This study examined the challenges of English learning encountered by Chinese international students in a Malaysian university, as well as the contributing factors and strategies students employ to cope with these challenges. A total of 60 Chinese international students (51.7% male and 48.3% female) participated in this study, with an average stay…

Classroom anxiety is a recurrent phenomenon for language learners. There are various factors that cause language anxiety, the most common of which include learners' excessive self-consciousness and self-awareness concerning their oral reproduction and performance and their peculiar, and quite often misplaced and mistaken, views and beliefs…

The aim of this research is to determine the problems, supports and suggestions for families of Turkish background living in Germany about their children's education. It is also intended to determine opinions of Turkish background students living in Germany and Turkish background teachers working in Germany about Turkish background families'…

This paper analyses teachers' engagement with collaborative and open educational practices to develop their pedagogical expertise in the field of modern language (ML) learning and specific learning difficulties (SpLD). The study analyses the findings of a staff development initiative at the Department of Languages, Open University, UK, in 2013,…

Learning a foreign language implies that the learner will become, after a number of years, proficient at expressing ideas, dominating new sounds (phonology), improving the range of words (lexicon), becoming proficient at expressing thoughts in acceptable grammatical form (syntax), and gain sufficient mastery to communicate with negative speakers.…

The recent trend of university internationalization has seen a rapid increase of English as medium of instruction (EMI) courses in Taiwanese tertiary education. Yet, few large-scale studies have been conducted to investigate student learning in EMI courses. This study surveyed 476 students from 25 EMI courses at six universities in Taiwan to probe…

The article discusses the potential of combining learner corpus research with experimental studies in order to fine-tune the understanding of learner language development. It illustrates the complementarity of the two methodological approaches with data from an ongoing study of the acquisition of the English tense and aspect system by French…

This article examines the challenges experienced by Arabic-speaking students and lecturers at meeting the proposed learning outcomes in English Literature (EL) at a residential university in Algeria. An overview of the history of foreign languages (French and English) in the curricula in Algerian schools and tertiary education institutions has…

This article reviews empirical evidence related to college students classified as learning disabled (LD) and foreign language (FL) learning by examining whether there are differences between: (a) students classified and not classified as LD enrolled in FL courses; (b) LD students with and without IQ-achievement discrepancies and FL aptitude,…

Since the phenomenon of fossilization in interlanguage is proposed by Selinker in 1972, it has drawn much attention and commonly acknowledged at home and abroad. This paper introduces the definition, classification, presentation, and causal factors of fossilization in an attempt to help Chinese students better understand the phenomenon and avoid…

Using a theoretical model of foreign language anxiety, this study of 96 college students of Japanese examines how language anxiety is related to Japanese language learning. Results suggest factors other than test anxiety, e.g., speech anxiety, fear of failing, and negative attitudes toward the class. A questionnaire is included. (Contains 63…

In order to identify what other elements besides linguistic deficits could be playing a role in foreign language learning difficulties, the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory was administered to students enrolled in regular and modified Spanish classes at a major U.S. university. Preliminary results gathered as part of a longitudinal study on learning…

This study investigated the possible existence of causal links between anxiety and language learning difficulties by using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) to examine anxiety and the Foreign Language Screening Instrument for Colleges (FLSI-C) (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991) to explore learning…

In today's world where great value is placed on global understanding, the acquisition of languages is essential. Academics would agree that the study of other languages provides students access to the cultural and intellectual heritage of cultures other than their own. Additionally, such study gives new and different perspectives on the structure…

This qualitative study analyzed the English language learning difficulties of 13 purposively chosen Korean students relative to their sociolinguistic competence, motivation in using the English language, and cultural factors. Interview responses were transcribed, categorized and thematised according to saliency, meaning and homogeneity. The…