This article provides information on an action research project in a low-level EFL setting in Japan. The project aims were to (1) foster spoken communication skills and (2) help students engage with their own learning. The project investigated the applicability of board games as a mediating tool for authentic communication as part of a wider TBLT…

This study examined relationships between language learning motivation and the longitudinal development of second language (L2) pronunciation. Twenty-six English-speaking learners of Spanish recorded a simplified picture description task 5 times over a year-long period spanning their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters of Spanish language instruction.…

Learning idioms is an uphill battle for many language learners. Thus, this quantitative study aims to shed light on English as Foreign Language (EFL) college students' attitudes towards idiom learning. Specifically, the study is interested in revealing their attitudes towards (1) the importance of idiom learning, (2) the difficulties of idiom…

This study aimed to determine the problems experienced at schools in the integration process of Syrian students into the Turkish Education System according to 66 school principals from 10 different cities of Turkey. The study was designed with mixed research methodology. According to the research results, there are some problems about the physical…

The aim of the study is to investigate the strategy attitudes of graduate students' proficiency attitudes on autonomous learning in foreign language learning. This survey was conducted in Balikesir University in academic years of of 2014-2015. The survey analyses graduate (Master of Arts) students' foreign language learning styles and strategies…

Although the ability to speak is usually seen as a key manifestation of learners' ability in the target language they are attempting to master, research has not given ample attention to strategies that can be employed to enhance this skill. In fact, the bulk of such empirical investigations has mainly focused on communication strategies that are…

Effective teaching is considered to be one of the factors that can facilitate learner achievement. The present study investigated the indicators that constituted good teaching from the perspective of higher-education students at Applied Linguistics departments, Iran. To do this, following a substantial review of the literature, the five major…

The New Zealand school curriculum was last revised in 2007, at which time a new emphasis was placed on culture in language teaching. The practice of intercultural language teaching is implicit in the curriculum document and explicit in the curriculum guide, which features a set of principles for intercultural communicative language teaching…

This study set out with the aim of assessing whether Multiple Intelligences profiles of Iranian students would exert any influence on their use of language learning strategies as important determining factors in the language learning. Additionally, we explored the role of gender and different proficiency levels on EFL learners' multiple…

The present chapter examines learners' beliefs and attitudes with regard to speaking in a learning environment that is neither formal nor non-formal. The main research question is whether learners perceive Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) as a completely informal context that is free of anxiety or rather as a virtual classroom where…

This case study centres on the notion that changing traditional student identities by turning them into 'student-teachers' can have very positive consequences on their involvement with the learning process. Technology plays a crucial role and is totally embedded in this approach. In this project, students are asked to research a grammar topic and…

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft are ideally suited to encourage and facilitate second language development (SLD) in the extramural setting, but to what extent do the language learners' actual trajectories of gameplay contribute to SLD? With the current propensity to focus research in digital game-based…

Chinese idioms are mostly four-character phrases and are called Quadra-syllabic Idiomatic Expressions (QIEs). It has long been reported that learning of Chinese QIEs poses a great challenge for both young L1 speakers and adult L2 learners as the condensed form is often associated with complicated figurative meanings. The present study explored the…

This quantitative research aims to examine how different levels of motivation relate to frequency of occurrence of autonomous language learning activities undertaken by undergraduate students. Eight hundred and sixty-two college students from 10 vocational training programs of a public university located in Ecuador, South America, participated in…

This paper attempts to explore how Slovak learners of English use electronic dictionaries with regard to pronunciation practice and improvement. A total of 24 Slovak university students (subjects) completed a questionnaire which contained pronunciation-related questions in connection with the use of electronic dictionaries. The questions primarily…