This study explores how group processes, such as group cohesiveness and group norms, influence an individual EFL learner's motivation. The uniqueness of this research lies in shifting the focus from an analysis of the individual's experience being seen as apart from the group to considering the individual's experience in relation to the social…

The development of information and communication technology (ICT) invites teachers to abandon traditional roles and act more as mentors, exploring the new media themselves as learners and thus acting as role models for their students (Fitzpatrick & Davies, 2003). For turning students into producers of online content and creating a…

As a consequence of a substantially revised national curriculum in New Zealand, all schools are now required to provide opportunities for students in school Years 7 to 10 (age 11+ to 14+) to learn an additional language. There are, however, very few intermediate school (Years 7 and 8) teachers who are additional language 'subject specialists'.…

This article critically reviews strategy research on learning Chinese both as a second and foreign language. Through a careful examination of major data bases in both the Chinese and English languages, the article summarizes research in the field and the principal research methods used in the studies reviewed. Moreover, key limitations in research…

In order to meet the demands of the changing world, students should become endowed with the ability to learn perpetually and regard learning as a life-long enterprise. This study investigated those learners belief which showed learners' predispositions toward autonomy and some social factors such as gender, academic achievement, marital status and…

Web-based distance education is an innovative modality of instruction in Colombia. It is characterized by the separation of the teacher and learners, the use of technological tools and the students' autonomy development. This paper reports the findings of a case study that explores students' perceptions about an English reading comprehension…

Only quite recently has the concept of demotivation (as a partially neglected facet of motivationally-oriented investigations) come to the foreground of attention of researchers and educationalists interested in psycho-affective foundations of learning. Though literature on psycholinguistic underpinnings of learning is laden with varied probes…

The purpose of this study was to investigate ESL students' performance and strategies when writing direct and translated essays. The study also aimed at exploring students' strategies when writing in L2 (English) and L1 (Arabic). The study used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative procedures for data collection and analysis. Adapted strategy…

Little is known about the influence of language background in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorial groups on group processes and students' academic achievement. This study investigated the relationship between language background, secondary school score, tutorial group processes, and students' academic achievement in PBL. A validated tutorial…

Due to their unique profile as childhood bilinguals whose first language (L1) became weaker than their second language (L2), heritage speakers can shed light on three key issues in bilingualism--timing, input, and cross-linguistic interaction. The heritage speakers of focus in this dissertation are Korean second generation immigrants mainly…

The use of Blended Learning (BL) in higher education has increased significantly during the past decade. This dissertation investigates the use of BL with ESL writing students in an intensive English program. The purpose was to investigate how to prepare ESL teachers to create a productive BL environment for their ESL writing students. This…

This study utilized data gleaned from on-line surveys of primary level teachers and elementary school principals to understand what principals need to know and be able to do to support teachers in their instruction of reading for English Language Learners (ELLs). A review of five areas of literature provided a theoretical foundation for this…

Critical approaches to Spanish heritage language (SHL) pedagogy have called for more meaningful engagement with heritage language communities (Leeman, 2005). In a recent survey, furthermore, SHL students expressed a desire for more community-based activities in SHL curricula (Beaudrie, Ducar, & Relano-Pastor, 2009). This paper reports on the…

We report a small-scale study investigating the perceptions of postgraduate students who are non-native speakers of English and those of academic staff with regard to those students. Previous research has focused only on the former and identified a number of linguistic and cultural challenges these students face in adapting to Anglophone…

This study presents the main findings from a study which investigated Malaysian multilingual students' practical use of three languages with respect to reading, speaking and writing in Bahasa Malaysia (BM), English and German. In addition, two further aspects have been examined: students' motivation to learn a language, and the respondents'…