This study investigates how the use of discourse markers reflects speaking fluency in Chinese learners. In this study, 220 min of online Chinese courses were transcribed, with 17 Chinese learners and 5 native Chinese teachers as participants. Half of the transcribed data were drawn from students living in Taipei, Taiwan, a Chinese-speaking…

Since most class activities revolve around the utilization of textbook, selecting an appropriate basis for teaching is one of the most important decisions a teacher is liable to make in shaping the content and nature of teaching and learning. While the quality of textbooks has improved dramatically in recent years, the process of selecting an…

An advantage of the communication-based instruction in an EFL situation is prioritizing fluency and meaning negotiation though of course at the cost of accuracy. Researchers have, therefore, found feedback on the learners' erroneous utterances quite appealing so that form can be attended to against the wider backdrop of meaning-focused involvement…

This paper presents a study that looked into the structuring of tasks that may foster oral fluency in an intensive eight-week course with 25 young adult and adult learners of English as a foreign language in a format of tutoring sessions for conversation. The action research involved two teachers and a research advisor, coauthors of this paper.…

This study examined the effect of the combination of task repetition and post-task transcribing (TRPT) on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of L2 oral performance and their subsequent development. Taiwanese university students (N = 39) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: TRPT, task repetition (TR), and control group, and…

This study explores the language use of Southeast Asian marriage-migrant mothers in South Korea with their mixed-heritage children, and the challenges related to heritage language (HL) transmission. Drawing on interviews with nine women, the study finds that they encountered multiple obstacles to teaching the HL to their children. Their Korean…

There is a substantial body of research into the effects of planning time on second language (L2) oral performance, but different effects were found -- some of them showing increased accuracy, others increased complexity and/or fluency of language. In this study, 30 English as a foreign language learner individually performed a narrative and an…

The ability to comprehend and use metaphors in L2 which is referred to as metaphorical competence is an important issue in second language acquisition. Metaphors are so pervasive in our life that we might not realize their presence and simply neglect them even in our first language. Different models of communicative competence have been suggested…

In order to better understand the role of working memory in second language (L2) written production, this study contributes to recent research attempting to apply Kellogg's model of working memory in first language (L1) writing to L2 writing research (Ellis & Yuan 2004; Ong & Zhang 2010; Johnson, Mercado & Acevedo 2012). This paper…

The purpose of this study was to explore if by integrating Brain-based learning principles with a constructivist approach to English oral communication at a higher education institution, ESL participants would develop their English oral communication fluency. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) [The dissertation citations contained here are…

Willingness to communicate (WTC) has recently been researched as a dynamic variable, with some investigations viewing it as a complex dynamic system (CDS). One important property associated with CDS is the notion of attractor states, which are characterized by stable patterns of behavior. The present study employed an idiodynamic method to monitor…

While there is ample evidence that study abroad (SA) enhances oral fluency in a foreign language, the effects of different types of learning context on other aspects of oral skills, such as vocabulary use, have not received much attention in academic research and are less clear. The present study tries to fill this void by investigating lexical…

Previous studies have shown that emotional intelligence (henceforth, EI) has a significant impact on important life outcomes (e.g., mental and physical health, academic achievement, work performance, and social relationships). This study aimed to see whether there is any relationship between EI and English as a foreign language (EFL) learners'…

While written exercises may serve students adequately on tests, the structures they emphasize can remain elusive or difficult for students to master in conversation. Students tend to interpret their difficulty in applying what they have learned as a lack of language ability, and they can quickly lose confidence when speaking. Producing a target…

A growing number of U.S. business schools now offer an undergraduate degree in international business (IB), for which training in a foreign language is a requirement. However, there appears to be considerable variance in the minimum requirements for foreign language training across U.S. business schools, including the provision of…