Prompted by the poor state of mathematics education in South Africa and the shortage of competent mathematics teachers, this study sought to identify what factors influenced 40 Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students at three universities in the Western Cape Province, with Mathematics as a major subject, to choose teaching as a…

Addressing the perceptions and the preferences of the upper-secondary school students, teachers, parents and administrators of the native speaking (NS) and non-native speaking (NNS) English teachers as well as investigating the variables affecting these preferences and perceptions, this study explores whether or not the native speaker myth is…

English is widely regarded as an essential skill for the globalized economy by governments around the world which devote considerable resources to its teaching in formal education, though often with limited success in terms of achievement levels. Thailand is a case in point. Set against the putative benefits of acquiring proficiency in English,…

This study explores the attitudes of EFL teachers towards using learners' first language (L1) in their classes. It also considers the frequency and functions of using L1 in EFL classes. A mixed-methods study using questionnaires and follow-up interviews was conducted to collect data from EFL teachers of the preparatory year at a state university…

Two main opposing approaches exist regarding the impact of first-language (L1) use in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language: the monolingual and bilingual approaches. Some linguists assume that students' L1 should be banished from their English classes, whereas others assert that it facilitates the process of learning a target…

Adult English-L1 (n = 20) and English-L2 (n = 32) experimental groups were given a novel containing nonce words to read within two weeks to investigate whether the reading of fiction can induce a state of incidental vocabulary acquisition. After reading, an unexpected meaning recall translation assessment measuring acquisition of 49 target nonce…

Building on previous listening strategy research, the author aimed to explore the differences between Chinese high-proficiency listeners (HLs) and low-proficiency listeners (LLs) on their strategy use, problems, and motivation in native language (L1) listening. It involved 1,290 Grade 7 and 1,515 Grade 9 students. Both quantitative and qualitative…

The majority of multilinguals immersed in different cultures report feeling different when switching languages. Although the influence of personality on self-perceptions has been investigated, little attention has been paid to acculturation aspects. The present study is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire and interview data.…

Digital media play enormous roles in much of the learning, communication, socializing, and ways of working for "Net-Generation" learners who are growing up in a wired world. Living in this digital era may require different ways of communicating, thinking, approaching learning, prioritizing strategies, interpersonally communicating, and…

This research report uses elements of autoethnography and mixed research to share the efforts of an academic to engage his students during classroom instruction. Participants included 28 science students from a regionally accredited university in Southern Africa, who were taking many sections of a research course. The researcher rearranged…

This article reports on an investigation of the role raters' language background plays in raters' assessment of test takers' speaking ability. Specifically, this article examines differences between American and Indian raters in their scores and scoring processes when rating Indian test takers' responses to the Test of English as a Foreign…

In the multinational corporation (MNC) context the crossing of linguistic boundaries and the fast-paced change of linguistic ecologies due to market trends and new business activities is the rule rather than the exception. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to discuss language policy and language practice in one consortium of three…

The study aimed at finding out whether teachers can identify the courses of reading disabilities in learners. It intended to establish whether teachers have adequate knowledge of identifying learners with reading disabilities, determine the proportion of non-readers in grade five. It also investigated the existing methods and materials teachers…