for learning algebra in mainstream classrooms. This study was aimed at improving our understanding of how Modified for Language Support-Worked Example Pairs (MLS-WEPs) contribute to…

Many English-as-Second-Language (ESL) learners find it highly challenging to write problem-solution essays. This difficulty is partly caused by the pedagogies commonly used in traditional classroom settings, which have two major in-vivo constraints: time limits and low student engagement. This study proposes an innovative theory-driven…

The Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) aims to assess Korean high school students' scholastic ability required for college readiness. As a high-stakes test, the examination serves as a pivotal hurdle for university admission and exerts a strong washback effect on the educational system in Korea. The present study set out to investigate…

This study employed a multi-methods design to investigate the impact of preparation on Chinese test-takers' perceptions of the integrated TOEFL iBT speaking and writing design. Combining results from over 1700 surveys and 10 interviews, it was found that these Chinese test-takers, who are the most vulnerable group in the multimillion testing…

This article explores a mentoring program for English language teachers at a university in China. At the end of the program, the teachers and mentor reported feeling transformed and set out to investigate what was transformative about their experiences by writing final reflections. Then, the teachers and mentor became the researchers, and using a…

Health professionals who come from different cultural backgrounds are required to interact competently and at the most acceptable communication level that meets the demands of the multicultural context in which English is the medium of communication. Lack of proper communication in such contexts can establish a hostile work environment. Thus,…

This article presents a study of 8th grade students working in groups to solve a task about generalizing patterns. The study aimed to openly explore how progress in mathematical thinking might relate to the discourse. To do this, we first studied both separately. The progress in mathematical thinking was studied by inspecting how the groups…

The use of four-skills language exams to support the achievement of curriculum goals in Japan is an under-researched yet critical topic. This study focuses on washback from the Cambridge B1 Preliminary and B2 First exams, which were used as fixed-point tests at a senior high school. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, utilizing data from…

This article describes a wayfinding study conducted in an urban, academic library to better understand the experiences of multilingual student populations. The study, which incorporated traditional user experience methods and video ethnography, exposed communication obstacles and spatial challenges encountered by students of English for speakers…

Using metacognitive strategies to enhance EFL reading comprehension is well-established, but it remains unclear how strategy use may differ according to individual reader characteristics like gender and reading ability. To address this limitation in the literature, 137 Chinese EFL university students completed a reading comprehension task and the…

Metacognition, often used as a component of reading strategy instruction, has two dimensions - knowledge about cognition and regulation of cognition. Though many studies explore the connection between metacognitive strategies and development of reading comprehension abilities, not many examine how the two dimensions of metacognition interact to…

This study represents the inaugural attempt at assessing the authenticity of the tasks encompassed in the IELTS Speaking Module. The evaluation is conducted from the vantage points of applied linguistics and general education, and serves to enhance comprehension of authenticity and authentic assessment. In order to achieve this objective, an…