Students are often encouraged to explain recently-taught information to others to enhance their learning in various settings including face-to-face in the classroom, through text, or in educational videos. However, nearly all studies on the impact of explaining things to others have focused on the effects of explaining to a less-knowledgeable…

The present study employed virtual reality technology to develop online learning environments that facilitated student cultural and self-directed learning. Junior high school participants engaged in creating virtual tours, sharing them with peers online, and implementing self-directed learning strategies. A one-group posttest-only design was…

Despite the prevalence of digital gaming as a leisure activity and research attesting to the affordances of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) for English as a foreign language (EFL), the use of DGBLL remains low, especially outside the United States. A survey was carried out in order to understand both the beliefs and behaviors of…

In this research study, it is aimed to explore the causes of anxiety, specific situations that causes anxiety and the strategies which might be used by students of University College of Ratmalana, Colombo, Sri Lanka to overcome anxiety in speaking English as a second language. When analyzing this context, different educational scenarios may…

The present study aimed to examine the effect of proficiency on the pragmatic comprehension of speech acts, implicatures, and routines, as well as the way learners of different proficiency levels employ strategies when comprehending a pragmatic task. Thirty-three high-proficiency and forty-one low-proficiency Chinese learners of English completed…

This study examined the simultaneous effects of L2 individual difference (ID) variables (aptitude, motivation, strategy use, language processing experience, and gender) on English as a foreign language (EFL) breadth and depth of L2 vocabulary knowledge of 492 Korean university-level learners. Independent variable measures included the: (1) Korean…

This paper reports on a phenomenographic investigation of Arab sojourners' international academic experiences in terms of their expectations, academic socialisation and their strategy use during a ten-week pre-sessional English language course at a UK university. The qualitative data collected from a written narrative and three subsequent…

Vocabulary researchers generally point out three strategies that learners apply in order to find out the meanings of unknown words on their own (Graves, 2006; 2007). The use of context, word parts, reference materials ((e.g. dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses, both print and online) in-text definition/explanations, synonyms, examples,…

Recent research on disciplinary literacy has called for a paradigm shift among secondary content teachers from perceiving themselves as disciplinary content transmitters to disciplinary literacy teachers who model and engage students in reading, writing, inquiring, and doing like experts within each discipline. How do content teachers incorporate…

Changes in the cultural and linguistic environments of learners are often associated with identity shifts. The aim of this study was to explore what identity shifts occur when science students from Bahraini national schools transition to an international university. The role of two aspects of learner identity--that is, English proficiency and…

The research reported here investigated the relationship between students' use of language learning strategies and their English proficiency, and then interpreted the data from two models in information-processing theory. Results showed that the students' English proficiency significantly affected their use of learning strategies, with high-level…

This article reports on a case study that investigates the learning preferences and strategies of Chinese students learning English as a second language (ESL) in Canadian school settings. It focuses on the interaction between second language (L2) learning methods that the students have adopted from their previous learning experience in China and…

At the intersection of social studies and world language curricula are opportunities to explore students' prior learning with vocabulary-rich content designed to support language acquisition goals. "Funds of knowledge" is defined as socio-cultural, economic, and historical knowledge from home and community settings. The instructional…

This paper reports on a longitudinal phenomenographic inquiry into understanding how two postgraduate Syrian students' ways of approaching English language learning in their homelands influenced the shape of their personal study abroad goals, language strategy use and L2 identity. It is guided by Norton's [(2013). "Identity and language…

This study compares language learning strategy (LLS) use between Greek L2 and English FL and a possible variation in the frequency and type of LLSs employed in the two languages in order to depict the strategic profiles of the multilingual learners aged 12-15 (n = 307). It also observes the effect of gender in relation to a second vs. foreign…