The present study explores the novice Master's degree pass-outs' initial expectations for learning English as a career subject (ECS), their achievements from learning it and their reflections on the achievements. Ten novice Master's pass-outs' (NMPOs') narrative biographical stories were obtained by applying a questionnaire via the e-mail. The…

Study abroad is not an easy decision for international students who cannot manage the local language and academic courses, particularly nursing students who need to communicate with their patients in clinical environments. This study aims to explore international nursing students' experiences of pre-sessional language prerequisite courses in South…

The author, having drawn examples from her doctoral study, describes how a thematic analysis approach was employed to interpret raw data in her doctoral study which explored the impacts of a high-stakes test on students and parents in Nepal. As the main purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines for English language teaching (ELT)…

This paper explores the perceptions of senior high school pupils in Shanghai regarding their motivation towards learning English and their perceived influence on this of important others (parents, teachers and peers). The study is based on 610 questionnaire responses and 64 interviews. The findings indicate that their English learning motivation…

Investigates the effects of reading mystery novels on Hong Kong adult learners studying English for the purposes of pleasure or career development. Results show that novel readers made substantial proficiency gains, and that there were important motivational benefits as well. (Author/VWL)